Uraraka Ochaco, Class 1-A Seat #5I wasn't about to lose my mother to the trash of society that couldn't even take getting fired well.
Not again.
I wouldn't lose her again.
What I wouldn't give for my shovel. Or better yet a rifle.
No, no, I had control of the situation.
"I thought you had to touch people to make them float?" Yaoyorozu asked as we landed on the cage. I opened the door to the cage as Tokoyami hovered behind us.
"I don't. I'll explain later." I said.
We crawled across what would have been the floor of the cage, which was now tilted vertically. Unfortunately, our foe had realized this too and was crawling towards us. I would ask Yaoyorozu to make thermite to make another opening, but it risked burning through not just the bars, but also the sheet of ice below us, potentially igniting the gasoline in the pit.
Reducing the effects of gravity on everyone's parents, I directed them, "Climb towards the opening of the cage." Once they were out I could have them drop safely to the ground.
That still left intercepting the enemy combatant. We didn't have a lot of information about him, such as what his quirk was, or if he had any weapons, although I was fairly certain he didn't have a gun, given that I didn't see one while I was tossing him around with my quirk.
"Looks like helping our parents evacuate will have to wait. Tokoyami, take point, we'll cover you." I ordered.
The internships had given me a good feel for Tokoyami's capabilities, and my time with Yaoyorozu as my Vice Rep had given me a decent feel for hers. Maybe I should have brought up Midoriya as well.
"Make me handcuffs and a flash bang. Hand them to me discreetly so the villain doesn't see." I hissed to Yaoyorozu.
"What about Dark Shadow?" she asked, as she handed me the grenade.
As her eyes were still on me I just tossed it immediately, "Flash out!"
Dark Shadow immediately retreated, pulling the cowl over Tokoyami's face, as I turned away and covered my ears as well. I was sorely missing my hero costume. Yaoyorozu scowled in annoyance as she handed me the handcuffs, and I saw a pair of earplugs in her ears.
If I had more time I would have had her make me some as well, because we were still close enough to the flashbang that my hearing was currently dulled.
I heard Tokoyami saying something but it was muffled.
Kicking off the side of the cage, I fell upwards toward the villain.
He struggled as his sight returned but he was disoriented further as gravity back and forth flipped on him repeatedly. I managed to get the cuffs on him after punching him in the side, although the effectiveness of that was mitigated by whatever body armor he was wearing.
The villain seemed to have stopped struggling, but I wasn't going to take any chances, so I reversed his gravity against the top of the cage so I could keep him pressed against it.
"Tokoyami, Yaoyorozu, continue with evacuations!" I yelled out.
I would have started interrogating my detainee but he was still recovering from the flashbang. Instead I focused on keeping him immobilized as I watched Tokoyami and Yaoyorozu escort the parents to the outside of the cage, and remotely helped them float gently to the ground afterwards.
My mom was the last one to leave and when she reached the ground I let a sigh of relief go. How had she let herself get captured? We were going to have a conversation after this, and it wasn't going to be a normal mother-daughter conversation.
We weren't done yet though. I pushed my captive out of the cage, and had us float down, before I pressed him face first into the ground. Thankfully Midoriya and Shoji came over, because if he tried to run, I didn't have the weight of my hero costume to rely on.
With Midoriya and Shoji covering, I let the cage down and let it settle onto the ice, slow as a landing balloon. I also turned my attention to Iida and the other students who were busy hugging their family members, "Iida, call campus security, then the police. Everyone else should be doing medical evaluations on their parents."
I looked in my mom's direction and she gave me a thumbs up, so I turned my attention back to our captive. "Your hearing should be sufficiently back to answer a few questions before the police arrive. Where is Aizawa?"
"Me? I'm right here." Aizawa said as he emerged from around some rubble, "Good work by the way, this exercise is over."
My eye twitched as I watched Aizawa casually walk over to the class's parents.
"Quite a convincing performance, everyone."
