2

In one wing of the Yaoyorozu family’s palatial mansion, a pile of several dozen cardboard boxes stacked like a pyramid seemed out of place within Momo Yaoyorozu’s elegantly decorated room. Yaoyorozu sighed, relieved to be done with her packing at last.

“Momo?” said her mother, entering the room. In her shadow was the family butler, Uchimura.

“Well? Are you prepared for your big move?”

“I’ve just finished packing, Mother. I tried to make everything as compact as possible, yet…” Yaoyorozu furrowed her brow in discontent.

Her mother wore a look of concern as well, but for a different reason. “Will you manage with so little? Did you pack a tea set large enough for your entire class, so that nobody feels left out at teatime? And how about your evening dresses?”

Her mother’s particular concerns did nothing to ease Yaoyorozu’s expression.

“Surely those things aren’t necessary, Mother…”

She would never need to wear a dress to class, and a tea set with service for eight was plenty. Besides, Yaoyorozu assumed that her classmates would each be bringing their own personal cups, saucers, and sugar bowls.

“It never hurts to be prepared, Momo,” said Mrs. Yaoyorozu flatly, which made her daughter start to doubt herself.

“No, I suppose you’re right. What if we were to have a party in class one day…” said Yaoyorozu.

“Uchimura?”

A word and a glance from the lady of the house prompted a small nod from the butler; he understood his employer’s wishes without a full explanation.

“Another cardboard box, ma’am? Of course. I’ve also been informed by U.A. that a maid may not accompany Miss Momo within the dormitory, so I’ve taken the liberty of purchasing the latest models of household appliances,” said Uchimura.

“All of which are sure to be useful for the other students as well! Wonderful! Ah, and we mustn’t forget entertainment—the contents of the playroom will have to be packed as well.”

“Please understand… The school dormitory will be a place of education and training. We’re meant to be as self-sufficient as possible,” said Yaoyorozu, objecting to her mother’s frivolous additions to the packing list.

“Miss Momo, are you quite sure…?”

“Oh, Momo…”

Tears welled up in her mother’s eyes.

“Forgive me. I just never expected you to be leaving the nest this soon, so I can’t help but worry.”

“How impertinent of me to presume to advise,” lamented the butler, hanging his head.

“Mother… Uchimura…” said Yaoyorozu, feeling the love and running up to them. “I’m sorry, but thank you for understanding! And the sentiment is very much appreciated!”

“You’ll be all grown up soon, Momo… But yes, of course. If you take nothing else, at least accept this gift, purchased to commemorate your new life in the dormitory. Uchimura?”

“Ahem,” said Uchimura, signaling the maids in the hallway to wheel in a handcart with about ten more cardboard boxes. Yaoyorozu opened one and found it was nearly bursting at the seams with new books.

“An encyclopedia set with reference books from every country of the world, Miss Momo. Your father was sure this would please you more than anything. You will also find custom-made bookshelves,” explained Uchimura.

“Oh! Of course I’ll have to bring these with me!” said Yaoyorozu, nearly moved to tears. Mrs. Yaoyorozu and Uchimura watched her warmly, feeling a bit more emotionally prepared for the girl they cared for to leave home.

It was a clear mid-August day, and the students of class 1-A stood, reunited, before their brand-new Heights Alliance dorm building.

Aizawa had just informed the class that Shoto Todoroki, Eijiro Kirishima, Izuku Midoriya, Yaoyorozu, and Tenya Ida had set out to rescue the kidnapped Katsuki Bakugo. Though their teacher’s unforgiving reprimand darkened the mood for a moment, Bakugo’s particular brand of blunt gratitude pepped everyone up a bit before they headed inside the building.

With five floors and a basement, each dormitory building would be home to one class. The first floor featured the dining area, the baths, a laundry room, and a common area equipped with a TV and sofas.

Aizawa had already assigned the students to specific bedrooms on floors two through five. Minoru Mineta, Midoriya, Yuga Aoyama, and Fumikage Tokoyami would be living on the second floor. Wary of Mineta’s presence, Aizawa hadn’t put any girls on that floor.

