"We're going on a FIELD TRIP!" Miss Aoki announced one morning, her enthusiasm at dangerous levels.
"Where?" the class asked in unison.
"The Musutafu Hero Museum!"
The class erupted. Half the kids cheered. The other half groaned. Takeshi asked if the museum was edible.
"No, Takeshi."
"But what if—"
"NO."
Haruto raised his hand. "Is this optional?"
"No, Haruto. It's educational."
"Those aren't mutually exclusive."
"Field trip is mandatory."
"That's what I thought."
Izuku was already vibrating with excitement. "The Hero Museum! They have All Might's debut costume! And historical hero artifacts! And interactive exhibits! And—"
"INFO-DUMP INCOMING!" Mina warned.
"Right! Sorry! But it's SO COOL!"
"We know, Deku," Miss Aoki said fondly. "That's why we're going."
She passed out permission slips. "Parents need to sign these by Friday. We'll need chaperones too!"
"My mom'll definitely volunteer," Izuku said.
"Mine too," Mina added. "She loves field trips."
"Mine will bring snacks and a first aid kit," Haruto said.
"That's responsible."
"That's my mother expecting disaster."
"Same thing in her case."
Friday arrived with the usual chaos. The bus was parked outside, and Miss Aoki was doing a headcount.
"Everyone has their buddy?" she called.
"Buddy system?" Haruto asked Izuku.
"We hold hands so nobody gets lost!"
"I'm four, not two."
"Field trip rules!"
"Field trip rules are excessive."
"But necessary!" Miss Aoki said, overhearing. "Haruto, you're with Izuku. Mina, you're with Hana."
"What about me?" Takeshi asked.
"You're with me. Where I can see you."
"Why?"
"You tried to eat the bus tire."
"I was testing it!"
"Get on the bus, Takeshi."
The bus ride was loud. Kids were singing, talking, arguing about heroes. Two kids in the back were having a quirk-use debate that was getting heated.
"All Might would TOTALLY beat Endeavor!" one kid insisted.
"Endeavor has FIRE!"
"All Might has EVERYTHING!"
"That's not a valid argument!"
"It is if it's TRUE!"
Haruto's mother sat next to him, having volunteered as a chaperone. She'd brought a backpack full of supplies.
"What's in there?" Haruto asked.
"Snacks, water bottles, band-aids, antiseptic wipes, emergency contact numbers, a first aid manual—"
"Did you pack for a field trip or a natural disaster?"
"With children, they're the same thing."
"Fair point."
Inko was chaperoning too, sitting across the aisle with Izuku.
"I'm so excited!" Izuku was telling her for the fifth time. "We're going to see REAL hero history!"
"I know, sweetie!"
"REAL HISTORY!"
"I KNOW!"
"But like, ACTUAL REAL—"
"Izuku, breathe."
"Right! Breathing! Important for excitement!"
The bus pulled up to the museum, and Miss Aoki did another headcount.
"Everyone stays with their buddy! No wandering off! No touching exhibits unless they say 'touch me'!"
"What if they say it quietly?" Takeshi asked.
"They're objects. They don't talk."
"Haruto talks to objects."
"Plants aren't objects. They're living things."
"Technically—"
"TAKESHI. Off the bus."
The museum was massive. The lobby had a giant statue of All Might in his prime, fist raised triumphantly.
"WHOA!" half the class gasped.
"It's so BIG!" Izuku said, already pulling out his notebook.
"It's accurate to his actual height plus twenty percent for dramatic effect," a museum guide said, appearing beside them. "Welcome to the Musutafu Hero Museum! I'm Guide Tanaka!"
"There's a lot of Tanakas in this city," Haruto observed.
"Very popular name," his mother agreed.
Guide Tanaka led them through the first exhibit—"Early Hero History." There were costumes from the first generation of heroes, old news clippings, photographs.
"This is the costume worn by Shield Hero, one of the first officially registered heroes in Japan!" Guide Tanaka explained.
"It looks uncomfortable," Mina said.