I stared at my mother in betrayal. She winked at me like she did nothing wrong. We were definitely having that conversation later.
"I didn't know what to think when you almost broke character. Croak." Asui's father said to Bakugo's mother.
"I couldn't help it."
Kicking myself now because I didn't realize this was another one of Aizawa's asinine tricks was pointless. What if this was real?
The other parents started chatting but I felt movement from the ground. "Could you let me up, young miss?" His robotic voice was less menacing now, but I was still wary.
I looked at Aizawa and he nodded, "He's an actor we hired, you can let him go."
"A what now? Oh, yes, sorry for scaring you kids the way I did. It was all acting! Ow."
Helping the man up, I got Yaoyorozu's help to get the cuffs off of him. She seemed as upset as I was. One of U.A.'s robots came over and the actor leaned on it awkwardly. I wondered if U.A. High had told him what he had signed up for, or if Aizawa had lied to him too.
I turned my attention back to my mother, who was talking with Bakugo and Midoriya's parents. I caught Bakugo's mother saying something about "your daughter is the only girl my son ever talks about," before I tried to tune out that conversation, even if I still kept an eye on them.
Kaminari and Ashido must have still seemed confused, because Aizawa sighed, "You still don't get it? This was all a setup. A logical deception to test your reactions."
"Now just wait a moment! Wasn't this all a bit much?" Yaoyorozu protested, "One wrong move, and somebody could have gotten terribly hurt. Or worse!"
Aizawa shrugged, "We were prepared for the worst, so no, it wasn't 'a bit much'. Besides, professional heroes are no strangers to danger, so a training exercise with lower stakes wouldn't do you much good."
I watched my mother struggle and fail to suppress a laugh. I bit my tongue. If I started dressing down Aizawa I wouldn't stop.
"I suppose…" Yaoyorozu muttered.
Aizawa stared at her, "Were you scared? For your mother?"
"I was." Yaoyorozu said quietly.
"Then this training exercise has provided valuable experience." Aizawa said, as he looked around at our class. "Proper rescue requires a number of things, including your skill, knowledge, and decisiveness. But emotion can easily cloud judgement. Anyone hoping to become a hero can't very well be flustered by a family member in danger. This exercise, under the pretense of having a Parents' Day, was meant to teach you all just that."
Several of my classmates nodded. It wasn't like they could openly question the teacher.
"Additionally, it isn't just about keeping a level head. The people you aim to save? They have families too. People who will miss them if they don't come home. Take that to heart."
Affirmation rang out in acknowledgement but my attention was still lingering on my mother.
"Now, despite every hostage being rescued quickly, this could have gone better. The class wasted far too much time against this single opponent. And letting your Class Rep handle everything for you is putting all your eggs in one basket. She won't always be present to save you. I've got more to say later, but we'll consider this a pass for now."
I could hear some of the students sighing in relief, before Aizawa continued, "I want one page on what you've learned from this, due tomorrow."
Iida's hand shot up. "What about our letters of appreciation? Another rational deception to hide the true intent of this exercise?"
"Didn't writing that letter get you thinking about your family more than usual?" Aizawa said flatly with a smirk.
"I suppose it did." Iida answered.
With no more questions, everyone started walking to their families. I could hear Aizawa telling Todoroki's sister something about sharing the recording from class, as I approached my mom.
Before I could say anything, she wrapped me in a tight hug. I begrudgingly returned the gesture.
She whispered into my ear, "I suggested they should use simulated artillery fire instead, but they must have thought I was joking."
—
Uraraka HayamiHayami's poor daughter kept shooting her indignant looks after she wiped her face clean, but despite the unusual relationship that the Uraraka family had, Ochaco was ultimately still her lovely daughter.
After all, Hayami had given birth to her.
Watched her grow from a crying baby to a somber toddler.
Watched the little mannerisms form that she would recognize anywhere.
Watched her freeze up when Hayami and her husband Hoshio asked Ochaco if she would prefer to be called Tanya or Ochaco.
