The warm evening breeze blew across the now-empty stands at U.A. The festival was practically over, and all that remained were workers taking down equipnt, a few students leaving in groups, and the distant echo of scattered conversations as the stadium slowly returned to normal.
In front of the main gate, next to the academy's huge sign, Reiji waited with his hands in his pockets and his hood pulled slightly down over his eyes. Shinso and Izuku had already left a while ago; one went straight ho, exhausted after spending the whole afternoon watching matches, and the other was probably still talking to himself as he ntally analyzed every fight in the tournant.
Now only he remained, waiting patiently for Himiko to finally co out of the academy so they could go ho.
Fortunately, he didn't have to wait much longer.
He saw her finally erge from the dical building as she absentmindedly adjusted one of the bandages she still wore on her arm. Recovery Girl had practically made her as good as new, but even so, that heavy fatigue still lingered after such a long match.
She was happy, smiling above all else, with that strange mix of satisfaction, pride, and overflowing energy that only appeared when she was truly having fun.
"You did it," Reiji said as soon as she approached; it was his way of saying "well done."
Himiko raised both arms slowly, as if celebrating a personal victory.
"Did you see that? I was this close to beating Tamaki and making it to the finals," she exclaid with a tired laugh.
Reiji let out a small sigh through his nose as he nodded.
"Yeah, you really gave him a run for his money. So much so that he looked pretty tired in the finals."
"Yeah…" Himiko let out another laugh. "And what a fight!! I think Mirio literally crossed half the stage during that match."
Reiji shook his head slightly as he watched her approach.
You could still see the wear and tear of the entire festival on her.
When she reached him, Reiji automatically raised one arm to high-five her, a sign of pride.
She simply understood and slamd her hand against Reiji's.
"Did the teachers say anything?" she asked as they slowly began walking toward the main exit.
"A few things. Present Mic almost left deaf," Himiko muttered, making a funny face. "But… they did congratulate . Even so students from the Hero Course."
The smile on her face softened slightly.
"Nejire also hugged so tight he almost sent back to the infirmary."
That familiarity with Nejire caught his attention, but since he wasn't supposed to know her, he didn't ask too many more questions.
"…I guess your future classmates are already eager to train with you."
Himiko let out another little laugh before lowering her gaze slightly.
"They also said sothing strange."
Reiji turned his eyes slightly toward her.
"What was that?"
"That when I used your blood for the second ti, it was like getting a shot of adrenaline that allowed to hold on long enough to stay awake after my defeat. One of the doctors said that so of my wounds stopped bleeding too quickly."
Reiji kept a completely neutral expression; he finally understood that what he had seen was exactly what was happening.
"Did you feel it that way?"
"No idea," he replied, shrugging. "I just thought your body was absurdly resilient, as well as strong and fast… What kind of training do you do to achieve that?"
Reiji laughed at the unexpected complint; he had indeed trained his physique excessively, taking advantage of his regeneration, and the results were clear. Even Himiko, who had transford into different people throughout her life, could feel the stark difference instantly.
"A magician never reveals his secrets…" he finally replied with a smile, while Himiko frowned slightly.
"Not even because I was impressive will you tell your secrets?"
"No, or I'll be the one who ends up at a disadvantage when you beco the number one heroine."
Himiko wanted to protest but gave up; she was too tired, and she'd actually liked how that last part sounded—'number one heroine.' It was sothing she'd strive to achieve.
"Reiji…" she murmured after a few seconds.
"Hm?"
"…Did I do well?"
The question ca out much quieter than everything before, though Reiji had already shown her that she had—she just wanted to hear it explicitly.
Reiji paused for just a mont.
He looked directly at her as the wind gently ruffled so of her hair, still disheveled from the fight. Then he relaxed his shoulders and smiled at her.
"Amazing."
Himiko blinked slightly.
"It's not just about making it to the semifinals," Reiji continued, staring intently at her. He didn't often tell her he was proud of her, since things had been a bit strange lately. "Tamaki was stronger than you from the start—he'd been training for over a year—and yet you broke the mold and forced him to use all his strength to win."
She listened to him in complete silence.
"You didn't give up, even with all the injuries you had," he finally added. "And even after losing, you walked out the front door with everyone applauding you."