"Hero costumes weren't very advanced back then."
"Did they not have fabric technology?"
"They had fabric technology. They didn't have fashion sense."
The kids giggled. Guide Tanaka smiled.
"Now, if you'll follow me—"
"WAIT!" Izuku's hand shot up. "What's Shield Hero's quirk? What year did they debut? What was their rescue success rate?"
"Uh—"
"And their costume material? Was it reinforced? What about mobility restrictions?"
"Izuku," Inko said gently. "Let the guide continue."
"But I have QUESTIONS!"
"We'll look at the information plaques."
"But—"
"Plaques, Izuku."
They moved to the next exhibit—"The All Might Era."
The class went wild.
"ALL MIGHT!" several kids screamed.
"That's his ACTUAL costume!" Izuku was practically hyperventilating. "From his ACTUAL debut! THAT'S REAL!"
"Breathe, buddy," Haruto said.
"CAN'T! TOO EXCITED!"
"You can. Breathing is involuntary."
"NOT WHEN ALL MIGHT'S COSTUME IS RIGHT THERE!"
The guide explained All Might's debut, his rise to fame, his impact on hero society. Izuku was scribbling frantically, trying to capture every word.
Haruto noticed something in the corner—a small display about lesser-known heroes. One caught his eye.
"Greenward?" he read.
"Oh!" the guide said. "Greenward was a nature-based hero! Active about ten years ago. Excellent rescue record, though not very famous."
That was Tamaki. His mentor. Here in a museum as a footnote.
"What happened to her?" Haruto asked.
"Retired, I believe. Quirk overuse injuries. Common with heroes who push themselves too hard."
Haruto filed that information away.
They moved through more exhibits. Modern heroes. Villain containment history. The evolution of hero support equipment.
Takeshi tried to touch everything despite explicit instructions not to.
"Takeshi, hands to yourself!" Miss Aoki called for the seventh time.
"But it SAYS 'Please Touch'!"
"That's a touchscreen! For information! Not for eating!"
"How was I supposed to know?"
"Context clues!"
At the interactive exhibit, kids could test their quirks in safe environments.
"Who wants to go first?" the attendant asked.
"ME!" Bakugo would've shouted, but he wasn't here. Several other kids volunteered.
Yuki made ice sculptures. Kenji stretched to reach high platforms. Hana created controlled flames.
"Haruto-kun?" the attendant called. "Would you like to try?"
Haruto approached the plant-growing station. There was a pot with soil and sensors to measure growth rate and control.
He placed his hand on the soil and grew a flower. Just one. Perfectly controlled.
The sensors beeped approvingly.
"Excellent control for your age!" the attendant said. "Have you had formal training?"
"Some."
"It shows! Very precise!"
Izuku went next—the strength testing area, where he managed to hang from a bar for forty-five seconds.
"New record!" he announced proudly.
"That's my boy!" Inko called, taking pictures.
Mina accidentally melted part of the testing platform, but the attendants were prepared with replacement panels.
"This happens daily," one told Miss Aoki.
"I'm so sorry—"
"Don't be! It's why we have replacements!"
Lunch was in the museum cafeteria, which had hero-themed food.
"All Might burgers!" Izuku pointed excitedly.
"They're just burgers with his face on them," Haruto said.
"ALL MIGHT BURGERS!"
"That's not—"
"ALL. MIGHT. BURGERS."
"Okay."
Haruto's mother had packed him lunch anyway—sandwich, fruit, juice box. She didn't trust museum food.
"You packed for him?" Inko asked.
"I don't trust institutional food preparation."
"It's a museum cafeteria, not a prison."
"Same difference when you're four."
"That's paranoid."
"That's prepared."
After lunch, they hit the gift shop. This was, according to Miss Aoki, "educational shopping."
"Pick ONE thing," she instructed. "Within budget!"
The kids scattered like marbles. Izuku made a beeline for the All Might merchandise. Mina gravitated toward the hero pins. Takeshi was eyeing the pencils suspiciously.