The third floor would house Koji Koda, Denki Kaminari, Ida, Mashirao Ojiro, Kyoka Jiro, and Toru Hagakure. Then, Mezo Shoji, Kirishima, Bakugo, Ochaco Uraraka, and Mina Ashido on the fourth, and Rikido Sato, Todoroki, Hanta Sero, Yaoyorozu, and Tsuyu Asui on the fifth.

The building itself and everything inside still had that brand-new look and smell, which only made the kids more excited for this radical change in their lives.

“Today’s set aside for settling in,” said Aizawa to the group. “We’ll talk about what comes next tomorrow. Dismissed!”

“Yes, Sensei!” said the students in unison, with genuine energy. While most moved toward the elevators and the upper floors, Aizawa called Yaoyorozu aside.

“Not all of your things will fit,” he said, gesturing at the pyramid of boxes that now sat in a corner of the first-floor common area. The stack was even taller than before because of the additional encyclopedia set and bookshelves.

“You’ll have to pick just five or six boxes to keep. Only the bare essentials. Send the rest back.”

“Five or six?” stammered Yaoyorozu. “Surely you jest, Sensei!”

While Yaoyorozu was agonizing over how best to pare down her possessions, Todoroki was dumbstruck by what he’d discovered when he’d opened the door to his new room on the fifth floor.

No tatami mats.

He shouldn’t have been surprised; he’d just seen the synthetic flooring in some of his classmates’ rooms in passing, but since Todoroki had only ever known his family’s traditional Japanese home, a part of his brain had expected his dorm room to follow suit.

The kids were allowed to use the bed, desk, and dresser set furnished by the school or to bring their own furniture, so Todoroki was now looking at the wadansu dresser, fuzukue desk, low zaisu chair, and futon straight from his room at home, as well as a cardboard box containing his clothes and other small necessities.

He scowled in spite of himself, perhaps because of the stark disconnect between his traditional furniture and the sleek, modern flooring. Some interior designers might be able to work some feng shui to successfully blend Eastern and Western aesthetics, but no such artist had paid this room a visit.

Todoroki’s gaze settled on the window next, and he noticed the curtains provided by the school.

No shoji window panels either…

Still feeling like something was off, he walked to the window and absentmindedly opened and shut the curtains. He was used to the curtains at school, but never in a room where he slept.

Why am I so rattled? Just because of these strips of cloth…?

After all, in the end, wasn’t his near and dear shoji paneling just strips of paper attached to wooden frames? In any case, there was no obvious way to convert this room into a traditional Japanese one, so Todoroki tried to take his mind off the matter. Before setting out to unpack his things, he changed into a light, breathable top and took off his socks—a habit from back at home, where tatami mats covered the floor. No sooner had he done so, though, than he became acutely aware of his feet sticking and slapping against the synthetic flooring. This didn’t do anything to help his mood, but he shook off the odd sensation and starting transferring his clothes from the box into the dresser.

The box contained clothes, a towel, and a photo album. Todoroki’s older sister, Fuyumi, had also tossed in some small decorations—including a bonsai tree—so that his dorm room wouldn’t look too bleak. Since he only had the one box, the move-in job was over quickly. With nothing else to do, Todoroki flopped onto the floor in the middle of the room and stared at the white, round light fixture on the ceiling. Then, another realization.

No pull cord for the light… I have to walk over to the door to flip the switch?

The Todoroki family house had square, wooden fixtures that hung low from the ceiling. When it was time for bed, one needed only to tug the string dangling a few feet above one’s futon. Here, the dorm room’s light switch was by the door. Turning off the light would only take a few seconds, but the unfamiliarity of it irked Todoroki.

He surveyed the room, noting the ceiling and white walls lacking Japanese-style wooden struts. Then, his traditional furniture. The slick flooring. Still on his back, Todoroki rolled his head side to side to get a feel for the floor’s texture; unlike his beloved tatami mats, it was unforgivingly hard.

So this is where I’ll be sleeping from now on.

He thought he’d understood what it meant to move out of the house, but now he could feel it with his entire body. There’d been days in his life when Todoroki wanted nothing more than a way to stop sleeping under a roof provided by the father he hated. He hadn’t expected that day would come so soon, though.