"So yes, you did wonderfully—I'm amazed. I'm proud of you."
The smile that slowly appeared on Himiko's face was small, as tears threatened to fall at his sudden words. Without waiting any longer, she hugged Reiji tightly, and he simply wrapped his arms around her.
They stood in silence for a while, as people continued to pass by. After a mont, Himiko slowly pulled away.
"Let's go ho. I'm really tired," she said with a small smile.
"Perfect. I guess I'll have to cook your favorite dish as a reward."
"Yes! That's the least I expect."
They walked a few more ters as the crowd around them gradually thinned out. So students still recognized Himiko as they passed by, and several even raised their hands to wave or quickly congratulate her before continuing on their way.
The atmosphere felt strange.
Light.
Calm.
Very different from how things had been between them for months.
"You know what was the best part?" Himiko murmured, half-distracted, as she gazed at the orange sky over the city.
"What was it?"
"When everyone started shouting my na."
Reiji kept his eyes ahead as he continued walking.
"Then you'll always be okay, because great things await you if you keep this up."
She slowly closed her eyes for just a second as a small smile reappeared on her face.
***
"So now you're officially in the Hero Course?"
Himiko nodded imdiately with a huge smile as she held the new uniform to her chest as if it were an irreplaceable trophy. Her eyes sparkled with an emotion too genuine to hide.
"Yes! I passed the physical and psychological evaluations. Principal Nezu said my results at the festival were more than enough!" She waved the docunt bearing the official U.A. seal in front of him before hugging it to her chest again. "I'm officially part of the Hero Course's Beta Group!"
Reiji watched her, leaning against the doorfra.
He smiled with his eyes; he couldn't quite hide the strange feeling of pride welling up in his chest as he watched her practically tremble with happiness.
"I'm glad."
The reply ca out dry, simple, completely Reiji.
And yet, Himiko smiled even wider.
Because she knew him all too well.
She knew perfectly well when he was being serious.
"Besides…" Himiko tilted her head slightly with an amused expression. "Now I'll technically be a professional heroine before you."
"…Don't start."
She burst out laughing imdiately before spinning around, still clutching the uniform to her chest.
"I still need a hero na, but I'm sure you'll end up working for !"
"Never."
"Never say never!"
Reiji shook his head slightly as he watched her practically disappear up the stairs.
Reiji snapped out of his thoughts when his phone vibrated; he didn't even have to look to see who it was.
Hawks.
He'd invited him out for a drink, and he was on his way.
The café was unassuming, small, and relatively empty at that ti of the afternoon. Tinted windows, dim lighting, and the constant scent of freshly ground beans. It was the place they always used to frequent because it was perfect for soone like Hawks, who preferred to blend into the background rather than stand out outside of work.
Or maybe he simply knew that Reiji hated places that were too noisy.
Hawks was already seated at the back when he arrived.
No suit.
No glasses.
Just a dark jacket, his hair slightly pulled back, and his wings folded behind the chair, taking up more space than necessary.
When Reiji entered, there was no greeting.
Just a small nod.
Reiji took a seat across from him as a waiter automatically set another cup on the table. Evidently, Hawks had already ordered for both of them.
The first few seconds passed in silence.
"You seem less angry lately," Hawks finally remarked, crossing his arms. "Did you switch shampoos, or did adolescence just hit you all of a sudden?"
Reiji tilted his head slightly, completely expressionless.
"I'm just free. Not having the Commission breathing down my neck all day helps a lot."
"And here I thought it was because your sister officially joined the Hero Course…" Hawks smiled faintly as he raised his cup. "You must be proud, right?"
Reiji didn't answer.
But Hawks read the silence perfectly.
"I heard quite a bit about the festival," he continued after taking a sip of coffee. "And about the little detail that Himiko decided to transform into you in front of literally half of Japan."
A small grimace did appear on Reiji's face then.
"Yeah. I figured you'd bring that up."
"Technically, I should give you a little reprimand," Hawks said, shrugging slightly. "The Commission doesn't usually appreciate it when soone directly associated with them ends up on national TV without warning, especially after having already done it once."
"And the reprimand?"
