Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Stuck halfway in a ceiling, Hyuse starts to regret every decision he made in his life to get to this point. Technically, his choices didn’t include consciously wishing to end up in a ceiling above a table with a bunch of people staring up at him. Yet here he is. Not to mention the sickening nausea. He can’t even make out the details of the faces beneath him. Some noise trickles in through the ringing in his ears, but he can’t even tell if it’s voices or random sounds.

He grits his teeth and yanks his arm out of the ceiling, grateful he was in his trion body before… this happened. A few more tugs later, he falls to the floor (?) with a loud thump. He can feel a pen digging into his face, and someone shaking him. 

“H–Hyuse!” Chika. He tries to raise his head, only for a wave of vertigo to hit him. “Are you okay?” She shakes him again, and he can feel her hands tremble against her side.

He can make out another voice as the ringing in his ears dies down. “Who are you?” An older woman’s voice, and one he doesn’t recognize. Great. He closes his eyes, trying to fight away his nausea with sheer force of will. “What are you doing here?”

“I, we’re, uh–We’re–” Chika stammers, her voice dying in her throat. She shakes Hyuse lightly again, and her fingers dig into his side. “Hyuse! Wake up, please! ”

Head still pounding, he forces himself onto his hands and knees. His eyes start watering as the bright sunlight pours into his vision. Sunlight? He’s sure it was cloudy right before they ended up here, wherever here is. “I’m fine,” he says, even as he wipes the tears from his eyes. 

He takes in the sight around them, a bunch of suit-wearing diplomats staring at them and a woman at the front of the table who radiates self-assured confidence. “I said,” she repeats, the fakest smile Hyuse has ever seen plastered over her face, “Who are you?”

“Where are we?” Hyuse asks, grabbing Chika’s arm for stability. 

Just then, the door to the room slams open, and soldiers clad in black armor flood the room, guns raised. Great. Just great. Hyuse doesn’t think he has enough sense to fight in his state. “Wait.” The woman raises her hand, and the soldiers lower their guns. His grip on Chika’s arm relaxes, but he still doesn’t like her. “What year is it?”

The question causes his heart to drop. “2014,” Chika says, her face paler than a ghost. He can hear her heartbeat hammering in his ears. His beats at the same rate. He knows that question. A standard procedure for Neighbors who might have accidentally ended up in Aftokrator due to a glitch.

“Ah.” The woman blinks, and he doesn’t miss the shock that passes over the faces of everyone in the room. She recovers first, her smile growing wider. “I see. Well then, that explains it.” 

Motioning for the soldiers to lower their weapons, she says, with a smile that Hyuse wants to wipe off of her face, “It seems you've ended up in another dimension.”

-

Hyuse stares at the cup of water in his hand, his reflection staring back at him. Somehow, it looks as if it’s mocking him. Of all things to happen right after they made it to second place, after all their effort and hard work, it had to be “get tossed into another dimension”. At least they landed somewhere where the people who found them understood the situation and what had caused it, and didn’t want to kill them. Of course, the “deal” the woman proposed is ridiculous, but it’s better than the thousands of other scenarios he can think of. 

He sighs. According to the woman, the “Hero Public Safety Commission” is an organization that helps “Pro-Heroes” do their “job” more efficiently. “Pro-Heroes” are people who have “hero licenses” and use their “quirks” to help take down “Villains” who are criminals that use their quirks for evil. It sounds like something out of those shows Yotaro loves to watch. And this “Hero Public Safety Commission” wants them to enroll in a so-called “hero school” to help them “get used to this world”. 

“Hyuse?” Amatori asks. She’s been quiet the entire time, letting Hyuse do most of the talking. “Do you think Osamu and Yuma are okay?”

“Of course,” He responds. In his pa—his reasonable response to getting thrown across dimensional boundaries, he almost forgot about them. “They’re not idiots. They can take care of themselves without us.” As soon as the words leave his mouth, he realizes how naive they are. Knowing them, they’d do anything to get them back. The thought almost comforts him, if it weren’t for the fact he doesn’t trust Osamu not to do something ridiculous and self-sacrificing.

Amatori nods. “Right.” She still hasn’t let go of his hand. Hyuse doesn’t complain. 

Of course, the HPSC actually wants them to enroll in this “hero school” to keep an eye on them and some other motive Hyuse doesn’t understand well enough to know. Still, he and Amatori ended up agreeing to the deal. They don’t have any other choice. Though the added benefit of helping them return home and find Mikumo and Kuga helped. Still, he doesn’t trust a bunch of suit-wearing government officials to hold up their end of the deal. 

He watches as people mill around them, all dressed in suits. None of them seem to pay any attention to them, despite the fact they’re the cause of all the commotion. The one person who does pay attention is the exhausted man lingering around, obviously having been ordered to watch them but unsure of what to do.

Amatori glances at him and then at Hyuse. She makes a tiny motion with her head. Hyuse shakes his in return. They can’t risk talking in front of someone they just met. Especially not someone working for a shady government organization. Though the HPSC framed themselves as some “heroic” organization, Hyuse knows the basic signs of government shadiness when he sees it. 

Finally, the man says, “Do you two…have any questions?” He says it less like a question and more like a statement, his voice growing weaker and weaker with each word. Most of their questions had already been answered by the president, something he knew.

Amatori looks at him and gives him her best smile. “Um, what’s your name?” Hyuse can’t decide if he’s impressed or annoyed by her kindness.

“Mera. Mera Yokumiru,” he says. “Yours?”

“I’m Amatori Chika. Nice to meet you.” She elbows Hyuse, and he sighs.

“Hyuse.” He crosses his arms. 

“Nice to meet you two.” Mera shoots them another glance. “How old are you guys?”

“Fourteen.”

“Sixteen.” 

Mera nods. The three of them sit in awkward silence until a man approaches and hands him a file. He takes it and starts flipping through, his shoulders sagging with each page he turns. After a long moment, he turns to Hyuse and Chika. “Legal formalities have been taken care of. You arrived too late for the recommendation entrance exam, so you’ll have to take the regular one, which is in two weeks. Then, there will be a month-long waiting period until the U.A school year starts, where you wil—”

Hyuse bolts up. “One month? We can’t—“ 

Mera raises his hand. “I don’t know what to tell you, except for the fact that this is the only way the higher-ups will help you and that your world runs on a slower time rate than ours. A day here could be a minute there.”

Hyuse frowns. “Can you prove this?”

Mera waves his hand around. “My quirk lets me see basic information about a person. The age part is specific enough to the point where I can tell your ages are moving at a much slower rate than time passes here. Apparently, being in a different world hasn’t changed how my quirk works on you, but it doesn't mean you won’t biologically age.” He scans Hyuse’s expression and continues. “You’ll be staying at an apartment under my supervision, and I am your legal guardian. You are constantly monitored by the HPSC at all times. In return for the organization’s generosity, you are expected to continue to listen to what they say and stay under its guidance.” He glances back up at them. “Clear?”

Hyuse wants to protest, say it’s not clear at all and it’s obvious Mera–or the Commission–is hiding something from them, that they’re being used, that this position creates an overwhelming power difference, that he barely believes Mera about his “quirk”. In the end, he can only complain about the last one. “Prove your quirk is what you say it is.”. 

“Amatori has a blood type of A, and was born February 11th.” Hyuse glances at Amatori, who nods. “Good enough?”

Hyuse crosses his arms. “And how are we supposed to believe you about--”

“The whole time thing?” Mera cuts him off. “You’ll just have to take my word for it. Sorry.”

Hyuse opens his mouth but Amatori grips his hand and says, “I think we should believe him, Hyuse. Do…do we have any other choice?” Her trembling hand rests awkwardly in his hand.

Hyuse narrows his eyes. “Fine.” He hates that the answer leaves his mouth so easily. As much as he wants to leave, he knows they’ve already got a target on their backs. No use trying to escape now.

Amatori smiles but her eyes constantly flit around the room as if something is about to attack her at any moment. 

“Great.” Mera claps with all the enthusiasm of someone heading to prison. Underneath his breath, he mutters, “I can’t believe babysitting is a part of my resume now.’’ Hyuse shoots him a glare.

-

The car ride to the apartment the Commission provided for them is awkward, to say the least. Chika stares out the window as person after colorful person passes by the window, all ripped straight from the pages of a manga. People with animal limbs, bright hair, glowing hands, and even a walking mass of tentacles. Billboards and posters line the streets of people dressed in spandex and bright colors, names like “Bubble Girl” and “Dragon Hero” spread everywhere. 

She thinks if she pinches herself hard enough, she’ll wake up and realize this is just a terrible dream and she’s in fact, back home with Yuma and Osamu, surrounded by adult figures in her life she trusts and not in a car being driven to a strange apartment by a man who looks like if you poke him, he’ll fall over. 

But no, she’s here, with Hyuse, all by themselves with no one to help them except a government agency that insists on monitoring their every move. She watches as a little boy runs up to his mom, waving a figurine and grinning as if he’s just won the lottery. It’s of a muscular man dressed in red, blue, and white, with yellow hair and a wide grin.

All Might. One look at the city tells her this is the Arashiyama of this world, except he seems more idea than human. His face is everywhere, advertising products or in display windows of shops, all proclaiming peace and comfort. 

Symbol of Peace.

She likes the idea of someone who can protect the peace with their immense strength and power (because that’s why “All Might” is so popular, right?). It doesn’t change the fact it leaves a bad taste in her mouth. Everything about this world rubs her the wrong way, constantly reminding her that not only are they in another dimension, but one that can’t get any more different than their home.

She shoots Hyuse a glance. He stares out the window, a frown etched into his face. Though Chika is glad she isn’t alone and has someone else with her, Hyuse isn’t her first choice as “companion when you’re stranded in another dimension”. Still, it could always be worse.

At some point during the ride, the sight of Pro-Hero posters and people with unusual appearances blend together. She looks back to the front of the car, her eyes meeting Mera’s as he shoots them a quick glance. He whips his head forward. Despite being old enough to be her dad, he acts like he might faint if they look at him too long. She can’t decide if it’s endearing or concerning, considering he’s going to be their guardian for most of their stay here.

“What’s U.A like?” Hyuse’s voice pulls her out of her thoughts. Right. They should learn more about the situation they’re going to be put through.