"Those aren't food, Takeshi," Haruto said.
"Everything's food if you're brave enough."
"That's terrible life advice."
"It's served me well."
"You ate a textbook last week."
"And I learned its contents!"
"That's not how learning works!"
Haruto found a small book about plant-based heroes through history. It was on clearance. Nobody wanted it.
"Good choice," his mother said. "Educational and practical."
"It was cheap."
"That too."
Izuku bought an All Might figurine. Mina got hero pins. Hana purchased a flame-resistant notebook.
Takeshi tried to buy edible paper but was redirected to normal pencils.
"But WHY can't I eat paper?"
"Because it's not food!"
"But it COULD be!"
"No, Takeshi."
"Society is holding me back!"
"Yes. That's what society does."
The bus ride back was quieter. Kids were tired, clutching their purchases, several asleep on parents' shoulders.
Haruto sat next to Izuku, who was reviewing his notes.
"That was the BEST field trip EVER," Izuku said.
"It was loud."
"But educational!"
"Those aren't mutually exclusive."
"You said that this morning!"
"It's still true."
They arrived back at school, where parents picked up their kids. Haruto's father was waiting.
"How was it?" he asked.
"Loud. Educational. Takeshi tried to eat a touchscreen."
"Sounds like a successful field trip."
"That's concerning."
"Welcome to parenthood."
At home, Haruto showed Gerald his new book.
"Plant heroes through history," Gerald read—somehow. "Fascinating."
"You can't read. You're a fern."
"I contain multitudes."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only answer you're getting."
Haruto flipped through the book, finding Tamaki's entry. There was a photo—her, younger, in hero costume, smiling confidently.
"That's your mentor," Gerald observed.
"She looks different."
"People change. Especially after hero work."
"She said quirk overuse."
"Probably true. Growing things takes energy. Growing them fast takes more. Growing them while people are dying takes everything."
"Heavy, Gerald."
"You asked."
They sat quietly, watching the sunset.
"Did you have fun today?" Gerald asked.
"It was acceptable."
"High praise from you."
"Everyone keeps saying that."
"Because it's accurate."
Haruto smiled. "Yeah. I guess it was fun. The museum was interesting. Izuku was happy. Takeshi didn't eat anything important."
"Successful day then."
"By low standards, yes."
"Those are the only standards that matter."
Inside, his parents were making dinner. The cherry tree rustled contentedly. Herbert had apparently told Gerald all about the field trip through the Plant Network—yes, that was a thing.
Everything was normal. Peaceful. Educational.
Tomorrow would bring new adventures. New loudness. New reasons for Takeshi to try eating inappropriate objects.
But tonight, Haruto had a new book, a tired friend, and a wise fern.
That was enough.
The next week, Miss Aoki made an announcement.
"Based on our successful field trip, we'll be doing more educational outings!"
"Oh no," Haruto said.
"Oh YES!" Izuku cheered.
"Next month, we're visiting a fire station!"
The class erupted in excited chatter.
"I can show them my fire!" Hana said.
"Please don't show the firefighters your fire," Miss Aoki said. "They deal with enough fire."
"But—"
"No."
"What about my eating?" Takeshi asked.
"What ABOUT your eating?"
"Can I demonstrate?"
"NO!"
"But—"
"We're visiting to LEARN, not to DEMONSTRATE!"
"Those sound the same!"
"They're NOT!"
Haruto put his head down on his desk.
It was going to be a long school year.
But looking at Izuku's excited face and Mina's enthusiastic bouncing and even Takeshi's questionable life choices...
Maybe that was okay.
Maybe long school years were just part of life.
Maybe that was fine.
"You okay, Haru-kun?" Izuku asked.
"Yeah. Just tired."
"From the field trip?"
"From everything."
"That's fair. But it's a good tired, right?"
Haruto thought about it. The museum. The training. The friends. The wise fern at home.
"Yeah," he said. "Good tired."
"That's what I thought!" Izuku smiled. "We're lucky, huh?"
"Yeah. We are."