Hawks took another sip before answering.
"...That was the reprimand."
Reiji let out a small, weary exhale through his nose.
Honestly, he didn't really care that much anymore either.
After the mud villain incident and the sports festival, hiding completely was already impossible. A lot of people recognized his face by then.
And that probably couldn't be changed anymore.
"Besides, let's be honest..." Hawks smiled faintly. "Linking your image to the world of heroes is a good thing, especially with that standout girl who was the dark horse at the festival."
Reiji leaned back in his chair as he shifted his gaze slightly toward the window.
"She fought like a damn pro."
"Yeah, she's talented. Very talented," Hawks admitted. "And she's got a lot more instinct than I expected. She's like you—or maybe even better…"
"I know. I just hope she doesn't get into unnecessary trouble."
"Like you?" Hawks asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Exactly."
"Well, I don't have much ti today. I had to go through with the reprimand anyway. I don't think I'll be in Musutafu for a while. It was good to have your back after the incident, but it's too quiet around here, and my work needs elsewhere."
Hawks stood up from his seat and left so yen next to his now-empty coffee cup; Reiji's drink, on the other hand, remained untouched.
"Is this a goodbye or sothing?"
"Sort of. I figured you'd miss and wanted to tell you straight up."
"..."
Reiji couldn't believe he'd wasted his ti on sothing so trivial.
He didn't even give him ti to take his order!
"I know you care about ."
"..."
***
Reiji zipped up his jacket as he walked down one of the outer hallways of U.A. He had stopped by to drop off one of the devices i had asked him to test in a simulation, and, honestly, he didn't plan on staying much longer inside the academy.
Unlike before, he had let Himiko know he was around, but because of his new hero classes, he didn't have a chance to visit her even for a mont—or vice versa.
He turned a corner, intent on simply heading for the exit.
And then he ca face to face with a figure impossible to mistake.
Bright blue hair falling in long, flowing curls, enormous eyes brimming with curiosity, and that exaggeratedly luminous presence that seed to take up more space than it actually needed. Nejire Hado practically stopped right in front of him as if she'd just discovered sothing she'd been searching for a long ti.
"Ah! It really is you!" she exclaid imdiately, leaning forward with completely genuine excitent. "Reiji Toga!"
Reiji barely had ti to react before she completely closed the distance between them. She was too close for a normal first conversation, close enough that he could step back out of sheer reflex.
"You're Himiko's brother, the one from the mud villain incident, and the one who apparently stays up really late reading the weirdest stuff, even though you still function perfectly fine the next day."
...
Reiji stared at her for a few seconds, processing the last part of what she'd said.
"...What?"
Nejire tilted her head slightly, as if his surprise were far more interesting than the information she'd just revealed.
"Himiko talks about you a lot," she explained matter-of-factly. "At first I thought she was exaggerating, but after the festival I got even more curious."
That didn't help at all.
The girl continued to watch him with an uncomfortably genuine intensity while practically invading his entire personal space without any ill intent. It was simply her natural way of interacting with people; a curiosity that was too direct, too transparent, and completely impossible to interpret as anything hostile.
"She also told that you hate noisy places, that you drink coffee that's way too bitter for your age, and that when you concentrate, you barely furrow your brow even though you think no one notices."
Reiji blinked slowly.
'What the hell does she talk about with Nejire…?'
The sophomore remained completely oblivious to the minor ntal breakdown she had just caused him.
"Oh, and that you make lists for everything. Even for grocery shopping."
"What kind of things is my sister saying…?"
Nejire let out an imdiate, bright laugh, barely covering her mouth with one hand without really looking away.
"I knew you'd react like that! Himiko said exactly that."
Reiji slowly closed his eyes for a second before looking at her again.
The worst part was that Nejire didn't seem to be trying to make him uncomfortable. Quite the opposite. She spoke with the absolute naturalness of soone who simply said the first thing that ca to mind without stopping to think too much about social filters.
"Honestly, I expected you to be different," she continued as she circled him slightly, analyzing him from different angles with a brazen curiosity that would have been annoying in anyone else. "Himiko talks about you as if you were a weird mix between an overprotective older brother and a depressing protagonist, even though it's really the opposite."
