"Excitement."
I pulled my ears up and raised my tail.
"Curiosity."
I tilted my head to the side.
"Sadness."
I flattened my ears, holding my head perpendicular to the ground.
"Anger."
Keeping my ears flattened I drew back my head, tucking my tail and expanding my wings.
"Very good." Dr. Kawaguchi told me. "With enough practice, you won't have to consciously think about it, the correct response will simply come to you naturally.
"I think that's already been happening." I confessed. "I've started to notice that it's been happening involuntarily."
"Then you have been progressing even faster than I could have expected." She gave me a bright, reassuring smile. "But that's enough of that for today."
"What's next?" I said, suppressing a yawn. It had been a long day.
"You've told me about your experiences at UA already, but I'd like to hear more about what you thought of it. Last time we talked about your expectations, going in. We'll start off with anything positive that surprised you at UA?"
"Dealing with my classmates." I said after a moment of consideration. "It's, well, it's been easier than I had thought. Everyone's more mature, and things aren't constantly moving at lightning speed. I don't feel like I'm being judged for being a little withdrawn."
"That's often how it is, growing up." She said. "What about negatives? Any unpleasant surprises?"
"Well embarrassing myself in front of the entire class doesn't really qualify because I pretty much saw that one coming. But there was one thing. I don't know if it's just because, you know, first day of school and all that, but I got the sense that UA likes keeping us in the dark. On saturday we had a big Quirk test right out of the blue. Today we had battle training under All-Might, with no warning. And tomorrow we're going on a class trip, and we don't even know where we're going. I don't like that."
"You like routine, and knowing what's coming, so that you can mentally prepare for it."
"Yeah."
"Well, undoubtedly it will be at its most difficult in the beginning, when you haven't yet gotten a feel for how UA does things. It will get easier. But in the meanwhile, have you tried asking your homeroom teacher? It would be perfectly appropriate for Class Vice-President to inquire about an upcoming class trip."
"Um, no, I haven't." I admitted, a little bit embarrassed. "The whole thing still feels so new to me. I…" I wasn't sure how to put my thoughts into words. I had told Pony I would accept it, with all the confidence I could muster, but in truth I was still of two minds about it. I had my doubts about my suitability for the role, and I dreaded the responsibility that came from it.
But those were all things that I needed to work on, weren't they? In becoming a Pro-Hero a vast amount of responsibility would be placed upon my shoulders, and my self-doubts were the reason I failed in the Battle Training scenario.
Like Ryuko said, I needed to confront my shortcomings earlier rather than later, while I could still do so in a safe environment. So I'd accepted before I could talk myself out of it, and now there was no going back.
"I don't really know how to feel about it." Was what I ended up saying aloud. "Can we open that can of worms some other time? I have one big issue I wanted to talk about, and it's getting late."
I was starting to feel my eyelids inexorably slipping downwards. Sleep beckoned, and I wasn't going to be able to hold it back for long.
"Absolutely." She replied immediately. "These sessions are for your benefit alone."
I nodded, taking a few moments to find the right words. "During the exercise today, I made an observation. Before getting into UA, I trained extensively with Ryuko in using my Quirk in a fight. I never thought that was anything special, until today. In hindsight it seems obvious, but I noticed… I noticed most of my classmates weren't very good at using their Quirks in a fight."
Dr. Kawaguchi leaned in, intrigued.
"Even just saying that aloud sounds really arrogant, especially because I lost, but it's the truth. They were brilliant in their own ways, and most of them knew how to fight, they just… most of them had very little experience fighting using their Quirks. They didn't have the luxury of a Pro-Hero to train and spar with them."
"So you started to wonder about your own circumstances?"
"Yeah. And… and more specifically it made me think of Fujiwara. I started to think… could he have been on to something?" I said, giving voice to the thoughts that had been gnawing at me the whole day. "Do those coming from Hero families really have an unfair advantage over those who don't?"
I'd considered going to Ryuko with this, but I wanted an outside opinion, from someone impartial. And as much as I loved my sister, she was neither of those things.