Mera’s shoulders hunch. “You’re going to have to be more specific than that.”.

“What are the students like? The teachers? What’s the curriculum? Are there any school traditions we should know about?” Hyuse rattles off the questions with ease. 

Chika swears she hears Mera whimper. “The students are all strong, arrogant, determined, you get the idea. The teachers are kept secret, but if you end up in 1-A, you’ll have to be super careful, because the teacher is one of the sharper knives there. As for the curriculum, it covers basic high school education, along with battle training and the like.” He pauses, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel. “The biggest tradition is the Sports Festival. Students of U.A compete on live television, and it’s broadcast everywhere. Anyone and everyone in this city will see it. It even has international popularity.” 

Chika glances at Hyuse, who’s giving Mera an odd look. Did she miss something?

Mera sighs. “We’re almost there. You’ll mostly be living on your own, but another member of the Commission and I will drop by with food and such. However, the Commission will be monitoring you at all times.”

“Even now?” Hyuse asks, and Chika’s breath halts.

Mera blinks. “I’m not allowed to say.” Which usually means yes, right? The idea sends a shiver down her spine. She glances at Hyuse to see him drilling a hole into the back of Mera’s head. He looks at her and she tries her best to give him a reassuring smile. He does something she thinks is an attempt at returning it, but he might also be forcing down a sneeze.

The car halts to a stop in front of a rundown apartment. Mera turns to the two of them. “You’ll be staying here for the time being. The Commission is being stingy with its budget lately, even for a couple of dimension traveling kids.” He sighs for what might be the twentieth time since they’ve met him.

Chika gets out of the car and shudders as the wind bites at her skin. It strikes her how desolate the entire place is compared to the bright colors and bustling crowds she saw when they first left the HPSC building. Inside, the building is quiet with no sign of life besides the occasional scattered shoe and plastic bag. Mera unlocks the door for the farthest apartment on the left. 

The door swings open to reveal an average Japanese apartment. She steps inside. It’s small, with a kitchen/dining room and two doors, one she assumes leads to a bathroom and the other to a bedroom. Despite the fact it looks like it went five years without proper maintenance, the fact it looks so ordinary comforts her. She prefers the quiet, run-down nature of this neighborhood compared to the city they saw earlier. It’s familiar.

“There’s only one bedroom, but it’s a bunk bed. If you’re comfortable with that.” Mera runs his hands through his hair. “I’ll drop by in a couple of hours with food, clothes, and the like. Anything you want me to get?”

Chika takes a deep breath. “I-If you could buy a lot of rice, that’d be nice.” Anything for a sense of familiarity.

“I’m good,” Hyuse says.

Mera nods and shuffles out the door, but not before shooting them one last glance behind his shoulder. 

Out of all the things to finally cause reality to slam into Chika, the sound of a door clicking shut is at the bottom of her list. But it does, and she stumbles backward as the events of the past few hours slam into her, leaving her breathless. It felt like a dream inside a dream earlier, but now?

She’s stuck in a different world with only Hyuse by her side, a government agency breathing down her neck, and no idea what she’s supposed to do.

Chapter Text

When Keigo walks into his workplace, really walks into it, not into the open to the public lobby where the youngest and most idealistic workers work, but into the corridors of offices shut off from the rest of the world, he expects a dreary silence to meet him. Most of the Commission's employees stay stowed away in their offices. Not today.

“Sorry, Hawks!” A woman exclaims, dodging past him with a stack of files in her hands. She’s one of many walking briskly from door to door, adding to the soft buzz over the whole floor. They pay him no mind, and he lets out a small sigh of relief. Well, at least this isn’t because of him. He weaves his way through the bustle, until he reaches Kaneshiro’s office. 

A first floor office, yet she’s one of the most vital members of the Commission. He never understood it. Sure, she’s only been at the Commission for a few years, but why settle for the ground when you could have the air? As he reaches up to knock, the door flies open in his face. “You.” Kaneshiro growls. Even now, her appearance remains as picture perfect as ever. The only sign of her apparent stress is the coffee cups overflowing out of the trash bin behind her. “Inside. Now.” Without waiting for a response, she grabs him by the sleeve and yanks him inside. 

“Wow, so demanding. What’s up your ass today?” Hawks smiles, raising his hands in surrender. It earns him a feather light kick to the shins. “Ow! Hey, this is workplace abuse!”

Kaneshiro crosses her arms. “What should classify as workplace abuse is the damn headaches you give me every week of my life. I haven’t had a single day off since I started here, and you certainly haven’t helped.” 

“Sorry, sorry,” Hawks says, sitting down in her desk chair and kicking his feet up on the desk. “Look, in my defense, how was I supposed to know that he was a member of a radical group?”

“You’re going to get my desk dirty.” She runs a hand through her hair, eye visibly twitching as she says, “I lectured you for four goddamn hours in total about the various signifiers of radical groups across Japan. You may be immature, but you’re good at your job. I know you knew perfectly well what he belonged to. Not only would one glance at his attire give you the idea, but he was literally wearing their logo, something that’s been on the news almost every single day for the last two weeks, on his cap. You’re not that much of an idiot, Hawks.”

He lets out his practiced PR laugh. “Oh come on, a guy makes mistakes sometimes! I didn’t think it would be that big of a deal.” 

The sight of the rage that flashes across her face makes sitting in this stuffy, caffeine entrenched room worth it. “You–” Her face contorts. “My day is bad enough already without you acting like this. You’re going to have to make a public statement. Don’t care how you do it, just apologize.”

“For what?” Hawks asks. “Is it a crime to take a photo with someone? And it’s not like they’re terrorists. They just want to fight for mutant rights. What’s so wrong with that?”

“You know it’s not that simple,” she snaps. He rolls his eyes. Of course she wouldn’t understand. Kaneshiro Hakuro is as close to normal as it gets, minus her intellectual cunning. “They’ve rioted–”

“Protested.”

“--rioted in the streets, fought police officers, heroes, and vandalized public property. They’re criminals.” She crosses her arms. “You can’t deny that.”

“It wasn’t like they didn’t have a reason,” he says, sinking further into his chair. “Not like you would understand.” 

Kaneshiro flinches, glancing away. Keigo suppresses a grin. With a sigh, she turns back. “You’re the one that doesn’t understand, Keigo.” He frowns, but doesn’t say anything. The anger disappears from her voice. “You’re the Commision figurehead. Do you know what that means? It means you can’t associate yourself with organizations like that. I understand you feeling sympathetic. But you’re not Keigo. You’re Hawks. Hawks, the figurehead of the Commission, You know what that means.” For a moment, Keigo swears he hears pity flicker through her voice. The idea alone makes him gag.

“And?” They’ve had this conversation a million times before. The President once told him repetition is key to learning, but he doesn’t think you’re supposed to learn entire conversations. “I’m a hero. Isn’t it my job to save people? I could save hundreds if I advocated for their cause.”

“You wouldn’t.” Kaneshiro sighs. “The public is unforgiving. You’d save three before getting booted to the streets. You’d save far more if you remained complacent.” When he opens his mouth again, she says, “You know that better than most.”

He wishes sometimes she would just punch him. Or that he could punch her. That’d be a lot more fun than the lecture he gets every time he pulls a stunt like this. “Whatever,” he grumbles. “You’re no fun.”

“Arrange an apology statement by tomorrow. I don’t care how you release it, just do it.” She runs a hand through her hair. “I’m too busy to arrange one myself.”

Rolling his eyes, he says, “Yeah, really? Isn’t that your job?” She doesn’t grace him with an answer. “Shouldn’t you at least do your job if you’re going to lecture me around?”

“I am, you conceited a–” For a moment, Keigo thinks she might actually try to punch him. Instead, she grabs the coffee teetering on the edge of her desk and downs it in one gulp. He’s pretty sure it was full when he got here. “Whatever. I’m leaving for the day. Anyone asks where I am, tell them I’m busy cleaning up bird shit.” 

She yanks her jacket off the rack, pulling the door open to a surprised Mera. “Hakur–” He starts, but she storms past him, cutting him off. 

Keigo tries not to look too satisfied with himself when Mera looks at him. “What are you doing here, Mera? Need my help?” Instead of responding, he glances back at the open doorway. 

With a sigh, he closes the door. “She has enough on her plate already. Try to go easy on her for once.” He doesn’t even look at Keigo, running a hand through his hair. “And here I needed to ask her about something…”

“Well, why don’t you just call her? Since you guys are so close and all,” Keigo says. Mera continues to stand at the doorway, shifting from foot to foot. “You know, there’s a chair right here.”

Mera shakes his head. “She won’t pick up when she’s that pissed.” With a sigh, he rubs his eyes. “I know this is a long shot, but by any chance, do you know how to cook?”

Keigo blinks. “Uh, no. I have the hero’s ultimate diet of take out and microwave prepareable.”

“That’s what I thought. Hakuro’s the only person I know who can cook.” He turns around. “I should get going now.”

Keigo blurts out the first thing he can think of. “Why’s HQ up in arms today? Something happen?”

Mera pauses. He faces Keigo. “You mean you don’t know?”

“Yeah, I don’t.” For the Commision figurehead, as Kaneshiro so kindly put it, they don’t tell him much. “You gonna tell me?”

“Two kids from another dimension fell into the conference room today,” Mera says, completely deadpan. Keigo sits straight up in his chair. “The whole protocol is being put into place right now. And I’m the one who has to take care of them. Which is why I wanted to talk to Hakuro. I haven’t cooked in nine years. I also don’t want to feed them microwave ramen.” 

“Can I meet them?” Keigo leans forward, grinning. “Come on, it’ll be good. Foster inter-dimensional contact or whatever.”

Mera sighs. “I’m not sure the President would approve, but we’re bringing them in for a meeting tomorrow. You can say hello then.”

Keigo beams, and Mera looks even more uncomfortable than he did earlier. “Thanks, Mera! I can always count on you.”

-

Hyuse…

Hyuse is trying. He’s trying. That’s what he tells himself, anyway, as he sits next to Chika on a sofa that isn’t as comfortable as Tamakoma’s, watching some news broadcast about a recent dip in popularity for a “Pro-Hero”. The stuffy apartment air weighs heavy on his shoulders. All the windows in the building are locked, and the door can’t be opened from the inside. His only comfort is the weight of Lampryis against his wrist. He glances over at Chika. She grips a cup of water in her hands, her knuckles turning white and her face scrunched up in the way your face scrunches up when your world gets torn underneath your feet--an expression Hyuse is familiar with. 