Watched her little colonel nearly cry then stew for days when she was told she couldn't have any coffee until she was a little older.
Watched her empty the full contents of her stomach onto Hoshio when she first got her quirk. Little Ochaco had immediately tried to make herself weightless so she could fly again. Actually Hayami still had the video. Cell phones were amazing.
Hayami was going to have to ask Aizawa for a recording of today's events. Hoshio would want to see it.
But first, Hayami had something else to attend to. She gave her little hellion another squeeze before the kids were ushered off to their next class, since this little exercise took place in the morning.
Ochaco was more composed this time, but Hayami could tell when her daughter was trying not to pout. She was clearly still upset about the ruse, just giving an almost curt "I'll see you after school mom." instead of her normal goodbyes.
The general spirit of the exercise was the kind of training her daughter would have approved of, although she was sure her daughter would be complaining about how they were kids, not soldiers. And probably something about emotional manipulation being a failure of good training.
Admittedly, if the school hadn't sprung it on her this morning, she would have also told her daughter about it. At least they hadn't tried to trick the parents as well. If Hayami had actually let herself be captured she wasn't sure if she could face Ochaco's wrath later, even if it did turn out to be fake.
Well, it was Ochaco's decision to go into hero work, so she couldn't complain about the path to get there. Although Hayami wasn't about to parrot those words back to her daughter, even if Ochaco was the one who had said them in the first place. She had to support Ochaco's decision in any way she could.
Hayami had admittedly tried to talk Ochaco out of it years ago. She didn't want to see her daughter get hurt. She would die before letting anything hurt Ochaco. Well, die for her again.
Hoshio had tried to help talk her out of it too, but he had privately admitted to Hayami that he was proud of their daughter. Hayami was too, even if she wished Ochaco wasn't so stubborn sometimes.
Even if they both weren't sure they could claim too much credit for her genius and hard work ethic. That wasn't about to stop her from bragging about her daughter to her classmate's parents however.
Aizawa stayed with the parents of Class 1-A as they got on a bus together, although he sat at the back of the bus with the actor for the exercise. The parents were invited to meet the Principal of U.A. High briefly, with the option to tour the U.A. campus after that if they so wished. Given that she planned on riding the train back home with Ochaco after the school day, Hayami was going to take advantage of the tour.
Sitting down on the bus, Hayami was seated next to a woman with green hair, and another with ash blonde hair and very nice skin. She had been talking to them a little bit earlier, and these two were Midoriya Inko and Bakugo Mitsuki.
Because they were being asked if they could do a training scenario for their kids, and then introduced to the scenario, including prep work for acting out the scenario, they hadn't had much time to talk before, but from Hayami's observations, these two seemed to be friends.
If her memory from the brief introductions this morning was correct, then across from her was Yaoyorozu Tae, the mother of the Vice Rep. Next to her was Todoroki Fumi, who was the only non-parent family member who had come in today. And there was a blonde woman with a foreign face, and foreign sounding name, Aoyama Elodie.
Continuing their conversation from earlier, Mitsuki started speaking. "I'm still surprised your daughter still lives with you all the way in the Mie Prefecture. That's a crazy daily commute."
"We tried to get her set up in an apartment close to U.A. High, but she insisted. She gave a bunch of excuses as to why, but I think she'd miss us too much." Hayami said.
"I know I'd miss Izuku too much if he moved out." Inko said, as she patted her eyes with a napkin at the mere thought of it.
"Yeah, we could not imagine leaving our little Yuga alone here, so we moved with him from France." Elodie said, "Still it is nice to know he's in good hands with his Class Rep watching out for him. Especially after that nasty business at the USJ."
Inko looked like she was going to cry again, but Mitsuki placed her hand on Inko's shoulder.
Hayami remembered how much Ochaco had ranted and raved about U.A. High's poor security, how she would have been responsible if her classmates died, and even complained that despite her efforts dozens of the attackers had gotten away.