"I see." She began, folding her arms on her lap. "I cannot tell you whether you are right or wrong. I can only advice you to consider the matter in a vacuum. Detach the idea from Fujiwara, because he does not own it. No matter what, his actions were unequivocally wrong. Do not let him taint an idea just because he advocated for it."
I sighed. "I don't really know what to think, to be honest. On the one hand, it doesn't seem fair that some have the opportunity to receive proper training in a key area to being admitted to a Hero School. But at the same time, you can't just tell them to stop giving advice to their family members, you know?"
"Dragging everyone down to the same level doesn't seem right either?"
"Exactly. It's… it's more like everyone should have an opportunity to excel, regardless of where they came from. Instead of banning training, it should be made more available."
-----
Come the next morning I arrived at the gates of the UA campus only to find the path blocked. A mass of people crowded before the gates, and as I got closer I began to pick out words.
"What is it like to have All-Might as a teacher?"
"Channel Nine here, what's your opinion on-"
"Do you ever get afraid of being-
Dozens upon dozens of reporters and cameramen were standing in front of the gates, barring access to the students arriving to school. I could see several of my classmates trying to get past the reporters, but they refused to shift.
I swallowed the lump that had been building in my throat. It seemed like my first brush with the media would come even sooner than I had ever feared. But it didn't matter. I had a duty to fulfill.
As I drew closer a hush settled among the gathering, my towering silhouette easily visible over the crowd. I made my way through the mass of students, coming face to face with the reporters, and immediately had several mics shoved into my face.
"Are you a teacher?"
"What is it like-"
I ignored the questions as I stared down the reporter in front of me.
"I am going to have to ask you to move aside." I usually made an effort to avoid intimidating people, subtle cues taught by Ryuko and Dr. Kawaguchi. Keeping my head low and wings folded in order to appear smaller, holding my tail upright, moving with deliberate, careful motions, using my ears to communicate. I made no such effort now, drawing myself to my full height, leaning forward and glaring down at the man in front of me.
For a moment, nobody moved. I kept staring, unblinking.
Then the man's nerve broke and he stumbled aside in a hurry.
"Thank you."
I forged onwards, my bulk serving to carve a path through the reporter crowd to the gates, and my fellow students followed in short order.
I diverged from the usual path to our homeroom, finding a secluded hallway. I glanced around until I was confident nobody was around to see me, and then leaned against the wall, the structure creaking under my weight.
That had not been as easy as it had looked.
But I had done it. That was the important part.
I remained there for a few moments, gathering my strength, before pushing myself off the wall and resuming my journey towards 1-B's homeroom.
"What's this about?" I surveyed the scene in front of me as I entered the classroom.
Kendo and, uh, Shishida? The guy who looked like a werewolf, were sat on either side of a desk, arms locked.
"They're armwrestling." Yosetsu supplied.
"Thank you" I replied. "Why are they armwrestling?"
"Well, Tetsutetsu and Yoarashi decided to pass the time with a hot-spirited competition of strength."
"Uh-huh." Sure, that I could see. "Where'd they go, and how did Kendo get involved? Doesn't seem like her."
"Well, Tetsutetsu won so he proclaimed himself the class armwrestling champion, and that nobody could beat him. So Kendo took him up on that, and literally threw him off his seat. Then Monoma challenged her and lost too, so now he's sulking." The boy indicated to the back of the class where, sure enough, the blonde was browsing his phone, expression sullen. "Then Shishida challenged Kendo, and that's where we're standing at right now."
As he spoke, Kendo forced Shishida's arm down, slamming it into the table. The furred boy groaned but vacated the seat, and Tokage stepped up to take his place.
"Well, as long as they finish and get back to their proper seats before Vlad King gets here, it shouldn't be an issue." I said, after a moment's consideration.
"What, not going to take your turn at the table?"
I turned to look at Awase. "That would hardly be fair. I outmass the rest of 1-B combined. I can't exactly turn off my Quirk."
"Then make it a Quirk Armwrestling duel!"
"And wreck the classroom? No thanks."
I settled down on my desk to wait for class to start, getting my desk in order. The armwrestling match seemed to be dying down, with Kendo as the uncontested winner. With no more challengers, she walked over to me.