In those feel-good kids shows Yotaro enjoys or the typical entertainment stories of his homeland, this is the moment where Hyuse would step up to the plate, say something comforting with an underlying admittance about himself and pat Chika on the back. Hyuse does neither of those things. 

Hyuse takes a deep breath. 

When the President of the Commission had told them about “Pro-Heroes” and how they worked, his vision went towards a more reasonable idea. Organized combatants who work to protect the peace, essentially functioning as soldiers. He’d expected something similar to how Border operates. A majority of agents work behind the scenes, and a few work as the “face”. 

To say his internal image was shattered the instant he took a step outside of the HPSC building is the understatement of the century. Compared to the bleak, desolate air of the building, the city outside seems like a personified rainbow. Posters upon posters upon posters of people dressed in spandex and over-the-top childish costumes, smiling the most unnerving smiles Hyuse has ever seen with cheesy slogans even Yotaro would find cringy written underneath. Merchandise, figurines, entire shops dedicated to one hero or another, TVs they drive by broadcasting interviews and popularity rankings. 

And maybe, just maybe, it’s because they’ve only been in this world for a few hours. Maybe this world doesn’t in fact worship human beings who are constantly capable of making mistakes and being terrible people and he’s drawing early judgements. But as he watches the woman on TV ramble about a recent “villain” (don’t get him started about how idiotic that naming is) incident with almost a hundred casualties that apparently would have been worse if two “heroes” didn’t show up, it occurs to him he doesn’t care. This world doesn’t matter because this is not his home, he will not stay here for any longer than necessary, and he knows no one here and does not care about them.

It takes him a moment to realize Chika is staring at him, her eyes wide. “What is it?” 

Chika jolts. “You looked…worried. Are you alright?”

Hyuse debates telling her she looks even more worried than he does, her eyes missing their typical sparkle, but he decides to say, “I’m fine.”

The room falls into an awkward silence. He knows he should do something to break the silence, talk with Chika, considering they’ll be stuck together for a while, but he doesn’t know what to say. He almost, well, if he’s being honest, fully wishes that it had been Osamu or Yuma instead of Chika. At least the silence wouldn’t have been as painful.

Finally, he motions to the TV in front of them. “What do you think?” It’s pathetically vague, but it’s the best he has.

Chika blinks, once, twice, before she realizes what he means. Turning to the TV, she says. “It’s scary. I mean, if something like that was on the news back home, everyone would be locked inside their homes and no one would go out.” She hums. “It’s strange that they talk about it so…” Pausing, she makes a vague gesture. 

“Casually?” Hyuse finishes.

“Yeah.” She nods. “Casually.” 

Hyuse watches the screen as the story switches to a street fight between some villain and hero dressed in audacious costumes. “Even in Aftokrator, incidents like that aren’t common. Or at least, they aren’t widely publicized. Doing so would be public suicide.” He winces at the memory. “I have first-hand experience.”

“Did you ever see the press conference that took place after Aftokrator invaded?” Chika asks.

He grimaces. “Yes. Jin forced me.” 

“Of course he did,” Chika says. Her grip around her glass tightens and the uncomfortable silence from earlier descends again. 

Hyuse raises his hand to give her a fist bump. He hesitates for a moment, his fist lingering mid-air, before tapping her shoulder. She glances up at him, eyes wide. She looks at his fist, then at him, then back at his fist. It takes her a moment to realize what he’s doing, during which he’s almost tempted to put down the fist, but she smiles and knocks her own fist against his.

At that moment, the door to the apartment swings open with a loud clack, causing Amatori to jump and Hyuse to tense. But it’s only their HPSC-assigned supervisor, who Hyuse has a feeling, despite his reluctance, has a weakness for them. He’s carrying four overflowing grocery bags, his face twisted in effort. With a heavy sigh, he plops them down on the ground. Hyuse can spot vegetables and fruits peeking out of one and packaged food poking out of another. Before either he or Chika can say anything, he disappears and returns carrying a large sack of rice. 

He looks at the two of them and sighs. “Would you mind helping me carry this stuff to the kitchen?”

“Of course.” Chika stands up. Hyuse gets up too, but not without reluctance.

“Thanks.” Mera gives them the weakest attempt at a smile Hyuse has ever seen. “I haven’t cooked in a long time, but I’ll try my best. You guys aren’t allergic to anything, are you?”

They both shake their heads. 

“Good,” he says. “One more thing. One of my coworkers lives in this apartment. You might see them sometimes. They’re…a bit of a character. I just wanted to warn you in advance.” Mera runs a hand through his hair. 

“A bit of a character?” In this world, that could mean anything. 

“You’ll see,” Mera responds. Hyuse bites back the urge to press further. He should at least try for Mera to like him. Just great. Another unknown variable in the middle of thousands he’s going to have to account for.

-

The bedroom is the same size as the one Chika uses at Tamakoma. Unlike the bare living room and kitchen though, the room has remnants of whoever lived there last plastered all over. A poster still tacked to the wall, a faded handmade poster for a band in stark black and white, the word GAUZE scrawled at the top in bold letters. The bunk bed still has some stickers plastered to it, all of a handmade variety that looks like album covers, but not of any she’s ever seen before. Absent-mindedly, she runs her fingers over the scratches in the door frame.

She stares up at the ceiling. Sleep seems like some faint dream when the deafening silence of the night invades every inch of her brain. She can’t hear anything. Not the roar of cars, or soft chatter of people, or even the barking of a dog. Hyuse doesn’t make a sound, but she knows he hasn’t fallen asleep yet. The mattress feels stale like someone pulled it out of a storage closet after not using it for five years. The room smells like burnt honey, and she doesn’t think she could sleep even if she took five melatonin pills. She misses her old bed, the soft mattress, and the constant knowledge someone she trusts is just around the corner making it easy to sleep.

Here, her mind won’t stop racing. Some irrational part of her brain thinks that someone might barge into their room at any moment, ready to take them away. She almost would prefer that, though, to the constant presence of the red blinking dot in the corner of the room. She stares at it. It stares back. 

She doesn’t know how much time passes until the silence gets too much. “Hyuse, are you awake?”

Silence. She holds her breath, and then finally, he speaks. “I am. Why?” His voice wavers ever so slightly.

“I don't know,” she replies. The words “I’m scared” get trapped in her throat. “It’s quiet.”

“It is.” Hyuse’s tone shifts, the cold hardness returning to it. “This area must be abandoned. It’s strange, considering we’re not that far from the city we first passed through.”

She closes her eyes. “Yeah. Do you have any idea why?” 

“It was probably a crime area,” Hyuse responds. “It wasn’t uncommon in Aftokrator for places to be functionally abandoned because a murder or some other large crime happened there.” 

“Right.” Chika can feel the pressure on her chest lessening. “What kind of crime?”

“No idea,” Hyuse responds. “This place likely has a different scale of crime than our worlds.””

“Mhm.” She nods, even though Hyuse can’t see her. Exhaustion starts to seep into her bones, and her eyelids start to droop. “Good night, Hyuse,” she murmurs.

A pause.

“Good night, Chika.” 

-

Yokumiru had never expected to get far in the Commission ranks. Sure, he wanted to, but as a former stay-at-home parent with a degree in communications, he didn’t expect much. He severely underestimated their desperation. Somehow, he worked his way up over his nine years at the Commision. It didn’t mean anything, really. More work and a bigger paycheck, for sure, but never anything other than paperwork and errands. Yet somehow, he’d gotten two dimension traveling kids thrown into his lap.

He understood why. Sort of. But out of all the people high ranked enough to be trusted with something as big of a deal as two dimension travelers, surely they could have picked someone else? At least one of them had to have experience with kids, right? 

“Is something wrong?” Amatori asks. He can hear the tremble in her voice and when he looks up, she’s staring at her bowl of rice instead of at him. 

“No, no.” Yokumiru shakes his head. “I’m fine. Are you guys done eating?” The two had barely touched their meals. To be fair, he might have made a little too much. 

The two nod. He could probably count on two hands the number of words they had said to him today. Well, not like he blames them. “It’s still a bit early, but we can head out. The President would prefer us to be on time.” He stands up. The two do the same, quietly tagging along behind him. Well, Amatori is quiet. Hyuse hasn’t stopped watching Yokumiru’s every move since he got here. His piercing glare might as well be words in and of itself. I’m watching you. 

When they get to the conference room, everyone else is already there. Hakuro stands to the President’s left. When they spot her, both kids pause for a moment. Hyuse’s glare hardens, focusing on her rather than him. He lets out a small sigh of relief. To the President’s right, one of the members of security leans against the wall. The President looks as self-assured as ever, sitting at the head of the table. The kids sit down at the two seats across from her, and Yokumiru walks to Hakuro’s side.

“How are you enjoying your stay so far?” The President asks. “Are your arrangements comfortable?”

Her words hang in the air. Neither kid makes a move to speak. Amatori looks nervous, but she maintains eye contact with the President. Hyuse levels her with a cold gaze.

“Well, I suppose small talk is a bit redundant in this situation.” She smiles. “I’ll cut to the chase then. What are your abilities?”

 Both Amatori and Hyuse tense up. Amatori visibility, almost retreating back into the chair. For Hyuse, it’s an almost imperceptible twitch of his shoulders. 

“Of course, you won’t give it out freely.” The President hums. “Let  me convince you, then. If we don’t know your abilities, how are we supposed to get you the legal papers so you can join U.A? Which I must remind you, is how you’re compensating us for accommodating you. Please keep in mind that we will become much less generous if you refuse. And we’ll learn what your abilities are eventually. You’ll have to take the Entrance Exam, in which you will need to use your powers. Unless, of course, you’d much rather spend your stay here in a cell. And I think the two of you are very smart children. Children who know better than to be uncooperative with the organization providing you with a place to stay. Am I wrong?”

Amatori stares at the table. Hyuse’s face scrunches up, a look of disgust flashing through his eyes. For a second, Yokumiru thinks Hyuse might refuse the deal. But when he opens his mouth, he says, “Fine.”