Endeavor had grumbled when he’d learned about the implementation of the dorm system, but he’d still agreed to let Todoroki go. All Might’s sudden retirement meant that Endeavor could no longer achieve his lifelong goal of surpassing the active number one hero, so he’d been in no mood to argue about smaller matters.

That bastard went to U.A. too, didn’t he…?

Todoroki couldn’t help but wonder what sort of student his father had been back in high school, but he quickly shook his head in an attempt to rid himself of the intrusive thoughts. The back of his head bumped against the hard floor again, making him spring up in irritation. Hoping to clear his mind, he walked to the window, opened it, and took a deep breath of fresh air.

The forest beyond the window seemed to go on forever, punctuated only by the various facilities of U.A. dotting the landscape here and there. The U.A. grounds were almost frighteningly large, but even this grand view from the top floor of Heights Alliance couldn’t snap Todoroki out of his funk. He retrieved his photo album from a drawer, gently removed a single photo, and walked out onto the veranda.

The colors in his photo were a bit faded, but Todoroki could still clearly make out the image of himself as a child, held by his mother. This was before she had burned him, of course, and the photo showed her smiling. Happy, even. Todoroki had once hated photos like this one, since they only reminded him that his mother would probably never smile like that again. It was different now, though, since he’d already been proven wrong.

Just as Todoroki’s bad mood started to fade and his expression began to soften, a strong gust of wind snatched the photo from his hands and sent it flying. He dashed out of Heights Alliance in a panic.

It must’ve landed somewhere around here…

Todoroki frantically scanned the forest floor, but given the size of the grounds, his lost photo might as well have been a needle in a haystack. He followed the paths leading to the scattered facilities but came up with nothing.

Where’d it go…?

Suddenly, he heard a metallic clanging from off in the distance. A fist-sized device came zooming at Todoroki, so he tossed up a quick ice wall to defend himself. The object smacked into the ice and fell to the ground.

“What the hell?”

“Ah, my sweet baby!”

The voice came from Support Course student Mei Hatsume, who burst out of the trees in her trademark tank top and massive goggle headgear. It took him a second, but Todoroki recognized her as a fellow competitor from the Sports Festival and handed her the small machine.

“Thanks! This little one’s my forty-eighth precious baby. Perfect if you need to capture a villain and— Oh no, my baby!”

Hatsume gasped as what must have been another one of her machines flew by. Some also rumbled and rolled over the ground in the surrounding forest.

“Wait up, baby!” she cried, running after the device.

“There’re some over there, too,” said Todoroki, who, putting two and two together, realized that what Hatsume called “babies” were actually just her inventions.

“Round them up for me, would you?”

“Huh? For real?”

Hatsume ignored Todoroki’s protest and ran out of sight. It took him a moment to process the situation. Sure, the machines clearly mattered to her, but he was out here looking for something important too. Another gust of wind disturbed the branches of nearby trees. Getting caught up in Hatsume’s business just meant giving the photo more time to get blown to who knows where.

Still, he placed a wall of ice in the path of one incoming machine, stopping it in its tracks. There—he’d contributed. Todoroki ran off in search of his photo again, but he could still hear the clanging coming from somewhere in the forest. Many of Hatsume’s machines were roving about the woods, and Todoroki started to doubt himself.

He recalled his classmate Ida. When Todoroki and the others had set out to rescue Bakugo on their own, the straitlaced Ida had opposed the decision vehemently enough to lose his usual composure. He was dead set against the group of students possibly getting caught up in a battle, so in the end, he had agreed to join the rescue effort as a sort of monitor. Ida’s older brother had nearly been murdered by the Hero Killer, Stain, but even if that history hadn’t driven his decision, the class president’s serious nature was bolstered by a heavy sense of duty and responsibility.

What would Ida do, here…?

Todoroki stopped and spun around, because the answer was obvious—Ida would help a person in need without a moment’s hesitation. As would anyone hoping to become a hero.

The photo still weighed on his mind, but Todoroki followed the sounds and got to work with his ice walls.

Meanwhile, in a room on the third floor of Heights Alliance, Ida was pondering how best to organize his many books.

“Alphabetically, by author’s last name? Or perhaps by topic…? Or by publisher? Should I take the number of times I’ve read each book into consideration? Or I could simply arrange them by size… But what about…”

Ida gasped.