"Good job with the reporters." She flashed me a thumbs-up. "They wouldn't listen to me so I was going to call the teachers, but you resolved the situation. I knew you could do it!"
We talked for a few more minutes, about Class President business, before the clock ran out and she had to take her own seat before Vlad King arrived.
He got straight into business, walking in front of his desk.
"I have reviewed your performances yesterday, taking into account video footage and All-Might's notes. You have done well, but all of you have room to improve."
He then began going over each student in turn. Awase required more hand to hand training. Komori needed to work on her confidence. Yui had to communicate more with her teammate.
"Tatsuma. You spar with your sister, correct?" At my nod, he went on. "Describe the rules and circumstances of the sparring, please."
"Um, open field, Quirk use is allowed, first one to pin the other to the ground wins?"
"Damn, that sounds awesome." I heard somebody whisper in the background. Tetsutetsu, I think.
Vlad King ignored them. "It's a good basis from which to work forward from, but we'll need to focus your training on how to fight and safely incapacitate human-sized opponents, as well as enclosed spaces."
I nodded, it made sense. I expected him to say something more, but I supposed All-Might's lecture had been sufficient, and he moved on to talking to Tsuburaba about strengthening his Quirk.
Eventually he had covered everyone, and the topic turned to today's lesson.
"We will travel via bus to the training site, due to the distance. Kendo, you are in charge of getting everyone seated."
"Umm… how will Tatsuma be getting there?" Kendo asked. Unless they got me a special bus all for myself...
"An excellent question. Tatsuma will be making her own way to the training site."
I felt my ears perk up in excitement as I realized what he meant. "I will be following the bus from the air?"
"Yes. You will maintain an altitude of no more than one hundred meters, and remain in eye contact with the bus at all times."
"Understood."
"Now, all of you have the option of using your Hero costume instead of the gym uniform if you wish to. Today's exercises include rescue training in field conditions, so consider if your costume is suitable for it. In either case, get yourselves ready and meet me at the front doors in fifteen minutes."
-----
I took off with a beat of my wings, leaping into the air. No matter how many times I did it, nothing ever beat the freedom of being in the air. I tucked in my limbs and gained speed, following the bus along the road.
I could make out awed faces looking out of the windows as I became visible. I resisted the urge to show off, and concentrated on maintaining my altitude and relative position to the bus. Violating Vlad King's trust would surely lead to a much more boring trip come next time.
The training site was a huge dome, stretching hundreds of meters into the air. The diameter must have been absurd, just from a cursory look.
I landed on the parking lot, claws digging into the dirt.
"That was so cool!" Pony exclaimed as she ran over. "You have to give me a ride one day!"
"Uh, maybe."
As the class piled out of the bus, a man in what looked like a space suit complete with a bulbous, darkened visor, approached us from the direction of the main doors.
"Welcome, welcome!"
"It's Thirteen!" Pony cried out.
"Who?" I asked her.
"Don't you know him? He's the Space Hero: Thirteen! Specializing in rescue operations!"
"Huh. I guess it makes sense he'd be here today, then."
Thirteen lead us inside the dome, spreading his arms wide as we entered, with me awkwardly ducking through the doorframe.
"This is the Rescue Training Center! Or as I like to call it, the Unforeseen Simulation Joint!"
The place was just as gargantuan as it looked from the outside. There were forests, rocky hills, urban cityscapes, and even an entire lake, with a luxury yacht in the middle of it all.
"It is capable of covering all the necessities of Rescue Hero Training! But before we begin, I have something I would like to talk about."
"The floor is yours, Thirteen." Vlad King told him.
"As I'm sure some of you are aware, my Quirk is called "Black Hole". It can suck in and tear apart anything." Thirteen began, a tinny, artificial voice coming out of his helmet.
"I have turned this power towards rescuing people from disasters, but it could just as easily kill and destroy. I have no doubt many of you possess similar abilities. In our super-powered society, the use of Quirks is heavily restricted and monitored. It may seem that this system is a stable one. But we must never forget that it only takes one wrong move with an uncontrollable Quirk for people to die."