"...That last part was definitely unnecessary."
"Actually, you look way too serious."
The remark ca out so direct and carefree that even he took a mont to process it. Nejire wasn't teasing or trying to provoke him. He'd simply reached that conclusion and decided to say it out loud.
"Does it bother you that I'm this close?" he asked suddenly as he leaned in slightly toward him again with completely genuine curiosity.
"A little."
"Then why don't you step back?"
Reiji held the bright blue gaze in front of him for a few seconds before answering.
"Because you'd probably just co closer again."
Nejire's eyes literally lit up even more.
"That was a great answer!"
And yet he didn't step away.
To absolutely no one's surprise.
She simply started walking alongside him as if the conversation had already naturally progressed to that point. A strand of her hair accidentally brushed against Reiji's arm as they walked down the outer hallway, though she didn't even seem to notice.
"I've talked to Himiko a lot since she officially joined the hero course," she said, staring at the hallway ceiling as if ntally organizing all the topics he wanted to bring up. "She used to be much more reserved with almost everyone—back when she was still in general studies—but now she talks a lot more. In fact, most of the ti she ends up talking about you."
"...That's concerning."
"Why? Isn't it good that she gets along with her classmates?" Nejire asked without hesitation. "Oh, she said that too! You tend to worry too much about everything! Although when you helped her train, you didn't seem that way."
Reiji let out a small, weary sigh through his nose.
"She also said you're a great cook, though apparently you only cook when you're trying to relax—but that didn't matter, since all your als are the best. Do you think you could make a al too?!"
"She's just exaggerating..."
"She said that too."
Reiji sighed inwardly, decided to keep walking, and hoped that at so point Nejire would get bored. Her presence didn't bother him; it was more that he could barely keep up with Himiko when she got like this, and Nejire was often even more over-the-top.
The conversation kept moving at an absurd pace, with Nejire jumping from one topic to another with practically no transition at all. She'd ask a question, partially answer it herself before getting a reply, and then imdiately move on to a completely different idea, as if they were all connected inside her head.
"Are you always this serious?"
"No."
"Then when aren't you?"
"...When I'm sleeping."
Nejire laughed again, this ti much louder.
"Himiko was right! You do have a sense of humor—it's just hidden."
Reiji was slowly beginning to understand why so many people ended up getting swept up in Nejire's rhythm even when they tried to stay on the sidelines. There was sothing absurdly hard to resist about that constant energy; an honesty so open that it made it almost impossible to respond to him in a completely cold manner.
"What really piqued my curiosity was sothing else," he continued after a few seconds, turning his head slightly toward Reiji as they kept walking. "Himiko trusts you a lot."
"I guess that's normal between siblings," Reiji replied casually.
Nejire made a small, thoughtful grimace.
"That makes sense."
Before he could continue, a dry, completely exhausted voice ca from the other end of the hallway.
"Hado."
Nejire turned her head imdiately.
Aizawa was walking toward them with his hands in his pockets and his usual tired expression, observing the scene before him without much surprise.
"Class started four minutes ago."
"Ah!" Nejire's eyes widened slightly before he quickly looked around as if he'd just rembered where he was. "That's right!"
Aizawa glanced briefly at Reiji.
He recognized him imdiately.
And from the slightest tension that appeared in his expression, he clearly understood pretty quickly what had happened.
"Hado," he repeated in the sa monotone. "Stop kidnapping people in the hallways."
"I wasn't kidnapping him!" Nejire protested as he finally began to back away. "We were just talking."
"He looks exhausted."
"I think he always looks like that."
Reiji let out a small, weary sigh as Aizawa closed his eyes for just a second, as if he didn't have enough energy to deal with either of them.
Nejire quickly turned his gaze toward Reiji before starting to walk toward the classroom.
"We'll continue this later, Himiko's gloomy brother!"
And he disappeared down the hallway alongside Aizawa, still talking even as Aizawa clearly tried to ignore half of what he was saying.
Reiji stood still for a few more seconds.
In silence.
Processing the entire conversation.
Because honestly…
he still didn't understand how Himiko had managed to leak practically half of his private life to soone else without him noticing.
Even details that not even Reiji knew about himself!
***
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