"It is nice to know Momo is in good hands." Yaoyorozu Tae said, "She's talked quite a lot about her friend Ochaco. She even shocked me by admitting she ranked second in the midterms after her as well. I just wonder if Momo is ever going to invite her over. I could make them some healthy cupcakes."
Ochaco had also talked about Momo at length. Said the girl was a good assistant when it came to Class Rep duties, and was a natural genius. Not to mention her comments about the girl's quirk.
"I'm sure she would love that. The way Ochaco gushes about Momo makes me a little jealous sometimes." Hayami admitted.
Mitsuki looked over to Fumi, who had been quiet up to that point, "You know, you don't have to be shy, you can brag about your brother too."
Hayami and the others continued to talk about their children until the bus reached its destination.
—
As the parents all got off the bus, the school nurse greeted Aizawa and the actor who had helped with the training exercise.
Hayami could hear her scolding Aizawa as everyone got off the bus, hearing something about "aggravating old wounds because you're too stubborn to have a real conversation" as the nurse looked at the actor who was dressed in black.
If any of the other parents had noticed this spectacle, it didn't last long, because a small white creature in a suit approached.
He opened with a variation on a greeting that Hayami had heard before, "That's right. It's me, Nedzu, the one who could be a dog or a mouse or a bear, but more importantly, I'm the proud principal of U.A. High!"
Greeting everyone quickly, but one at a time, Nedzu made short work of introductions.
"Thank you for coming here for Parents' Day, and for helping us out with today's activities so far. I know this ended up being a bit of a ploy on Aizawa's behalf, as part of our unique philosophy on allowing our teachers freedom to conduct their classes. Naturally, the goal is to push our hero students, in our ever driven effort to go Plus Ultra, so that the next crop of aspiring heroes will be ready for the challenges that face them." Nedzu said, as he looked at each parent again.
He continued on, talking about the ways U.A. High sets itself apart, including the teachers, facilities, and so on. It wasn't the first time Hayami had heard Nedzu talk about the school, but it was certainly a more generalized argument, one to parents that had already bought in to sending their kids there.
Wrapped up, Nedzu finished his main speech, "If any of you have questions, concerns, or comments after today, please don't hesitate to send me or any of the staff an email. Our contact information is available on our website, as well as in the U.A. High Students and Parents app."
"But of course, I still want to make sure that all of you can see the facilities, and confirm that your trust in taking care of your children is well-earned and well-placed. While I'm sure that all of you would like to tour our facilities, I know that you also have busy schedules, so if any of you need to excuse yourselves, feel free to follow me now. Anyone who did want to stay, I have our Guidance Councilor, Inui here to act as your guide. It was lovely meeting everyone!"
As Nedzu led a handful of the students' families off the campus, Inui bowed and introduced himself. "I am Inui Ryo, U.A. High's Guidance Councilor, and Pro Hero Hound Dog. I keep students in line on their paths here, act as a life coach, and quirk councilor. I will be taking everyone here around the campus. For our first part of the tour though, we'll be visiting the cafeteria to meet with our school's nutritionist and chef, the Pro Hero Lunch Rush. I hear he has something special prepared for us there."
Hayami's mouth was watering just thinking about the next stage in the tour.
—
Uraraka HayamiOn the way home, Ochaco was silent the entire time before she suddenly spoke up after they boarded the train together.
"Promise me you'll never do that again."
Her voice cracked despite how hard she tried to sound commanding.
"I won't. I'm sorry if I scared you."
Ochaco looked away from Hayami, staring out the window.
She abruptly asked another question, "Why did you mouth that there was a problem and it was still dangerous?"
"I said there was no problem and to stay calm." Hayami replied.
"Maybe German wasn't the best way to communicate that…" Ochaco grumbled.
"Old habits die hard, Colonel."
"Next time, use hand signals." Ochaco muttered.
Silent again, Ochaco just continued to glare out the window. Several minutes later her head was leaning against Hayami, and she was asleep.
Hayami wrapped her arm around her daughter, and Ochaco started to softly snore.