I would have grimaced if I still could have. He had a point. I thought back, thinking of gunshots and a man pinned beneath my claws. I shook my head, focusing back to the speech.
"On your first day, you learned of your own potential. On your second day, you began to learn how to apply it in battle, and the danger it can represent to others. In this class, however, you will learn another perspective! You will learn how to utilize your Quirks to save lives. Your powers are not meant to inflict harm. I hope you leave here today with the understanding that you're meant to help people. That is all. Thank you for listening!" Thirteen bowed deeply, to the sound of enthusiastic applause from the class.
"Great. Now, to start us off, let's lay down some ground rules." Vlad King began.
"Ah, yes!" Thirteen raised a finger. "While the facility is as safe as I could make it without compromising its purpose, there is always a chance of an accident. Therefore, I must ask that you do not stray away from the exercise area currently in use, and always obey instructions from myself or Vlad King."
"We will be visiting each of the four zones in turn. Landslide and Shipwreck zones first, then a lunch break, followed by Conflagration and Storm zones." Vlad King listed off.
"You will receive training in how to utilize your Quirks in rescue missions under different conditions. We will use these to simulate civilians in need of help!" Thirteen held up a life-size dummy, not dissimilar to the ones I'd seen back in my time, only with a bit more electronic equipment. "They may be inanimate, but they are equipped with sensitive systems to provide a degree of realism. Treat them as you would real civilians!"
Some time later, we found ourselves near the Landslide zone, concrete buildings upturned and halfway buried in the dirt. As I stood there waiting, I saw Monoma walking towards me.
"Could I ask to borrow your Quirk for the duration of the exercise? I believe doubling up on our physically strongest Quirk would be the most useful contribution I could make."
"Are you sure mine is what you want?" I tilted my head. "Does your Quirk help you acclimate to what you copy? Because otherwise you'll have a hard time dealing with a completely different body structure."
"It does, up to a point. Not instant mastery, but enough to get me by. And I've gotten quite good at adapting."
"Still, wouldn't Shishida's be more useful? You would at least retain humanoid shape."
"Ah, his Quirk possesses a certain drawback. It releases a chemical rush into his system when the transformation is activated, causing a state of heightened emotion and somewhat impaired judgement."
"Well, knock yourself out." I shrugged my wings. "I can offer some tips, but don't expect me to babysit you."
"I would not dream of it."
He gently laid a hand on my scales, and was enveloped in a familiar flash of energy.
Watching the transformation… it brought back memories. A longing that I'd pushed into the back of my mind.
Within moments there was a second dragon standing in the field. Compared to my white-grey colouration his scales shimmered in shades of yellow, growing darker around his stomach and wings. I also noticed Monoma's dragon form didn't quite stand at eye level with me, being a fraction smaller and slimmer than mine.
I saw him flex his clawed forelimbs experimentally,
"Wow. Is this how you feel all the time?"
"What do you mean?"
"This… feeling of power. It's like a furnace is burning in my chest." He marveled. "And it's suddenly all so sharp."
"Eh. You get used to it."
"Even the sense of touch? Everything's… muffled." He said, running a claw along the ground.
"It does suck, but it's also comforting. Having a layer of nigh-invulnerable scales between you and the world, I mean."
Monoma gave me an inscrutable look, before averting his gaze.
"I suppose."
And then there was no more time for talking. We were spread out to work in small groups, assigning at least one sensory Quirk per team. Kuroiro slipped into the cracks in the rubble, coming back to inform Tetsutetsu where to dig, with Awase standing by to reinforce the broken concrete to ensure it didn't collapse. Tokage located the dummies using her detached eyes and ears, before Honenuki softened the ground and dived into it like it was water. Shiozaki's vines crept through tiny openings, feeling for the dummies before relaying their position for Kendo to dig out. Shishida was a one-man rescue crew, his sensitive nose locating his targets before digging them out with his prodigious strength.
Like him I didn't need a teammate, though Monoma stuck close by to renew his borrowed Quirk. Thirteen hadn't been kidding about the dummies, they were designed with chemical dispensers that gave them a smell similar to a human's body odour, some of them were fitted with voice modules that called out for help, and they even had systems for simulating heartbeat and breathing.