“Great.” The President smiles. 

“Only after you answer some of our questions.” Hyuse crosses his arms. When the President nods, he continues. “How did you know that we were from another dimension? Other than the fact we thought it was a different year. It seems strange to immediately jump to inter-dimensional travel as your first assumption, unless this has happened before.”

“Kaneshiro?” The President turns to her. She looks exhausted. Although anyone else might not tell, Yokumiru knows the signs of exhaustion on her better than any other emotion. She’s in what she calls her “default state” where she wears the lowest effort look possible. Of course, considering its Hakuro, it's far above any level of effort Yokumiru has ever put into his appearance for the last nine years. “Care to explain this for me?”

“Of course, ma’am.” She nods, bowing slightly. Straightening, she looks right at Hyuse. He shifts in his seat. “Quirks are determined by genetics. Therefore, they are evolutionary in nature. A child will have an augmentation or combination of their parents' quirks. There is a near statistically impossible chance for there to be a time travel quirk, according to a thorough analysis of registered quirk users. Mild time control, or adjustment abilities, perhaps, but time travel–especially across decades–is highly unlikely due to the lack of time related quirks in the public.

“There is the possibility the two of you are simply hallucinating, your memories replaced by a skilled memory quirk user, but this doesn’t agree with the fact you were portaled into the Commission office. Moreover, complete memory overriding is also a statistically impossible quirk to possess.” Hakuro glances at Amatori for a moment, before looking back at Hyuse. “Dimension travel, however, is statistically possible, although the chances are still extremely low. There is also the possibility that people could dimensionally travel here.” She pauses, glancing at the President. “Additionally, we have dealt with potential dimension travel incidents in the past. Nothing as extreme as two humans, but small unexplained metals or strange animals with impossible DNA and biology. Of course, these incidents were few and far between, but they were enough for concern.”

“Then it should be easy to find whoever brought us here,” Hyuse says.

Amusement flicks across Hakuro’s face for a moment. The first positive emotion Yokumiru’s seen her display this week. “Quirk registration is a complicated process. Not only are Quirks not static, but it is easy to misjudge quirks and if someone believes having their Quirk registered is detrimental, they may lie.” She glances at him. “If only it were as simple as searching up dimension travel in the database.” 

Hyuse frowns, but he doesn’t say anything. After a moment, he says, “Why did you enroll us in U.A?”

“That’s what we invited you to discuss. Well, among other things.” The President taps her fingers against the table. “Before we answer your question, however, would you mind giving us a demonstration of your powers? We have talked enough.”

Hyuse sighs. “Fine. It doesn’t seem you’re giving us a choice.” Amatori curls even more into herself, her face getting paler by the second. “We need a training room.”

The President raises an eyebrow. “Why not here?”

“Unless you want to rebuild your office, I recommend you move us to a more expansive area.” Cronin stares down the President If he’s scared, he doesn’t show it. 

The President laughs. “Well, alright. Shal–”

“A regular training room,” Hyuse adds. “Not one with cameras or extensive technology built in.” 

“Hm. You drive a hard bargain.” The President sighs. “Fine. Let’s go, shall we?” He stifles a physical grimace at the idea of being stuffed into an elevator with five other people.

To Yokumiru’s surprise, the President keeps her promise. The training room clearly hasn’t been used in years. The kids stand towards the middle of the room. Hyuse whispers something into Amatori’s ear and she nods. Even from here, Yokumiru can see her hands trembling. The guard that accompanied them tightens his grip on the gun in his holster. He knows it only shoots rubber bullets, but his chest tightens anyways.

As they watch, Amatori raises her hand into the air. For a moment, they all stop breathing. Waiting, waiting, to see what she will do. Then a cube so bright it illuminates every corner of the dusty, abandoned room, appears above her head. Splits run down its side, and Yokumiru realizes it’s not one cube, but a bunch of cubes arranged to look like one giant cube. 

She pulls her hand back, and throws the cube at the center of the training room. 

BOOM

Yokumiru covers his ears as the cubes explode, the shockwaves causing him to stumble backwards. They leave craters the size of an apartment on the floor of the training room. Silence falls over them. He doesn’t need to look at the President to see the smile spreading across her face. He thanks whatever gods may exist that the two didn’t attack them when they first arrived. 

“Is that it?” The President asks once the two turn around. “Of course, that display of power was impressive enough already.”

Amatori shakes her head. “I can make shields, too.” She raises her hand and a teal barrier appears in the air. 

“And you, Hyuse?’ The President raises an eyebrow at him.

He waves his hand and a stream of metal rises up from the ground and circles around him. “Magnetic shards. It may look simple, but it has a lot of varied applications.” He lowers his hand, and the shards disappear. Strange. Regardless of the fact they came from another world, he expected Hyuse to be the stronger one, not Amatori. 

“Your powers are quite different, aren’t they?” The President asks. When neither of them respond, she continues. “Hyuse’s power is quite similar to a quirk, but Amatori’s will be harder to register. Well, I’m sure you’ll be able to figure it out, right, Kaneshiro?” 

“Of course, ma’am.” Hakuro bows her head slightly. 

“Let’s return to the conference room, then. We still have more to talk about.”

Another excruciating elevator ride later, they’re back in the stuffy atmosphere of the conference room except for Hakuro, who returned to her office to finish their legal papers. 

The President leans back in her chair. “My apologies for beating around the bush. Allow me to tell you the truth behind why we asked you to join U.A. To put it simply, we have reason to believe a traitor may enter 1-A. On top of this, the class of 1-A faces a great risk this year due to extenuating circumstances. We would like you to join 1-A in order to watch over them and maintain their safety.”

“Why us? Why not send in some of your own?” Hyuse asks. “We’re a far bigger risk and we provide no long-term benefit as we won’t graduate and become heroes.”

The President sighs. “Trust me, we would all prefer that. But the Commission doesn’t recruit children.” Yokumiru tries not to laugh. Yeah right. “And as for the loss of two spots in the top hero class of Japan, well, it’s a small price to pay for the other student’s stability.”

”And why doesn’t U.A take care of the issues themselves?” Hyuse doesn’t give the President a chance to breathe.

“To be frank, they don’t agree with us on our assessment of the danger posed to class 1-A, among other reasons. Honestly, I don’t think you want to hear all the boring details. But the two of you seem to come from a place strife by politics, so I’m sure you can understand.” 

“Go ahead,” Hyuse says. “Bore me.” Yokumiru’s sort of jealous of how bold Hyuse is. He doesn’t think he’ll have half that confidence at any point in his lifetime.

The President's eyes narrow. “Is that really necessary?”

“They can’t investigate properly without your approval, but they don’t want you getting involved in their affairs. Which is why you’re using us, students, who draw less suspicion and are less likely to be thought of as Commission plants.” Hyuse doesn’t phrase it as a question.

“Correct.” The President smiles. “You’re quite perceptive, aren’t you? Anything else you’d like to add?”

Hyuse shakes his head. “No. Is that all?” 

The President nods. “For now. Kaneshiro will be waiting for you back at the apartment to fill you in on your new identities.” She glances at her watch. “Well, it’s been nice chatting with you. See you later.” The instant she’s out of the room, Mera’s shoulders feel lighter. He’s only given a momentary second to relax before a different kind of stress pops his head into the room.

“Hey!” Hawks beams when he spots Amatori and Hyuse. “You’re the dimension hoppers, right?” 

Chapter Text

“Hey!” Hawks beams when he spots Amatori and Hyuse. “You’re the dimension hoppers, right?” 

-

For a brief, irrational moment, Chika sees Jin standing before them, with his signature smile and glasses propped on top of his head. For a moment, she’s safe. But then her eyes adjust and she registers the person standing before them. Not Jin. But he’s got his smile and voice and even a yellow visor strapped to his head. Red wings grow out of his back, folded tightly into his body. He looks vaguely familiar. A Hero, probably. 

“Wow, you’re young.” The man walks up to them, staring at her then Hyuse. Hyuse frowns a little, crossing his arms. ”How old are you guys? Fourteen? Fifteen?”

Chika smiles at him. “I’m fourteen. Hyuse is sixteen.”

“You’re practically babies!” The man laughs. Even his laugh sounds like Jin’s. “I’m Hawks. Number three hero. Nice to meetcha.” He sticks his hand out, offering it to Chika.

Chika takes it, giving it a light shake. “Amatori Chika.” 

Hawks tries to shake Hyuse’s hand, but he doesn’t move an inch. “Hyuse,” he states. Hawks’ hand still suspended in the air, he turns to Mera. “Shouldn’t we get going? Your friend is waiting for us.”

Chika glances at him. Friend? The President had mentioned that the woman, Kaneshiro, would be meeting them at the apartment, but she hadn’t got the impression that she and Mera were friends. 

“We probably should.” Mera turns to Hawks, avoiding direct eye contact,  “We’ll see you later, Hawks.”

Hawks pouts , and Chika almost laughs at how closely the expression resembles Jin. “Can I at least walk you guys to the parking lot?”

Mera glances at her, then at Hyuse. For a long moment, he stares at the ground with his eyebrows furrowed. “Sure,” he says, letting out a small sigh.

“Yay!” Hawks exclaims. As they leave the meeting room, he asks, “So, how do you two know each other?” He turns to look at them, golden eyes staring through Chika. His pupils look like lines. Maybe because of his quirk? She glances again at his bright red wings. They look as tall as her.

Before she can respond, Hyuse says, “We work together.” Hawks opens his mouth to say something more but he adds, “What’s your role for the Commission?”

“Me? I’m the figurehead, basically.” Hawks waves his hand around. “A face to the name, y’know?” He scratches his head, sighing. “It’s pretty fun most of the time unless Kane--the PR department decides to pick a bone with me.” He scrunches his nose. 

“That woman works for the PR department?” Hyuse asks. He pauses, eyebrows furrowing. “She looks quite young. Does the Commission usually employ people under the age of twenty-five in important positions?”

Chika tugs at the collar of her shirt. Even though her trion body shouldn’t be able to detect minute temperature changes, she swears the atmosphere gets colder. 

“Nah, me and Kaneshiro are the exceptions.” Hawks chuckles. “You know, this is starting to feel more like an interrogation than a friendly chat.” He glances back at Hyuse. “Trust me, I don’t have any ill intent. I just wanna get to know you better.”