“I could very well angst about this all day, and there’d be no end to it! As class president, I ought to help the others get their rooms sorted! In the meantime, my books will be just fine arranged by spine color!”

He began to place his books on shelves with unusual efficiency. Yes, dorm life would suit the class president just fine.

“Thanks for helping me round up my supercute babies!” said Hatsume.

After collecting the nearby machines, Todoroki and Hatsume had met back up and introduced themselves. It turned out that while moving in, Hatsume had been transporting her support-item inventions when an accident had somehow flipped the machines’ on switches, causing them to run amok.

“You mean you made all of these? Wow.”

There were enough machines to fill an entire cart, which she’d been pulling along when the accident occurred.

“Heh. All my love and talent goes into these babies! Oh, this one happens to be my pride and joy!” said Hatsume, reaching into the mountain of machines with both arms. She pulled out a device on wheels, about as big as one of the cardboard boxes for moving day.

“Just push this button here, and…”

The device whirred and clanked as it grew into a miniature mobile crane.

“It might look compact, but I made this baby to capture gigantic villains. See the tip of the long boom? It shoots out wires that even the rowdiest villain couldn’t shake loose from. Heh heh, awesome, right? Oh, or how about this gauntlet? It’s a baby that’ll multiply your grip strength ten times over and let you go toe-to-toe with muscle-bound villains, even! And then there’s this one, which…”

Hatsume’s love for each and every one of her dear inventions was on full display. Todoroki listened patiently to her lengthy, exuberant explanations and only spoke up once she was finished.

“So. Is that all of them?”

“Lemme see…” said Hatsume, surveying the pile. Her eyebrows twitched. “Still missing one.”

“What’s it look like?”

“It’s a teeny-tiny baby, but way heavier than you’d think. My thought was, you can somehow attach it to a villain so they can’t make a run for it so easily!”

“How small are we talking?”

“About as big as a cherry? If fruit’s your thing.”

“A cherry, huh…” said Todoroki as he scanned the area. “Something that heavy couldn’t have rolled too far, right?”

“True! I’ll use my Quirk to look for it, since my eyes can zoom in from up to five kilometers away!”

“Sure. And I’ll check behind the trees and wherever else you can’t see.”

They began to search, but before peeking behind too many trees, Todoroki remembered his own predicament.

“Oh. If you spot a photograph on the ground, let me know.”

“A photo? Sure thing! Is that what you were out here looking for in the first place?”

“Yeah…”

“My, my, what are you two kids doing out and about? I thought today was the big move-in day.”

The third voice came from Youthful Hero: Recovery Girl, whose efforts to stay fit led her to take brisk walks around the school grounds. Hatsume explained the situation to the aged school nurse.

“I would be happy to help you look,” said Recovery Girl, who joined the hunt and began checking behind trees with Todoroki.

“Not over here… Ack!” cried Recovery Girl, tripping over a tree root. Todoroki lunged to catch her, but she kept herself upright with some quick footwork. Todoroki’s rescue attempt earned him a smile from Recovery Girl.

“Ready to save me, were you? Thank you, but I’ve got more pep in my step than that, yet.”

She stared a bit harder at Todoroki.

“It still hasn’t hit me that Endeavor’s boy is so grown up already.”

“Huh…?”

“I’ve been at U.A. a long time, you know? Known your father since he was a student here.”

This mention of his father darkened Todoroki’s face, as if by reflex.

“I was always treating him for scrapes, cuts, and bruises back in those days. That boy put himself through the wringer, hoping to be the number one hero someday.”

Recovery Girl’s reminiscence triggered Todoroki’s memories from childhood and beyond—the sound of his father’s voice shouting at him. The voice always commanded the boy to succeed where his father had failed and grow into a hero who could surpass All Might. Todoroki hated that voice with a passion.

“Why, your father was so driven that, one time, in class…”

“I’d rather not hear anything about that bastard…ma’am,” interrupted Todoroki.

Recovery Girl’s face softened, and she gave the boy an apologetic smile.

“Yes, of course, I’m sorry. Nobody picks their family, I suppose.”