So I spent the next two hours with my ears pressed into the ground, listening for the signs of another dummy, before using my claws to excavate them. If I handled them too roughly they'd chime an alarm, and instruct me to be more careful. Vlad King and Thirteen wandered around the Landslide zone, offering advice and criticism.
The constant concentration was taxing, but physically the rescue training was easy. For me anyway, I could tell the others were starting to tire, some more than others.
At the two hour mark, Vlad King called a break of fifteen minutes before we moved onto the Shipwreck zone. After a bit of a rest and some water everyone was feeling invigorated again, and we gathered at the beach.
"The most important thing to learn about how to rescue somebody who's drowning, is how to avoid drowning yourself in the process. At that point you have failed to rescue your target, and are in need of another rescuer yourself. A common cause for this is that once a person has entered a blind panic, they may latch on to a would be rescuer and drag them underwater as well. This is why it is always best to approach them from behind and take hold of them, rather than that they take a hold of you. Are you with me so far?"
Everyone nodded along.
"Good. There are rescue dummies floating on the water, and your task is to bring them back to the shore." Vlad King held up a stopwatch. "Your time starts-"
"Wait, we're supposed to go swim like this?" Monoma asked.
Vlad King stepped in front of him in a flash, eyes smouldering.
"And?"
"...And we'll get… wet?"
"An astute observation."
"Am I to understand that you consider yourself too good to get your clothes wet?" Vlad King directed an absolutely scorching look at Monoma. "That your comfort is secondary to rescuing drowning civilians?"
I was starting to feel a little bad for Monoma by now. He could have worded it better, but this...
"Of course not, I just-"
"Then get to it. I told you to dress appropriately for rescue training." With that he turned away, addressing the class once again. "Any other interruptions? No? Good. Your time starts now."
I had considered my options while we were waiting. I didn't have the aerial maneuverability to pick up a dummy with anything approaching care, and flying so close to the water I'd be creating significant waves. No, I needed to swim over to the dummies.
I eyed the murky water warily, a feeling of dread creeping up my spine. Well. Nothing to it. I just had to cope.
I stepped into the water, careful not to create a wave with my mass, and then got to swimming. Gang Orca's lessons came to mind and I tucked my wings against my body, using my tail to propel myself.
Despite my hesitation costing me a bit of time I rapidly passed most of my classmates. Everyone was using their Quirks where they could: Kendo was using her enlarged hands to front crawl her way forwards, Pony once more used her horns as anchors to draw herself forward, and Tokage was already hovering over the first dummy, lifting it out of the water.
I reached mine only seconds later, grabbing it in my claw and turning around. It helped that most of my propulsion came from my tail, leaving my forelimbs free to hold on to the dummy and keep it above the water.
Just don't look down.
I reached the beach moments later, rushing onto firm land once more. Vlad King raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
The rest of the training in the water passed by in similar fashion. I did my best to spend as little time in the water as possible, and I could tell the others were starting to notice my behaviour.
We were standing on a break by the lake, taking a moment to relax after the intensive training. A car had stopped by from UA to drop us field lunches, and everyone was eating and chatting in small groups.
"So, Tatsuma." Tetsutesu asked, wiping water off of his hair. "I got to ask, are you like… afraid of the water or something?"
"No." I denied immediately.
"She is." Yui's voice suddenly chimed in. With how quiet she could be, it was easy to forget she was there. "During a class trip she found the center of the boat and refused to leave it for anything."
"It was a rickety fishing boat. It could have fallen apart at any moment. I am not afraid of water."
"Prove it." Yui continued prodding. I glanced around, seeing the eyes on me.
"Fine." If that was what it took, fine. I could handle a bit of water. Just before diving under the water, I saw Yui whisper something to Yanagi.
Underwater, the visibility was poor. The rays of sunlight coming from the windowed ceiling overhead pierced into the water, but could not illuminate the entirety of the lake.
My body kept the water around me comfortable warm, and I could hold my breath for an extended period of time. I figured I'd just chill a couple meters under the surface for a few moments, maybe just long enough to make them worry. That'd teach them. I concentrated on that thought, doing my best to avoid thinking about where I was.