Hyuse’s frown deepens and before the atmosphere can get any worse, Chika blurts out, “Are there any other Heroes that work for the Commission?”

“Nope! Just me and me only.” Hawks turns around completely so he can look her in the eye. “I’m just that good at what I do.” He unfurls his wing as much as he can in the crowded elevator. “My Quirk lets me control every individual feather on my wings.” He pulls a feather out and hands it to her.

It’s soft when it first moves to her hand, but when Hawks lets go it hardens, the edges of the feathers melting together to a solid edge. Absent-mindedly, she runs a finger across the flat side. It looks sort of like Scorpion, she thinks. Yuma would find it cool. 

“Pretty cool, right?” Hawks smiles. “I’m the number three for a reason.” 

The elevator doors open, snapping her out of her examination. “Ah man, I wanted to talk to you guys for a little longer.” Hawks sighs, putting his hands into his pockets. “See you around, hopefully!” The feather in Chika’s hand moves towards him and she lets go, watching as it flutters to his side. 

He waves as they walk to the car until the elevator doors close on him. She waves back. 

-

When they get back to the apartment Kaneshiro is already waiting for them. She doesn’t react when they enter, flipping through a binder in her hands. On the table sits what Hyuse recognizes as a fruit platter. It looks like a duplicate of the one Konami bought a week ago. After shoving a few strawberry slices in her mouth, she looks up at them.

“Sit,” she says, motioning at two chairs at the table. Chika quickly sits in the chair. Hyuse joins her a few seconds later. “Feel free to head home, Mera. I can catch you up later.” 

“Are you sure?” Mera asks. 

“I’m sure.” She waves him off. “It won’t kill you to take a break, you know.”  

Mera opens his mouth to protest, but he shuts it when Kaneshiro glares at him. With a sigh, he turns around and slinks out of the room. She turns back and smiles at the two of them. It looks ill-suited on her impassive face and drops off as fast as it appears. “Hi there. I’m Kaneshiro Hakuro, the lead PR agent at the Commission.” She sticks her hand out for them to shake, first offering it to Hyuse. 

He takes it, giving it a firm shake. Her hand is soft and uncalloused. The hand of an office worker. She looks like anyone he would see in Meeden. Considering that most Quirks seemed to take some physical manifestation, Hyuse guesses hers is weak. Still, he keeps his eyes glued to her. 

After shaking Chika’s hand, she hands them both a manila folder. It sags in Hyuse’s hand, the weight dragging his hand towards the table. His has Hyuse Cronin written across it in bold letters. “How did you know--”

“About your alias?” Kaneshiro shrugs. “Courtesy of Mera’s quirk.” Hyuse frowns. So it could get as specific as providing aliases. He inspects the bold, perfect letters that stand out against the wear and tear of the folders. His has a concerning rip in the binding. “These folders contain your backstories and a rundown on how this world works. The history, popular Heroes, Quirks, the like. If you’re going to attend U.A., you need to learn how to fit in.”

Her eyes flick up to the camera before looking back at them. “Go ahead, look it over. Ask me any questions you have. And feel free to eat.” She motions at the fruit platter on the table and the plastic forks.

He opens it before the prompt reminder that he cannot read Japanese hits him. He stares at the lines on the page until they blend into a mess of black strokes. He glances at Chika. She looks back at him. Just great. He could mention that he can’t read Japanese, but that would only raise more questions. He didn’t trust the Commission, and he certainly didn’t trust this woman. Still, they’d find out eventually if not by Hysue telling them, then by some slip-up on his part. 

“I can’t read this,” he says.

Kaneshiro stares at him, fork held in midair. “What?” 

Hyuse buries the rising anxiety and embarrassment in his chest. “I can’t read this,” he repeats. He points to the paper. 

She stares at him for a few more seconds and Hyuse wishes he could take the last minute of his life back. “Oh. Okay. But you can speak and understand Japanese?”

Hyuse nods. “I never learned how to read and write,” he lies.

“That’s not a problem.” She stands up. “I’ll be right back.” When she leaves the apartment, the door shuts with a click.

Hyuse looks at Chika. He can see the question in her eyes. “Being able to read is important,” he says. The corners of her eyes crinkle a little before she looks away. Great. Hyuse ignores the heat creeping up his cheeks.

Before he can say anything more, Kaneshiro returns. She’s holding a box in one hand. Setting it on the table, she starts to open it. Pulling out a bulky pen and earpiece, she hands them to him. “You can move the pen over lines of text and get it to read it out loud to you. Go ahead and keep it. I have a few.” 

He takes them. “Thank you,” he says. He ignores her curious gaze as he puts the earpiece in. He opens to the first page in the folder and runs the pen over it. A second later, a thankfully understandable string of noise flows into his ear.

Hyuse Cronin. 15 (Fifteen?) years old. Legal ward of Mera Yokumiru and legal sibling to Amatori Chika. Originally raised in a rural town near Salmo, Canada, before his parents were killed in a villain attack that decimated his town at the age of fourteen. Placed under the legal care of the Salmo government before being transferred into Mera Yokumiru’s custody six months ago. Came into the guardianship of Mera Yokumiru due to his previous connections at the Salmo government and interest in adopting teen children. 

Quirk: Precise Magnetic Control. The ability to summon and control a swarm of individual, triangular magnets. If used for too long, Cronin develops headaches and nausea. Quirk registered shortly after he came into Mera Yokumiru’s custody.

He looks up at her. “Why does it state that I develop headaches and nausea if I use my Quirk–” he has to force the word out of his mouth “--too much?”

Kaneshiro raises an eyebrow. “All Quirks have side effects. Yours is that. It wouldn’t seem very realistic if you didn’t have one, no?” She smiles at him again, but with a sense of mockery that makes Hyuse grimace. 

“I see.” He glances again at the paper. “How long is ‘too long’?” 

“Up to you. It’s more realistic if you fill in the blanks for yourself.” She drums her fingers against the table. “So, let me take a wild guess.” Hyuse locks eyes with her. She makes that mocking smile again. “You don’t have a side effect like that to your power. Instead, the drawback is…” she trails off. “Oh! Like stamina in video games. You have a set amount of power supply, and you can only drain it to a certain point. Did I get it right?” 

Hyuse fights to keep his face impassive. The hair on his neck stands up as she watches him, her eyes drilling holes into his head. In his obsession with the fighting prowess of the inhabitants of this new world, he forgot an essential lesson. “A smart person is more dangerous than a strong one.”  He resists the urge to glance at the camera blinking in the corner of the room.

Still, his reaction must have gone over her head as she frowns and sighs. “Man, you’re hard to read.” She glances at Amatori. “Either way, that’s the side effect I gave her. Make sure to remember that you have them, otherwise people could catch on.”

Hyuse returns his attention to the folder again. He decides to skim, to save time with the giant packet. The next few pages continue to detail any information on his new identity. Blood type, birth date, and even his medical history. The next twenty or so pages overflow with the basic history of this world. Even in his cursory glance, it's extensive enough to resemble a book on its own. Although it doesn’t seem ridiculous that a PR agent would have a comprehensive list like this on hand, the extra notations regarding the general demographics of people who have knowledge about certain situations and at what level seem excessive. 

As he reaches the section regarding Quirks, he slows down. 

Quirks are a biological phenomenon, the cause of which has not yet been determined. Although attempts have been made at sorting Quirks into different categories, they can be extremely varied and thus hard to organize. Generally, they are sorted by Emitter, Transformation, and Mutant type. 

He gives a cursory glance to basic information, stopping again when he reaches a list of Quirks of the Top Heroes. 

All Might - Quirk: One for All

Type: Emitter

Effect: Allows the user to control and output energy to enhance moves such as punches and kicks. 

Power Level: SSS

Notes: An exceptionally, unusually powerful Quirk.

Luckily, its nature wouldn’t pose a huge threat to their Trion bodies. In theory.

Endeavor - Quirk: Hellflame

Type: Emitter

Effect: Allows the user to control and output extremely hot, intense flames. 

Power Level: SS

Notes: n/a

As he skims through the list, most of the Quirks of the Top Heroes pose little to no threat to them. A small reassurance if they ever do have to fight. Though the thought of fighting a flesh body sends a small shiver down his spine.

“So,” Kaneshiro’s voice startles him out of his concentration. “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m getting a little cramped in this stuffy apartment. Want to go on a walk? I can give you a little tour around the neighborhood if you want. I’m aware it’s not the best, but even a mouse hole gets sunlight.” 

He looks up at her. She tilts her head at him, smiling. “Come on, it’ll be fun.” 

“That would be nice,” Chika says. “If Hyuse is okay with it.”

He nods. Kaneshiro smiles, standing up from her chair. “Great. Follow me.” She grabs her jacket off the chair and near power walks to the entrance. Hyuse hurries after her, Chika following on her heels. The instant the door shuts, Kaneshiro lets out a long sigh. 

“Man, I don’t understand why they put so many cameras in there.” Yawning, she runs a hand through her hair. Her speech sounds far more casual now, an accent that Hyuse can’t place sliding in. “I mean, I understand why, but it’s kind of ridiculous. I’d go crazy with surveillance like that.” She starts walking.

Hyuse falls in step next to her. “Is that why you took us outside?”

“You got it. The Commission won’t care too much.” She hums. “Do you guys have anything you want to ask me now? Out of their earshot? Or not, that’s fine too.”

On the one hand, this could be another Commission trick. On the other hand, if she’s telling the truth, this will be their first chance to gain any somewhat useful information. Hyuse frowns. He watches her but she shows no sign of anything. Deceit or truth. The kind of unreadable look Hyuse hates. 

“Will you guys really not be able to get us back home soon?” Chika asks.

Kaneshiro nods. “Yeah. Sorry. I mean, I know you probably don’t trust me, but I assure you the Commission wants to find whoever brought you here as soon as possible. The quicker they find the Quirk user, the quicker they have a guarantee no crazy powerful people from your world are going to end up here and cause chaos. Unfortunately, it’s a lot harder to find people nowadays than you’d think. Especially if their Quirk’s unregistered.”

