Birds of a Feather

Chapter 2: How Did I End Up Here?

Rum: Thank you so much for making it to Chapter 2!!! I'm so excited to finally publish. I know the beginning is on the slower side, but I promise she picks up after the Sports festival ends next chapter! Please leave any comments/feedback/etc. :) 

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"I just want to say, I'm gonna win," a bored looking blonde, the alleged first year rep, drolled into the microphone, only to be met with boos. I snickered as Hawks let out a bark of a laugh.

"I like that one," I said, grinning. Not very often you see a kid refuse to buy into the bullshit faux humbleness that so many pros seemed to champion these days. Hawks nodded in agreement, still grinning widely. His approval made sense - Hawks was known for not playing well with others, for spurring the political correctness seen by other heroes. It was one of the few things I had to admit mild respect for when it came to number three.

"Just please don't try to mentor him. You being allowed to teach these kids is bad enough, but focusing on the kid who already has a complete disregard for his own reputation would be the equivalent of pouring gasoline on a wildfire," he replied, snickering to himself. My nostrils flared in response as I briefly saw red.

Yeah, momentary respect for Hawks immediately gone.

I shook my head and peered at him under my eyelashes. It was hard to believe while sitting next to the number three hero that a little over two weeks ago I was sitting in my school's library, desperately cramming for finals...

My phone rang again, the third time in a row. Growling, I yanked it open and barked a short "what the hell do you want?" into the phone. It was finals week, and suffice to say, I was handling the pressure as well as I handled most conflicts in my life.

Poorly. With lots of unbridled rage.

"Well hello to you too, sis. Is that any way to speak to your favorite brother," my younger brother, Natsuo, crooned into the phone.

"You know what week it is and you're coming at me with JOKES, Natsu?" I growled menacingly into the phone. Natsu chuckled, then the line grew quiet.

"Listen sis, what I'm about to tell you, I need you to promise that you won't freak out and do something rash," he said, uncharacteristically serious.

"Well that's basically a guarantee that I'm going to freak out and do something rash, isn't it," I quipped back as I flipped through my book, desperately trying to find the passage Mones wrote on parricide. My brother groaned in my ear. "Promise me, Kisa."

"Natsuo. The point. Get to it sometime this century," I barked into my phone, shifting to hold the phone to my ear with my shoulder so I could continue jotting down notes. I swear, if Natsu was calling about some dumb problem with his girlfriend during the middle of finals week I was going to-

"Shoto's class was attacked by villains."

"WHAT?!" I shrieked, dropping the phone as I jerked in surprise, knocking my iced coffee over my laptop, notes, and book before a blast of ice encompassed the surrounding area in one quick blast. Thankfully, it was so late that the floor where I was working was completely empty, so nobody noticed the massive sheet of ice I'd created. Ignoring the mess around me, I grabbed my phone off the ground and pushed it back against my ear.

"Sis? Sis? You there?" I could hear Natsu on the other line shouting for me.

"I'm here, I'm here, stop yelling. Is Shoto ok?" I asked, heart beating wildly.

"You froze the library didn't you?"

"NATSUO!"

"Yes, it's Shoto, of course he's fine. Fuyumi said there's not a scratch on him." I blew out the breath I didn't realize I'd been holding as Natsu continued. "Apparently All Might and one of his classmates got pretty banged up by some monster, but you know Shoto, kid's pretty hard to phase," Natsu continued. My mouth pursed at the mention of my former work study mentor. I'd heard from Shoto that he was teaching in UA, a concept that had made me actually laugh out loud considering my experiences with him as a mentor. Still, if him being there was going to be an invitation to villains everywhere...