It really was dark down here.
Then, I saw something, a tiniest bit of movement in the corner of my eye. I whipped my head around, but it was gone.
I felt a chill running through my spine, and it wasn't from the water temperature. The water was murky, but I was certain I'd seen something.
I tried to calm myself. Just a couple moments, and I'd return to the surface, and I could put this whole stupid thing behind me.
Then I felt something brush against my tail, and spun my head around.
I screamed.
-----
There was a muffled noise coming from the direction of the lake, causing Itsuka Kendo to turn her head towards the waterfront, just in time to see the water's surface be broken by a massive splash. The beat of wings filled the air and a large white shape rocketed into the air and towards the ceiling.
There was a sudden choking noise coming from beside Kendo, and she whipped around to see Yui make a single, undignified snort. By her standards, it was akin to rolling around the grass in laughter.
"What did you do?" Kendo demanded, glancing back up at Tatsuma before returning her gaze to her friend. Many of her classmates had noticed the commotion as well, gathering around.
Yui looked at Yanagi, who lifted her hand and a collection of rocks between the size of a pebble and a basketball burst out of the water, levitating over to the shore. They came to a halt, before rapidly arranging themselves into the distinct outline of a shark. On the surface it was obvious that they were simply rocks, but down in the murky waters...
"Ummm… guys, she's not coming down." Kaibara's voice suddenly interjected.
Everyone's attention returned to the ceiling, where the white-scaled dragon had perched on one of the light fixtures hanging from the metal framework. It was hard to tell, given the distance, but Kendo could've sworn she was shivering as if caught in a cold breeze.
"What are we going to tell Vlad King?"
----
"And I hope that properly demonstrates why phobias are not a matter of cheap comedy, and should never be made light of." Vlad King finished his lecture, his tone positively scathing.
After a while, they had managed to coax me down from the ceiling. The worst of shock had long since worn off, replaced by a deepset feeling of humiliation roiling around in my chest.
"This manner of behaviour is unbecoming of future Heroes, and I am disappointed in both of you." Vlad King went on. "Yanagi, I am letting you off with a warning for now. Kodai, you knew exactly what you were doing. I am assigning you two weeks of detention with Principal Nedzu. Do not let me see you pull a stunt like this ever again."
He let the two suffer his glare for a few more moments, before turning around to address the rest of class. "You have ten more minutes of break left. Use it well. Dismissed."
The others scattered, but as I made to follow Vlad King held up a hand. "Tatsuma. A word, please."
I stopped cold, a chill running through my spine.
"You are not in trouble. If you are up for it, I would simply like to discuss what just happened with you."
I nodded, still apprehensive. "Alright."
"First of all, do you feel up to completing today's exercises? I can grant you leave to skip class and go home early."
"I… I'm fine now." In truth I was still a little shaken up, but I didn't want to miss out on the remainder of the rescue training.
"If you say so, then I trust your judgement." Vlad King nodded. "However, I would still like to address the underlying issue. I noticed during the shipwreck rescue training that you acted skittish around the water. Was that a factor caused by your phobia?"
"I… Yes." I admitted. "I get… nervous around deep water. Swimming pools are fine because the water's clear and I can see with my own two eyes there's nothing in there, but… as soon as I can't, even if rationally I know there can't be anything there, I start to get anxious."
"I see. Your file told me you saw a therapist on a regular basis, have you discussed this issue with them?"
"No, I haven't." I bowed my head. "Well, I've mentioned it, but I haven't talked much about it. I don't think she knows how bad it is."
Vlad King nodded again, accepting my words without judgement. "I would recommend that you do, or if you don't want to talk to your regular psychologist, we have several licensed therapists on staff here at UA and we can schedule an appointment with one of them."
"Can I think about it? I don't really feel up to making a decision like that at the moment."
"Perfectly understandable, take as much time as you need." Vlad King said, giving me a reassuring nod. "Now get back out there, you still have a bit of break left."
I nodded, feeling a little better, and began making my way towards the beach again.