Chika’s shoulders droop. “Sorry,” Kaneshiro adds. “I know that’s not what you wanted to hear.” She stops in front of a corner store. A weak neon sign flashes open against the backdrop of a dirty window. Hyuse peers inside, but he can’t see anyone standing at the counter. “If you guys need to grab something real quick, you can call up this place.” She grabs a card from the display at the entrance and hands it to Chika. “It has all the basics.”

“When did you join the Commission?” Hyuse asks. 

She chuckles. “You know, it’s rude to ask a woman her age. Four years ago. I’m twenty-four now. Why do you ask?”

“You seem young to be high enough up in the chain of command to be entrusted with us.” Hyuse watches her for any reaction, a twitch of the eyebrow, a tensing of the neck, but her face remains impassive. 

“Well, I’m not that high up. I just deal with the…messier issues of the Commission, that’s all. And Hawks, unfortunately.” She scrunches up her nose. “I suppose I’m just good at my job, that's all.”

“Messier issues?” Chika asks. 

Kaneshiro grimaces. “Ah, I shouldn’t have said that.” She sighs. “It’s that bird keeping me up with all the paperwork I have to do. Pretend like you guys didn’t hear that, okay?”

Hyuse scans her face again. No matter how hard he tries, though, her face remains unreadable. He opens his mouth to ask her something when Chika stops walking. He and Kaneshiro stop too. Following her gaze, he sees a mural on a building on the other side of the street.

Faded green and blues cover the entirety of broken windows and chipping concrete. The face of an anthropomorphic hedgehog looks back at him. For all its stillness, the image seems to sweep across the building with its flowing lines and swirls. Dead flowers line the sidewalk below. 

“Oh, that? Pretty, isn’t it.” Kaneshiro smiles. “Shame the flowers have all died. I need to replace them soon.”

“Did you know them?” He asks. He glances back at the mural. The more he looked at it, the worse he felt. It looked like something he would see in the streets he used to live in.

Kaneshiro shakes her head. “No, I didn’t. I just think it’s good to respect the dead, that’s all.” She pulls out a faded and crumbling notebook, scribbling something down.

Chika looks down at her feet. The three of them stand there in front of the mural, not saying a word.  Finally, Kaneshiro says, “We should get going. There are a lot of those around here. Come on.” She starts walking away. Hyuse feet remain planted on the ground. 

“There’s a lot of those around here.”

He shakes his head, dispelling the thought. This isn’t his home. He has no reason to care about the affairs of this world. He glances at Chika, who’s still standing there. 

He takes a deep breath. “What is it?”

She glances up. “Oh, uh, nothing. I was just…thinking.” Her hands tremble a little. “Can I ask you something?”

He glances at Kaneshiro, who’s waiting a good half a block away. “Go ahead.”

“Why did you tell me to not use Lead Bullet? Back when they asked us to show them our powers.”

“It was a rational decision,” Hyuse responds. “We only have one bargaining chip. Our power. I wasn’t sure if my Lampryis would be enough to make them respect us. We had to demonstrate power to show our value. That we’re worth collaborating with.”

He watches as Chika nods. Her hands still shake a little, but she meets his eyes. “Okay,” she says. “But how am I going to fight other people?”

“You’re smart enough to figure that out,” he says. He ignores the stab of guilt at the way she curls into herself again. “We can’t rely on Osamu or Yuma here. We only have each other. So I’m going to need you to be able to fight and think on your own.”

She takes a deep breath, placing her hand over her chest. After a long, arduous moment, she finally says, “Okay. Okay, I will.”

“You guys coming or what?” Kaneshiro shouts. “We gotta get back before the Commission actually gets mad at me.”

“Let’s go,” Hyuse says. Chika nods. The two hurry to catch up to Kaneshiro, who turns and keeps walking the instant they get close. 

Hyuse speeds up, tagging close to her heels. “What do the Commission want with us?” He asks. 

“Want with you?” Kaneshiro snorts. She turns to look at him, eyes twinkling. Despite the fact she has to crane her neck a little to look right at him, he can’t help but feel like she’s looking down on him. “A lot. You need to be more specific.”

He grits his teeth. “Do they have any motivations that they would want to hide from us?”

She turns around again so that he’s staring at the back of her head. “One thing I didn’t mention in that packet is that we’re at the end of an era. Soon, the world here will have the rug whipped out from under its feet. The Commission wants any advantage it can get coming into this new era. An advantage such as the abilities of another dimension, for example. I don't know how your abilities work. And you probably want to keep it that way. With everyone.” 

That had always been the plan, Hyuse thinks. 

As they return to the apartment, she pauses in front of the apartment door. Turning back to Hyuse and Chika, she gives them a little smile. “One final piece of advice? Never trust any word coming out of the mouth of a member of the Commission. Especially if they call it the Hero Commission.” With that, she swings the door wide open. Her face returns to the stoic expression she had when they first met her. 

“The packet has a lot of information about U.A. and your mission. I would look it over. Feel free to ask me any questions. I set up the landline to have me and Mera on speed dial.” She points at the apartment floor above. “Also, I live directly above you. Not like you can leave this apartment freely, but I’m there if you need me. I have some paperwork to take care of. Any other questions?” 

Hyuse processes her words. “Are you the coworker Mera mentioned? He said he had a coworker that lived in this apartment.” He had also implied that they were strange, but he leaves that part out. 

“Oh, yeah. That should be me. No one else lives here.” She sighs. “He didn’t talk about me behind my back, right?”

Yes. “No,” he says.

“Good, good.” 

Just as she turns to leave, Chika blurts out, “Wait!” Kaneshiro turns back around. Chika grips the shirt right above her heart. A nervous tic. “How much will we have to fight other people?”

“At U.A? In general?” When Chika doesn’t move, Kaneshiro shrugs. “The Commission won’t make you fight for their own desires. It is technically illegal, after all.” She glances at the open door. “You’ll have to fight people a lot at U.A. It is a hero training school. But don’t worry, the entrance exam won’t involve any of that. And from what I’ve seen, you guys won’t have any problem at all.” 

Chika swallows. “Okay,” she says. “Thank you.”

“See you around.” Kaneshiro turns and walks off.

Chika steps into the apartment. Hyuse lags behind. When the door shuts behind them, all he can think about is the red blinking in the corner of the room. He sighs. A weight settles on his shoulders. Chika sits back down at the table, opening her folder up and flipping through it. 

He shoots one last glance at the camera before sitting down next to her. With a long, heavy sigh, he opens the packet.

Chapter Text

U.A is the top hero school in Japan, and one of the top hero schools in the world. It receives immense funding from both government and private interests. People from all over the world try to get in because graduating from U.A guarantees connections and experiences that will propel you to high places in life, regardless of which department you enter. It totes the highest graduation rate and the highest quality graduates, with the All Might being the most significant. 

Chika’s not unused to unusual buildings. After all, the building in the center of her home city is essentially a giant 3D trapezoid. She knew what U.A would look like, thanks to the pictures in Kaneshiro’s packet. But seeing a giant H in person, well, is a bit different. Hyuse too, stares at the building, eyebrows furrowed. 

“Stop gawking, loser,” someone says, shoving Hyuse into her. She snaps out of her daze, looking to her left to make eye contact with bold red eyes that drill a hole into her. A boy with bright red eyes glowers at them. He scoffs, stomping away. “Fucking extras.”

They make their way through the building, stopping to receive area assignments and check in. She glances over the hand-out, pausing only when she reaches the area assignment. Her sheet reads area D. Hyuse pushes his own paper towards her. It reads area B.

“They must be separating people who already know each other,” he says.

She watches the various people mill around her. Some have animal heads, others have spikes protruding out of their body, one person even has a speech bubble for a head. She tries not to stare too hard. Kaneshiro had warned both of them about staring. But she can’t help it, especially as she spots a boy made of black shadow. He raises an eyebrow at her and she quickly glances away, heart thudding in her chest.

The arena inside is packed with people, probably thousands of kids from all across the world. She gulps as the two of them get swallowed up by the crowd, into the hubbub and excitement. Somehow, the bubbly nature of the people surrounding her only makes her heart beat even faster. A few people give them odd looks as they walk past, and she’s sure they can tell they’re as out of place as she feels. Sitting down, she lets out a long sigh.

Hyuse glances at her but remains silent. Even with the chatter that surrounds them, the silence between them is as suffocating as ever. In the two weeks that had passed since they arrived here, they’d barely talked. Sometimes, Kaneshiro would bring them out for walks, but even then Hyuse remained pretty quiet. All they had done for the last two weeks was read Kaneshiro’s binder (though that was mostly Hyuse), memorize the answer key for the written portion, and watch TV.

The noise begins to die down, and she raises her head to look at the stage in the center of the arena. A man walks out, with bright yellow hair styled into a tall spike and big yellow sunglasses. 

U.A Faculty: Present Mic

Present Mic is a Pro Hero who teaches English at U.A. His quirk, Voice, allows him to manipulate the volume of his voice in order to let out sound-based attacks. Despite the simplicity of his Quirk, it is also extremely powerful, with few Villains used to defending against sound based attacks. His lighthearted demeanor hides a rational, quick thinking mind. He is also the host of a popular Hero centered radio show. 

“HELLOOOOO EVERYONE! Welcome one and all to my live show! Everybody say HEY!” Chika grimaces at the intensity of his voice, reaching to cover her ears. He throws his arms out, a wide grin spread across his face. The arena remains deathly silent. “I’ve got shivers down my spine too, listeners!

“All right, examinees, I’m gonna give you the low-down on how this’ll go down! Are you ready?” He takes a deep breath and Chika curls further into her seat, pressing her hands flat against her head. “YEAAAAAAAAH!” 

The arena remains silent. Unfazed, Present Mic continues speaking. “Now pay close attention, listeners! We’ll be testing your mettle by running a ten-minute practice run at our replica city-district! You can take whatever you like! Everybody gathers at the designated meeting area after the presentation, ya dig?”

“We’ll be sprinkling a large number of “Villains” over the battlefield.” He makes a wide gesture at the screen behind him. It displays the three robots, looking the exact same as they did in the presentation Kaneshiro had shown them yesterday. “And they’ll appear in three different varieties, with point values scaled according to difficulty! Using each of your individual quirks, dispatch as many “Villains" as you can Your goal, listeners, is to rack up a high score! And don’t think about directly attacking any other competitors or any of that nasty anti-hero stuff, because that’s against the rules, capisce?”