Todoroki felt himself growing gloomier by the minute. It wouldn’t be until the upcoming provisional license exam that he’d face head-on his own frustration and inability to process these feelings about his father.

A loud beeping—almost like a warning signal—sounded from the road beyond the trees, followed by Hatsume’s voice saying, “Hang on, that’s weird!”

“Now what could that be?” said Recovery Girl, trotting off toward the source of the noise.

Still grappling with his thoughts, Todoroki watched the school nurse walk away and decided to keep searching among the trees. Behind one large tree, his foot snagged on something and he pitched forward. He was sure it was another root, but he turned to find that he’d tripped over a round object the size of a large cherry. He tried to pick it up, but it wouldn’t budge. This had to be Hatsume’s deceptively heavy support item.

“Hey, I found it—” said Todoroki, but his voice was drowned out by more of that destructive, mechanical clanging. He raced over to find the mini mobile crane poised to capture Recovery Girl. Nearby, Hatsume frantically mashed buttons on a remote control, clearly attempting to stop her runaway creation.

“What’s going on now?” said Todoroki.

“It fired up on its own! The circuitry must’ve gotten damaged when it fell outta the cart! I think it’s convinced that Recovery Girl’s a villain who needs to be hog-tied!” explained Hatsume.

“Eek!” cried Recovery Girl as she turned to flee. She tripped over her own feet, though, and the crane seized the opportunity to launch binding wires from the tip of its boom. Todoroki leaped toward Recovery Girl with timing that couldn’t have been worse; the crane’s wires wrapped around them both.

“Good effort, but…” said Recovery Girl.

“Sorry, ma’am.”

As Todoroki apologized for his bungled rescue attempt, he couldn’t help but think of another classmate, Kirishima. The two boys hadn’t spoken much before the team-up to save Bakugo, but Kirishima’s reluctance to sit idly by while the villains held his kidnapped friend had inspired Todoroki to take action at the time. He’d understood how Kirishima felt, of course, given that Todoroki had witnessed firsthand when the villains had snatched the compressed orb holding Bakugo during the attack on their training camp. It was why Todoroki had agreed to join the rescue effort, so now he found himself reflecting on his classmate’s passion and courage in the face of trouble.

It’s times like these when Kirishima lets his gut decide for him.

At that moment, Kirishima was helping his new neighbor Bakugo unpack his things on the fourth floor of Heights Alliance. One of Bakugo’s boxes had somehow found its way into Kirishima’s room, and when the latter had returned it, one thing had led to another.

“Yo, Bakugo! What’s this stick thing? Some sorta weapon?”

“A walking stick, for mountain climbing… Hey, who said you could stick around? Don’tchu got your own crap to unpack?”

Kirishima returned Bakugo’s grimace with a goofy grin.

“Don’t they say two heads are better that one? But don’t worry—you can help me with my room after this!”

“Like hell I will! It’s quicker doing this stuff alone.”

Despite Bakugo’s harsh words, he made no extra effort to kick Kirishima out.

A savior, and the one who’d been saved; if there’d been any lingering awkwardness over recent events, the breeze blowing through the window of the new dorm room cleared it away, just like that.

Todoroki squirmed, trying to shake off the wires, but he and Recovery Girl were bound fast, with arms strapped down against their bodies. Each jerk only made the strong metal wires squeeze around them tighter.

“It’s gonna pinch even harder if you move around!” shouted Hatsume. “So just stay still!”

“Get this crap off of us,” said Todoroki.

“Would if I could, but the remote control’s on the fritz too!”

Shoot… What would Yaoyorozu do in this situation?

Like Ida, Yaoyorozu had voiced her opposition to the Bakugo rescue operation, but she’d decided to accompany the boys just in case they’d needed to be reined in. She never failed to see the big picture, and Todoroki knew that if Yaoyorozu were in his shoes, she would keep a level head and use her impressive brainpower to come up with a clever plan.

Yaoyorozu was still on the first floor, deciding which of her possessions sparked joy and which she could do without.

“My silverware made of pure silver… Unnecessary. And I only need a single painting to hang. As for shoes… Three pairs should be enough… Ah, I ought to keep a pair of high heels, just in case… But where would I store them…? No, only the bare essentials… Right. Just one pair of shoes, then!”