"Man, how can you be afraid of sharks?" Tsuburaba asked incredulously as I returned to the rest of the class.
I sighed. "I'd rather not talk about it."
"I mean, you're a freaking dragon! You could eat a great white for breakfast, lunch and dinner!"
"I said I'd rather not talk about it." I growled from between clenched teeth, my voice physically reverberating through the ground.
Tsubaraba took an involuntary step back, eyes widening and beads of sweat appearing on his skin as the air temperature suddenly spiked to sauna-like levels.
"Right, right, taboo, zip, let us discuss something else!"
The others immersed themselves on various conversations as I laid down on the grass, calming myself down and observing. Pony and Monoma were skipping stones by the beach. Kendo was giving a lecture of her own to Yui and Yanagi.
And Yoarashi was… walking towards me.
"Yo! Tatsuma! I wanted to talk to you about something!"
I braced for another question, or expression of disbelief, or even just an expression of sympathy. But the stream of words that came out of his mouth was none of those things.
"See, I started thinking, after I saw you flying on the way here-"
"If you're asking for a ride, the answer is no."
"What? No, I want you to help me learn how to fly."
"What?"
"See, I can use my wind to propel myself along the ground or in short bursts but every time I try sustained flight I'd lose my balance and spin out. But! I had an idea! See, if I add these tubes to my costume, I could channel the wind through them to keep myself stable!"
"...I'm flattered, but I'm not sure how much help I'd be. My method of flight is completely different from yours."
"That's still more than nothing, which is what I'm starting with!" He exclaimed, bowing deep enough to put his forehead on the grass. "I would be deeply honoured by your assistance!"
"I'll do it, just don't expect a miracle." I replied. "You might want to ask Pony too, she was talking about learning how to fly too."
"We can make into a group activity!"
"Great..."
After the break, the Conflagration zone training passed without incident. Vlad King and Thirteen went through an extensive lecture on safety before letting us loose, talking about the dangers posed
To be honest it felt a little redundant in my case, since I was immune to heat and smoke, but I was told I needed to understand what those who aren't go through.
The last rescue training was conducted in the Storm zone, wind and rain generators creating realistic weather conditions across the cityscape. The idea was that we needed to coordinate search and rescue over a wide area, with the weather making things even harder for us.
It went fine until around an hour and a half into it. Kendo and I were clearing out some rubble when all of a sudden an alarm began blaring out.
"What do we do?" I looked at Kendo.
"I don't know, everyone's spread out. Maybe yo-"
Before she could finish Vlad King rounded a corner, gesturing towards us.
"Class Presidents! Gather everyone together and meet me outside the zone!" He yelled over the wind. "Do a headcount and make sure everyone stays put until further notice, I'm calling Nedzu to see what this is about!"
He pulled a communicator to his ear, leaving us to it.
"Well we definitely don't have the time to find everyone individually." I noted.
"I hate to a make a habit of this, but I don't think everyone could hear my voice over the alarm and the wind." Kendo said, looking up at me. "Could you.."
"Yeah." I drew in a deep breath as Kendo clapped her hands to her ears.
"1-B GATHER AROUND!"
Even though I had instinctively folded them flat against my skull, the noise still rang in my ears. I could be really, really loud when I needed to.
Moments later the rest of the class began to trickle in, full of questions we had no answers to. Once everyone was there we headed out of the Storm zone, finding Vlad King and Thirteen waiting for us outside.
"Well, I've just gotten off the phone with the Principal, it sounds like it was just the reporters. They broke into the main building, but they're contained and the police have been called."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. I wasn't sure what I'd been expecting to have been the cause, but most of the possibilities I'd thought of had been considerably more grim.
"However, in accordance with protocol we'll be cutting the lesson short and returning to UA."
"Oh come on!"
"Really?"
"It's standard procedure. UA takes no chances within regards to security. We only had an hour left, at any rate."
And that was that, Vlad King brooked no further arguments. After that everything seemed to happen in a blur, Thirteen and Vlad King herding us to the bus and back to UA. In no time at all we found ourselves dismissed for the day as Vlad King and Thirteen rushed off, leaving us in a state of bewilderment and confusion.