She takes a deep breath. Robots, a fake training area, and even a point based system. It’s a lot like a Border training exercise, thankfully. If she tries hard enough, maybe she can pretend this is all just an elaborate drill.

Someone a few rows ahead bolts up and throws his hand into the air. “Excuse me, may I ask a question!?” Without waiting for an answer, he continues. “On the hand-out, there are clearly four types of villains listed! Such an error would be the height of embarrassment for a top tier national academy of U.A’s caliber! The reason we are seated here today is because we seek guidance on the path to becoming model heroes!”

Chika tries not to stare too hard at the back of his head. Hyuse lets out a quiet groan next to her.

“Moreover, what’s with you? Yeah, you, curly-haired kid!” He jabs his finger in the direction of a green haired boy. “Can’t you sit still for a second? You’re distracting! If you think U.A is some pleasure jaunt, then leave this place at once!” 

She sinks a little further into her chair. She really, really hopes that guy isn’t in their class.

“Okay, okay.” Present Mic waves his hands. “Thanks for the segway, examinee 7111! The fourth type of villain you’ll encounter is worth zero points! Let’s call them “arena traps”! Have any of you ever played ‘Super Mario Brothers’ before? You remember those things that’d go thwomp on you!? There’s a thing like that in each area! A ‘gimmick’ that’ll rampage in close quarters!

“Well, that’s enough from me. I’ll leave you all with a presentation on the ‘school precepts’ of this academy of mine! As a certain ‘hero’ by the name of Napoleon Bonaparte once said: "A true hero never stops overcoming the misfortunes in life!” His grin grows impossibly wider. “Now, let’s move on to the main event. Plus Ultra! And may you all gladly suffer the trials to come!”

The arena finally erupts into noise, excited chatter washing over the crowd as people rush towards their designated areas. She follows after Hyuse, sticking close to him as the crowd pushes and shoves around them. They pause at the split in the path. Hyuse has to go left, and she has to go right.

“Good luck,” Hyuse says. She smiles at him, gripping her hands tight to stop them from shaking. He pauses for a moment, the two standing there in awkward silence, even as students push past them in streams. She shoots another glance towards the pathway that leads to her area. When she looks back, Hyuse’s first is raised in front of her.

She stares at it for a moment, before it clicks. Raising her own fist, she taps it against his. 

“You too,” she says. Hyuse grunts and turns, walking away. She watches him for a second before taking a deep breath and doing the same. 

She breathes in and out, trying to calm her racing heart. Just think of it as a normal training exercise. That’s all it is. She’s standing here, with her fellow snipers, waiting for the go signal to start the exercise. All it is is a basic training exercise. One with little consequences, in a familiar trion zone. Not a test of any kind, not surrounded by people whose dreams are riding on this exam, not stealing someone else’s spot for her own selfish needs--She shakes her head. Snap out of it, she tells herself. You can’t keep spiraling like this. 

Scanning the city around her, she picks out sniping spots and escape routes in her head. A building at the leftmost part of the map towers high above the rest. Then again, the time limit on the test is much shorter than the Rank Wars. Perhaps she should stick to a smaller building? (Not as if it mattered, with her sniping abilities taken away from her.)  Maybe Touma would get her from eight-hundred meters this time. Maybe she’ll be able to get him, for once. And they’ll ea--

“AAAAND START!” 

Her heart stops for a moment and she starts running, too caught up in her own world to notice the other examinees haven’t moved an inch except for the blonde she bumped into earlier. She spins to the left to try to get to the leftmost building but a robot crashes through the buildings and charges into her path. It towers over her, big as Tamakoma headquarters. Its shadow blots out the sun behind it and she swallows. Though she paid attention during Present Mic’s speech, hearing about them is different from seeing them. 

She summons a shield at the same time she lets off a Hound and it tears through the robot as if it’s made of paper, bringing it down faster than she can blink. With a loud groan, the metal structure collapses to the ground. The motion is familiar, comfortable, and she’s back at Border surrounded by her friends and people she knows. She hears the sound of another robot and she runs, the rhythm of her feet hitting the ground in tune with the beating of her heart.

She turns, making a beeline for a vantage point she spotted earlier. Another robot bursts into her path but her reaction comes with ease this time, Trion slamming into the robot and ripping it to shreds. Heart pounding, she reaches for her Bagworm, only to be met by air.

Continuing to make her way to the vantage point, she destroys any robot that comes across her path. The bullet barrages soar from her fingertips with practiced ease, ripping through target after target.

As she turns into an alleyway, she sees a purple haired guy struggling under the weight of a robot's arm. He pushes against it, face gritted in anger, but his feet dig into the ground. 

He spots her. Spinning around, he shoves uselessly at the arm crushing him to the ground. For a second, the cube above her hovers in the air. She knows that it shouldn’t mean anything. He doesn’t have the Quirk to defeat robots, and all she’s doing is saving him. Helping him out. But she’s also stealing his points, just like how she hears the other snipers complain about Touma, but--

The robot pushes him further against the ground and she shoots. Torn to shreds, its broken husk collapses onto the ground. The guy turns to her. He wipes the sweat off his face, eyebrows furrowed. When he sees her, his gaze darkens as he stares a hole into her forehead. Silence settles over them as she stands there, mouth welded shut with anxiety. She can sense the resentment oozing off of him. Her heart starts hammering, hands growing clammy as she watches him. 

“I’m sorry,” she blurts.

He opens his mouth, but shuts it after a moment, his face contorting.  With a scoff, he walks away.

As she leaves, a yelp of panic draws her attention and she spins to see a girl with dark purple hair seconds away from getting hit by a robot arm. She whips out a shield and blocks the attack. Firing off a Hound, she explodes it into pieces. 

The girl turns to her, eyes wide and sparkling. “Thank you!”

Chika jolts and gives her a tiny wave. “Er, you’re welcome.” She tries not to stare too hard at the strings of flesh dangling from the girl’s ears. 

The girl waves, running off in a different direction. 

Just as she lowers her hand, the ground erupts underneath her and she stumbles forward. She hits the ground with a thump, rolling onto her side as the impact sends slight pain down her body. Absently rubbing at her stomach, she turns to the source of the explosion. All thought of injury flies from her head. A robot towers over her and she steps back, slipping on a stray piece of rubble and falling back to her knees. The robot raises a giant foot and she summons a fixed shield, bracing for impact.

The impact never comes.

Instead, the robot places its foot a few feet away from her, still towering above her but not moving an inch. It walks away from her, almost gently. Almost. She can still feel the shudders of the ground buckling next to her. Taking a deep breath, she stands up and steps out of the wreckage of the crumbled building to see the robot stomping towards the other contestants, all of whom are running for their lives. She breathes a sigh of relief. 

Less than a minute later, an announcement blares through the fake city. 

“THE TEST IS OVER!!”

-

Yokumiru drums his fingers on the steering wheel, glancing back and forth from the cake in the passenger seat to his phone. The blank screen taunts him, as if daring him to open it and check. Not like anything would have changed, considering it's only been a couple minutes since his last text sent. 

A knock on the door snaps him out of his thoughts. He glances over to see Amatori waving at him, a small smile on her face. He unlocks the door and the two crawl inside the car. 

“How was it?” he asks. Some part of him dreads the inevitable answer. He knows the two are probably stronger than most of the other participants. He knows that they want to pass, in order for the Commission to cooperate with them. Even so, being forced to work with the Commission is nearly a crueler fate. 

“Good,” Hyuse responds. “It’s frankly astounding how ill prepared most of the test participants were.”

Yokumiru starts the car. “Most of them never received formal training.”

“Considering the importance everyone places on becoming a Hero here, you’d think that they would put a little more effort into training,” Hyuse says. “Still, it’s good for us.”

“How about you, Amatori?” Yokumiru asks. 

“It went well.” She pauses for a long moment. “What happens when someone doesn’t pass the entrance exam?”

“Well, they might end up in a general ed department depending on their written scores and quirk. Sometimes they get a better offer from a different school and head there. There are a lot of options for people who don’t get in. And anyway, once you guys leave, they’ll move students around to fill your spots. Don’t worry.”

After he unlocks the door to the apartment, he half hopes when he turns around to see air where two kids should be. But they’re still there, looking at him expectantly. Sighing, he swings the door wide open and motions for them to head inside. “I need to grab something from the car,” he says.

He pulls a cardboard box out of the passenger seat, two elaborate cupcakes neatly secured inside. His grip tightens involuntary, crushing the box a little as he walks back into the apartment. Shutting the door behind him, he sets the box onto the center of the table.

Both Amatori and Hyuse stare at him, each looking a bit stupefied. “A congratulations gift,” he explains. He makes a vague gesture at the box. “Help yourselves.” When they continue to stand there, staring at him, he adds, “They’re from my favorite bakery.” He neglects to mention it’s been years since he last went. 

When they continue to remain silent, he shuffles over the kitchen and grabs two plates and two forks. He sets them down in front of them, trying not to seem any more awkward than he feels. 

Finally, finally, Amatori moves. She sits down, opening the box and carefully pulling out one of the cupcakes. “Thank you, Mera.” She smiles up at him and he nods, glancing away from her wide, sparkling eyes. Hyuse sits down too, face contorted as he looks at his cupcake as if it had personally betrayed him. Still, he picks up his fork and takes a bite 

He stares at the message on his phone as the two eat, both of them with smiles on their faces. Well, for Hyuse, it was more of a millimeter twitch upward in his mouth, but still. Their smiles are almost enough to reduce the impact of the message. 

We're not letting you access the case. You don't have any legal connection to him anymore. 

"Crap," he mutters, running a hand down his face. 

"Mera?" He glances up to see both Chika and Hyuse staring at him. "Are you alright?" Chika asks. 

He sighs. "I'm managing." A lie, sort of. He knows it won't comfort her, but he still wants to try. "Just some personal issues." 

Hyuse raises an eyebrow. "Are you sure you're suited to being a guardian in your state? You're constantly busy."

Mera blinks. Once, twice. And then, a noise bursts out of his mouth. He realizes a few seconds later it's a laugh. "Thanks for your concern."