Though Todoroki was none the wiser, Yaoyorozu was making full use of that quick decision-making he admired.

Todoroki plunged into thought.

He could probably freeze the wires or even burn them away with his Quirk, but either option was bound to hurt Recovery Girl, given that they were tied to each other.

“It’s a real shame, but I’m gonna have to tear my baby apart piece by piece at this rate… Just need to run and grab my tools from the studio!” said Hatsume.But just as she turned to leave, the mini crane began to drive forward with Todoroki and Recovery Girl still dangling from the boom. It picked up speed as it moved down the road leading to one of U.A.’s facilities.

“W-what’s going on?” said Recovery Girl.

“Not so fast, my baby!”

With a twinkle in her eye, Hatsume equipped her power gauntlet and grabbed the crane from behind. It showed no sign of slowing, though, and even began dragging her.

“Careful! That’s not gonna work!” said Todoroki.

“Hurry and fetch a teacher, now!” said Recovery Girl.

That was when Todoroki laid eyes on something troubling ahead.

“What’s a giant pit doing out here?”

“The second-years were using it for training. They say it goes down pretty deep…” said Recovery Girl with a grim expression. It was true; even hoisted up in the air by the crane, they couldn’t see the bottom of the pit. Falling in while attached to the runaway machine would be disastrous, and Todoroki had a hard time hiding his panic.

The crane picked up speed again, making a beeline for the pit. No time for Hatsume to run and get help. Todoroki knew he could use his Quirk as a last resort, but that came with its own issues.

What can I do…?

The face of another classmate arose in Todoroki’s mind.

Obviously Midoriya would never just give up…

During the mission to rescue Bakugo, the kids had found themselves a stone’s throw from the grand battle between All Might and the villainous All For One, but even when all hope had seemed lost, Midoriya had come up with a plan to fly across the battlefield and get the job done. This would be the same friend who’d help Todoroki come to terms with the hatred for his father that was holding him back.

Midoriya was grappling with his own problem in his new room on the second floor.

“Silver Age, Golden Age, suited version? Is that a good order…? Ah, but I’d hate to leave out the in-flight version…”

Beyond daily necessities and weight training equipment, the lion’s share of Midoriya’s personal effects were All Might collectibles. He’d already hung his All Might posters on the wall and stuck his All Might books on the shelves, next to his textbooks.

“But sometimes the chibi figure is just what I need to feel right at home! And the one in a flexing pose inspires me when I’m feeling down… Hmm!”

Moderation was not a word in Midoriya’s vocabulary when it came to merchandise related to his personal idol. Everything had to be arranged in just the right spots, in the right order, at the right angles. Until his room was decorated to perfection, Midoriya wouldn’t give up.

As his thoughts turned to his friend for inspiration, perhaps it was better that Todoroki didn’t know exactly what Midoriya was up to in that moment. Then, it came to him. He swung around toward Hatsume—who was rummaging through her pile of machines looking for a solution—and shouted.

“Get your heavy cherry and toss it at me!”

“Huh?”

“Quickly! It’s behind that biggest tree, right over there!”

“No clue what you’re thinking, but sure, fine!” said Hatsume as she dove into the trees. She spotted the weighted ball without much trouble and picked it up with her gauntlet. With the aid of some leg-enhancing armor, she dashed back to the crane at full speed.

“I’ve got it! You really want me to toss it at you?”

“Yeah, aim right for my mouth!”

Without missing a beat, Hatsume activated her Quirk, “Zoom,” and zeroed in on Todoroki’s open mouth before pitching the cherry-sized weight with all her strength. Todoroki caught the ball in his mouth and used the momentum and new center of gravity to swing his body to the side. The mini mobile crane’s wheels on the opposite side lifted off the ground, so for a moment, it was driving on only two of the four wheels. With the yawning pit already a bit too close for comfort, the crane began to topple.

What now…?

Straining to hold on to the weight between his jaws, Todoroki managed to spin himself and Recovery Girl around just before they hit the ground, so that he alone would break the fall. The crane crashed against the road at the very edge of the pit.