"But how did reporters get past the security system?" I told Yoarashi and Pony as we were walking towards the exit. "I'm just saying, Vlad King seemed to be in a lot of hurry for somebody who's just following standard procedure."
"You're overthinking it!" Pony exclaimed. "There's probably a back door, or they got in when the door opened for somebody who is authorized. The teachers have it under control. They wouldn't have cleared us to leave otherwise, right?"
"...Maybe." I admitted. "It just doesn't feel like things are adding up."
Just as we were about turn around the corner, I heard a voice call out from behind us.
"Tatsuma."
I turned to see Yui standing in the hallway, as impassive as ever.
"Could we talk?"
I glanced at Pony and Yoarashi. "Do you guys mind if I…?"
"That's fine."
"We'll wait for you!"
"Alright." I watched them walk down the hallway until the disappeared around a corner, and turned towards Yui. I had planned on seeking her out at some point today, but then the incident at USJ had left a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth whenever I thought of it. But now that she was here I might as well hear out what she had to say.
"I'm sorry." She began, quietly. "I'm sorry for what I did earlier today. It was completely inappropriate of me."
I didn't respond. What she'd just said was... exactly correct.
"In my head it was just a way of getting back at you. But it wasn't. It was… it was bullying, wasn't it? I was a bully, right then. Just like those two, at grade school. And… that's not who I want to be." There, just for an instant, her voice cracked. It was gone the next instant, her usually flat inflection reasserting quick enough to almost make me question if it had ever happened, but I had heard it.
"So I'm sorry. It won't ever happen again."
I considered her words for a good while. She was right in that it had been bullying, and that it wasn't okay for her to press my phobia like that.
But she'd also recognized she was at fault, and personally came to apologize to me. In seven years, I had never heard her speak for that long at a time for anything other than a school presentation.
And then there was that momentary chink in her icy facade just now. That, more than anything else, had convinced me of her sincerity. I had known her long enough to know what a slip-up like that meant for her. I knew that she must be genuinely desperate.
I remembered Ryuko's words, about one incident weighed against seven years. I remembered my own feelings of regret over what had happened between us, and the apology I'd been preparing for her over my own failures. Perhaps she had done more wrong to me than I had to her, but it didn't matter. I knew what was running through her head, and I couldn't bring myself to hold it over her head forever, not when she had already been punished appropriately for it.
"I accept your apology."
Yui's face was like a sheet of ice, but not even she could help herself, and there was a slight relaxation of her shoulders. It made me feel more confident in my choice.
She nodded and made to leave, but I raised a claw. "Wait."
Might as well get it done now, and clear the air between us. I took a moment to compose myself and find the right words. I'd thought extensively about what I would say, but now that I was here, face to face, all my preparations seemed to have disappeared into the mists.
"I'm sorry too, for what happened two years ago." Yui's expression remained impassive, but I knew she had realized what I was talking about. "There was… something happened, that left me unable to turn back to human. It was the worst day of my life. At first, there was so much to do, so many things to adjust to, so I pushed off telling you. I just… couldn't find it in myself to do it. And then, it only got worse. I would've had to explain why I'd put it off for so long."
There was a silence for a few more heartbeats as Yui looked at me, impassive as a statue. Then she let out a tiny sigh, her stony mask dropping fully.
"I accept your apology. And I'm sorry too. I do understand why you didn't contact me, that's the thing, because I went through the same process. When you didn't show up to school, I assumed you were sick. To make contact I would have had to find your phone number somehow. When the teacher told us you weren't returning to class, weeks had already passed. I would've had to explain why I only made the effort then."
She shook her head.
"Then when you turned up here, three days ago… I got angry. I told myself you'd just ran off. Because otherwise, I would have had to confront the fact that I hadn't tried to make contact either."
"Sounds like we both suck."
"...Yeah."
"...Do you want to hear what happened, that day?"
"It sounds like something you'd rather not revisit." She said, a sad smile on her face. "I think, that if you ever feel comfortable sharing it with the rest of the class, I can hear it then."
We sat in silence for a few more moments.
"So, friends?"
"...Yeah. Friends."