Chika giggles and Hyuse lets out a noise of indignation, probably, knowing him. “I was not concerned for your state, but for ours.” Mera knows better than to take it to heart. He’s met kids who act like Hyuse. Although, most of them were under the age of sixteen. 

“Of course.” He stands up. “I have some paperwork I need to finish.” He pauses, looking at the two. They’re staring up at him, Amtatori with a look of concern and Hyuse with a look of concern that can be mistaken for annoyance. It might be the fact he's sleep deprived, or the recent news, but he blurts out, "Don't stay up too late."

The two blink. Amatori responds instantly. "We won't!" She chirps, a wide smile on her face. Hyuse stares at him for a second, and no response comes out of his mouth. Mera didn't really expect one anyway.

He leaves the apartment, making sure to lock the door behind him. With a sigh, he pulls out his phone. The offending message remains, taunting him. He knows, logically, that he should ask to be removed from the case. Emotional attachments are never a good thing when it comes to dealing with Commission assignments. 

With a groan, he resigns himself to his fate. He's never been a logical person anyway.

-

Keigo watches as Amatori and Hyuse dig into a bowl of fried chicken, Amatori dipping it in far too much hot sauce to be healthy and Hyuse giving her the side eye as he does the exact opposite, eating it without any sauce at all. You couldn’t find two more different people if you tried. Keigo snorts when Hyuse tries a tiny bit of the sauce and his face instantly flushes bright red. He glares at him as he swallows down a cup of water. ‘What?” He asks, the intimidating factor neutralized by the hoarseness of his voice.

“Nothing,” Keigo covers his grin with a wing. “You two enjoying yourselves?”

Amatori nods, her eyes sparkling. “It’s nice to get out of the apartment for once. Thank you, Hawks!” She smiles, almost blinding Keigo. 

“I’m surprised the Commission allowed you to take us out,” Hyuse says. He wipes his mouth with a napkin. “Aren’t they worried?”

Keigo laughs. “Not at  all. I could take the two of you in a fight any day.” He doesn’t mention that he wouldn’t have the will to harm Amatori. Hyuse he might feel a little less guilty about. “Plus, you seriously think they aren’t monitoring us?”

Hyuse frowns. “They probably are, but I haven’t noticed anyone following us yet.” He crosses his arms. “It’s impossible to know, with the amount of possible quirks that they could have access to.”

Keigo hums. “You’re a smart kid, y’know. Has anyone ever told you that?”

Hyuse bristles, whipping his head around to glare at him. “I don’t appreciate your jokes.”

“Whoa, whoa.” He leans back in his chair and raises his hands in the air. “I was being serious.”

Hyuse doesn’t respond, instead drilling a hole into Keigo with his gaze, something that happens far too often. According to Amatori, he reminds him of someone they used to know back in their home world. Keigo pities the poor guy. “So,” he says, changing the subject, “are you guys looking forward to U.A?”

“No,” Hyuse responds before Amatori even opens her mouth. “But we have no other choice.” 

Keigo raises an eyebrow. Huh. “Really? I thought a guy like you would be excited to prove himself against the top teens in our world.”

Hyuse sighs. “Excited to prove myself against a bunch of untrained teens dressed in spandex? Please.” Ah, that makes more sense.

“I wouldn’t underestimate them if I were you.” He grins. “There’s usually some pretty impressive kids. Even if they are dressed in spandex. I can’t defend that. What about you, Amatori-chan?”

She flushes slightly at the sudden attention. “Er, I’m a little nervous. If there’s going to be fights or anything, I don’t know how I’ll…” she pauses, glancing around. “It’ll be hard to fight people.”

Right. Mera mentioned something about her aversion to fighting people. Keigo opens his mouth but stops. With his typical aloof air, he says, “Well, I’m sure you’ll do great.” He grins at her. She doesn’t smile back, only giving a weak nod. “Say, what are the two of you going to do for your hero costumes?”

“We already have designs in mind. You’ll see them eventually, so there’s no need to tell you now.” Hyuse picks up another chicken leg and starts eating it.

Keigo places a hand over his chest, pretending to faint in his chair. “So cruel! I even bought you guys fried chicken.” He hears Amatori giggle and Hyuse let out a quiet groan. Sitting back up, he bows. Amatori laughs and Hyuse sighs into his chicken. “Thank you, thank you.”

“Hawks, I’ve been wondering,” Amatori blurts after a few minutes of silence. “How’d you get involved with the Commission?” 

His eyes widen. He expected Hyuse to be the one to ask that question, not her. “They scouted me when I was a kid,” he says. “Not much to it.” An understatement, to say the least.

“How’d they find you?” Amatori asks, genuine curiosity brimming in  her eyes. Something akin to worry, too. It’s strange, being pitied by a fourteen year old who probably couldn’t hurt a fly.

“That’s a story for another day!” Hawks chirps, shooting them a grin. 

“They probably discovered him through an incident that required government intervention or through a routine comb through that tested people’s power,” Hyuse says. Keigo tries not to flinch, but judging by the look Hyuse gives him, it doesn't work. “I was found through a routine comb-through, but one of the recruits I met was discovered when he got involved with a street brawl. It’s strange, though, that he’s the only one so far. The Commission must have been doing this for decades. They must have found a lot of kids with potential at this point.” 

Amatori blinks. “I wanted to hear it from Hawks himself, though.” She glances at him. “Sorry. Hyuse can be pretty blunt at times.”

Keigo closes and opens his mouth. Nothing he can think of to say conveys his reaction properly, so all he says is, “It’s alright.” Keigo laughs and ruffles Hyuse’s hair as best as he can with his horns in the way. “Man, you sure are a weird kid.”

Hyuse glares at him. “Don’t touch my hair.”

“Sorry, sorry.” Keigo leans back. “Say, it’s getting pretty late. I should drop you guys off at the apartment before Mera gets mad at me.” He stands up and they do the same, Hyuse dusting the crumbs off his shirt. “Do you guys wanna take a cab? Or,” he grins wide, relishing in the way Hyuse grimaces and Amatori leans forward expectantly, “would you like me to fly you guys back?”

Hyuse freezes. “You’re kidding.” 

“Nope!” Keigo laughs. “C’mon, it’ll be fun!” Amatori nods, looking at Hyuse with pleading eyes.

“If I wanted to, I could just fly myself. I don’t need you to carry me.” Hyuse crosses his arms. “We shouldn’t anyways. It’ll attract too much attention.”

Keigo’s grin widens. “Oh? You can fly? Wanna race?” 

Hyuse glares at him. “Don’t be juvenile.”

“I mean, I suppose you’d lose anyway, so there’s no need in trying.” 

His eyebrow twitches. Gotcha. “Well, if Chika doesn’t mind, then I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.”

You don’t have any right to talk about juvenile, Keigo thinks to himself, still smiling. “Amatori?”

“Sure!” She exclaims. “It’d be fun.” 

“Is it alright if I carry you, then?” He asks. She nods. “Alright. Follow me!” He leads them to the balcony of the restaurant/ By now, the owner is used to his antics. The setting sun casts oranges and reds over the city. Picking Amatori up with both his arms, he adjusts her so she’s as comfortable as he can make her. 

He jumps onto the railing and Hyuse does the same. “One,” he braces his legs, unfurling his wings, “Two, Three!”

Launching off the balcony, Keigo lets out a whoop as he whizzes through the air, wings flapping. A path of metal shards swirl ahead of him. He glances back to see Hyuse less than ten feet behind him, a look in his eyes that could kill a lesser person and metal wings growing out of his back. 

“You’re pretty fast, kid,” he shouts, covering Amatori’s ears. “Let's see if you can keep up with this!” He lets out a burst of speed, putting a decent amount of distance between them. “You alright?” He asks her, uncovering her ears. She nods, a wide smile on her face.

“This is fun!” She says, voice eaten up by the rushing wind. “The city looks so pretty from up here.”

The path of metal shards appears again in Hawks’ peripheral vision and he looks over his shoulder to see Hyuse catching up to him. “Wow, he’s pretty fast.” Still no match for me, though. 

They reach the apartment in no time at all. Just as Hyuse is about to land, Keigo increases his speed, touching down just before he can. “Looks like I won this time, Hyuse-kun.”

“You were going easy on me, weren’t you?” Hyuse asks. “Even I know when to admit I don’t stand a chance.” He sighs. 

Keigo sets Amatori down. Her hair is ruffled beyond recognition, but she’s got a huge grin on her face. “Thank you, Hawks!” 

“Course.” He stretches. “Well, I should get going. See you around, eh?”

“Amatori, Hyuse.” Kaneshiro’s voice calls out to them from the staircase. Keigo tries not to roll his eyes. “Oh, you.” Her voice drops an octave. She saunters over to them, holding a bag in her hand. 

“Just you? Aren’t you going to greet me by name?” Hawks beams at her and she glares back.

“Please, you’re younger than me. I don’t need to show respect to you.” She appraises Amatori and Hyuse’s appearances. “Did you take them flying?”

He crosses his arms, bracing for another classic Kaneshiro lecture. She couldn’t go a day without scolding him for something or another. “So what?”

Ignoring him, she hands the bag to Hyuse. “Here. Some old video games and consoles I had lying around. Figured you would need some entertainment. I’ve already prepped next week’s meals for you guys. It’s all in the refrigerator. Yo--Mera’s out, overworking himself like always.”

“Thank you, Kaneshiro!” Amatori exclaims, beaming at her. 

“Thank you.” Hyuse nods at her, taking the bag without any protest. Keigo tries not to gawk. Hyuse, thanking someone? Thanking a member of the Hero Commission? Thanking her?

Kaneshiro smiles at them. A genuine smile, not that stupid PR one she gives him all the time. “You’re welcome.” She shoots him a dirty look before spinning on her heel and walking away. 

As he tracks her retreating back, a realization strikes him. She lives here? Here? He’d always imagined her in some fancy high-rise apartment. He turns to the two of them. “Is she always that nice?”

Hyuse frowns at him, his somewhat amicable expression morphing right back into one of annoyance. “Yes. Why wouldn’t she be?”

Keigo opens and shuts his mouth uselessly. Eventually, he gives up on formulating his thoughts, letting out a long sigh. “I will never understand that woman,” he mutters.

The two kids step into the apartment, Amatori waving until Hyuse shuts the door behind her.