“Close call, you two! Anyone hurt?” said Hatsume as she ran over.

Todoroki shook his head, spat out the weighted ball, and said, “Nuh-uh.”

“I’m just fine too,” said Recovery Girl.

“Phew! But man, using my weighted baby to stop my other rampaging baby? Great thinking! Never imagined using it that way, myself. Heh heh, I’m already cooking up news plans for it!”

“That’s nice,” said Todoroki. “Mind doing something about these wires?”

“Sure, right—lemme grab those tools! Be right back!”

This time Hatsume did run straight to the studio at the school, returning with both her tools and her mentor, Power Loader. She clipped the wires, finally freeing Todoroki and Recovery Girl. Apparently, Hatsume had already gotten a talking-to from Power Loader.

“So sorry for the trouble!” came the quick, forced apology from Hatsume.

“Hatsume, I know I told you to clean out the studio, but I didn’t mean you should bring all those support items to your dorm room,” said Power Loader, clearly exasperated.

“Where, then? I don’t have anywhere else to put my babies,” said Hatsume.

“Well, we’d really be in trouble if this happened again in the dorms, so… Fine. Leave them in the studio.”

“Gee, thanks. Wish you’d agreed to that sooner, Sensei.”

Even during a good scolding, Hatsume hardly seemed repentant.

“Oh, hang on!” she said, remembering something and reaching into her pocket. “Spotted this caught on a tree branch on my way back. Gotta be what you were looking for, yeah?”

A relieved smile rose on Todoroki’s face as she handed him the photo of him and his mother.

“Yeah. Thanks.”

“Thanks? I should be thanking you for rounding up all my precious babies, and I know just the way to do it properly,” said Hatsume. She reached into the pile of machines and pulled out a familiar-looking toy barrel, about the size of a basketball. “Enjoy, heh heh. Give it a go with your friends, and lemme know what you all think.”

With that, she and Power Loader headed back to the studio with the cart full of inventions.

“Well, that was quite an adventure we just had… What’s this? You’re hurt?” said Recovery Girl, noticing a scrape on Todoroki’s cheek from when the crane had toppled over. A quick Quirk-powered kiss healed his injury, and Recovery Girl then offered him gummy candy from her pocket.

“They’re Haribo bears, so eat up, now. You get extra for saving me back there.”

“No problem. Really,” said Todoroki, accepting the pile of candy with a blank look on his face. “I mean, any of my friends would’ve done the same.”

He wondered when he’d begun thinking of them that way. As friends. He was a little shocked to realize that they were already such fixtures in his life that he’d found himself turning to them for inspiration in a crisis—something he’d never really done before. Todoroki recognized that this was the kind of growing he needed to do. He knew he was lucky to be attending U.A.

“Of course they would have,” said Recovery Girl, noticing Todoroki’s expression relax a little. “All the boys and girls at U.A. tend to do their darndest. They always have. So be sure to give yourself credit where credit is due, now and then.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Todoroki popped a gummy bear into his mouth. The chewy candy gave his tired body the small burst of sugar it needed.

Guess she’s saying that my bastard of a father did his best when he was here, too…?

He shook his head side to side to drive off the fleeting thought.

“Anyhow, have you finished moving in yet? Excited about living with all your classmates?” asked Recovery Girl, reminding Todoroki how uncomfortable he’d been feeling in his new dorm room. He opened up to the school nurse, explaining his particular problem.

“Is that so? I may have just the answer, then,” she said, before leading Todoroki to a warehouse on the school grounds.

“What is this place…?”

“It’s where we store furniture and other bulky garbage before tossing it.”

The massive building was full of things that the school no longer had use for. Todoroki’s eyes lit up when they came upon a collection of tatami mats, some shoji window panels, and a square, wooden light fixture sitting in one corner.

“These were once used for some class or another, but you’re free to have them. I’ll be sure to let Aizawa know,” said Recovery Girl.

“Thank you for this,” said Todoroki, bowing. He took a few deep breaths as he watched Recovery Girl walk off.

A new room for a new lifestyle. There were sure to be plenty of unfamiliar experiences ahead, but nothing a student of U.A. couldn’t handle. Todoroki rolled up his sleeves, ready to get down to work.