Red and White, Black and Blue

Chapter 15: Code Name: ???

It's raining the morning that classes resume. Ryumi stands on the crowded train, her hair and wings dripping from the flight over. It doesn't bother her - she actually loves flying in the rain. In fact, the only reason she's bothered with a raincoat is to keep her uniform somewhat presentable.

She feels the stares of the other passengers lingering on her during the ride. It's not an unusual feeling, she is a mutant after all, but there seems to be more this morning than she's used to.

A man standing nearby coughs lightly. "You're Arisato, from the hero course, right? Great job getting into the final four."

Another person in the crowd pipes up right after. "That was a wild battle, and against Endeavor's kid too."

"Uh... thanks." She mumbles awkwardly. Somehow it hadn't yet occurred to her that practically the whole country saw all those fights - that even people outside the hero industry might have taken an interest in the top performers.

I suppose it's like this for Shoto all the time... She muses as her stop mercifully arrives and she can slip away from the crowd. As she flies off to the UA gates, a few people wave and shout more praise and encouragement.

Ryumi doesn't land again until she's well inside of the barrier. She shakes out her wings a little, though she'll still be in the rain for the rest of the walk up.

Or she would be, if an umbrella didn't appear over her head at that moment. "Good morning, Ryumi." Yaoyorozu leans in to stay under the umbrella.

"Oh, morning Yaoyorozu." She grins at her friend. "Thanks."

Yaoyorozu gestures forward and the pair start walking up the hill together. "I'm surprised you'd choose to fly in this weather."

"Eh, it's not so bad." Ryumi stops herself from poking the other girl like she normally would, to avoid leaving a wet spot on her uniform. "Honestly, I like it."

Yaoyorozu shakes her head lightly. "You'll catch a cold if you keep that up."

She waves off the idea and changes the subject. "So, you're sounding a little less doom and gloom today. Your parents convince you that you did fine at the festival?" She looks at her friend with a bit of concern.

Yaoyorozu wears a slight frown. "They tried - but I still feel like I've let them down..." She looks at the dragon girl walking beside her. "You and I both got in on recommendation, but you're already getting ahead of me."

Ryumi shakes her head. "Not at all. It's just a difference of how our quirks are best applied." She points at Yaoyorozu. "Your power works best with more information. You saw what happened to Tokoyami when he fought Bakugo - if you had the right information, you could have easily..." Something catches her eye and she loses that thought for another.

"Hey! Shoto!" She waves to the boy walking just ahead of them, gesturing for him to come over.

He shifts his umbrella and looks over his shoulder. Recognition flashes on his face and he wanders over to the two girls. "Good morning, Ryumi. Yaoyorozu."

The taller girl blinks in surprise. It takes her a moment to recover enough to respond. "Oh, yes. Good morning, Todoroki." Her confusion remains obvious.

"I was just trying to tell her how she shouldn't be upset over losing to Tokoyami. He's a really tough opponent, and with the right information it would've been a landslide in the other direction." Ryumi explains to Shoto, catching him up on the conversation. "You agree with me, right? Like, Bakugo basically just used a flash bomb to win, so..."

Shoto nods. "You handled yourself fine in the cavalry battle, too."

Ryumi grins and gestures toward him. "See? Shoto agrees. You did great. I bet you'll have plenty of offers when we get to class."