Helping You Heal

Chapter 2 - Confidence

"There are six belt colors:" Bakugou continues. "White, Orange, Blue, Yellow, Green, Brown, and Black. Each belt has an intermediate rank with a stripe that shows progression. Orange with a stripe, Blue with a stripe, and so on. In order to progress, you must meet the required skill level of each rank. Each will take a certain amount of time to reach. The orange belt normally takes at least two months, and has relatively simple requirements, so you should all be able to pass the test in the minimum time. As long as you work hard. So don't let me see you slacking off! Understood?" The class responds.
"Hai Sensei!"
"Good. Now, to reach the orange belt, you must learn the meaning of Kyokushinkai, master dojo etiquette and the proper way to fold your uniforms, and demonstrate basic stances, strikes, defenses, and kicks. As you progress, you will earn stripes on your belts for your achievements. Once we've gone through all the lessons, I'll test you, and then we'll practice for our belt ceremony. Understood?" he says.
"Hai Sensei!" the kids respond.
"Good. Now, let's get started."

—————

June and July pass by slowly, the beginners content being not so knew to Reiki. She'd practiced all the beginner stuff before, which is to say she watched Mulan over and over to memorize the choreography of 'Be A Man' with her papa and auntie, but she was far from bored with the content. It was thrilling, in a way, to be in an actual class while learning these moves. It was certainly exciting to see her Sensei try and hide a smirk when she was the first one to do a perfect roundhouse kick, or because she had the loudest kiai, or when she led the class in the dojo kun. When she earned her first stripe for progression, she refused to take off her belt before she went to bed. She was so excited to be in this class that she nearly forgot about the fact that she was starting second grade in just a couple months. The thought came to her one day on the way to class when her papa reminded her that they were going to her new school's open house to meet her teacher the next day. Her normal excitement seemed to be drained on the spot, and replaced with nervousness. She'd been nervous about going to a new school since her papa said they were moving back in winter. What if the teacher is mean? What if she couldn't make any friends? These questions and more were on her mind during the whole class...and it led to her losing her concentration.

After class, Kirishima was met with Reiki hugging him and burying her face in his stomach. His eyebrows furrow with concern. He rubs her back and coos down at her.
"Hey, hey...what's wrong baby girl? Did you have a rough day?" She nods against his stomach. Kirishima's eyes glance up to see Bakugou coming forward. He kneels down and looks her in the eyes. "Hey, it's ok, sweetheart. Why don't you go get your stuff and we can talk about it in the car. Ok?" he says with a kind smile. Reiki sniffs to hold back her tears and nods, pulling away to go gather her things. Kirishima stands back up as Bakugou steps in front of him. "What happened?"
"Kid had a hard time focusing. She flubbed a few techniques because of it and got embarrassed. She's been doing amazing up till now. Anything in particular that I should know about?" Bakugou asks. Kirishima sighs.
"Well, I told you we moved here a couple months ago. She's starting at her new school soon, and she's nervous. Sometimes it can get to her head. Heh, my fault I guess," he jokes. "I'm a bigger worrier than her."
"Alright," Bakugou huffs. "Just try to work on that. She's got potential, and I don't want to see her falling behind because of anxiety. She's a tough kid." Kirishima smiles a little bit.
"That she is. I'll talk to her. Hopefully her nerves will calm down a bit after her school's open house tomorrow," he says. Reiki comes back over with her stuff. "Ready to go, sweetheart?" he asks. She nods and turns to her Sensei, bowing respectfully.
"Bye Sensei," she mutters. Bakugou sighs.
"Later kid."

—————

The car ride to the school was as excruciating as her first ride to karate. Those worrisome questions just kept spinning in her head, and she clutched her papa's hand for dear life as they entered the building. This building was really different from her old school. It was bigger. What if she got lost? They were welcomed at the door by a staff member and given a map of the school. Kirishima handed Reiki the map and occupied her by having her navigate them to her new teacher's room. She clings to her papa's hand again once they reach the classroom, preparing herself for the worst, but is surprised to see a young woman a little older than her papa at the front of the classroom. She's really quite pretty! Grey eyes behind glasses, and white hair with red streaks tied back in a neat bun. She's scribbling something down on a clipboard when she looks up and notices them. She smiles warmly and sets her clipboard down on her desk before coming to meet them as they enter the classroom.
"Why, good morning! I'm Miss Fuyumi! How are you two doing today?" she says, extending her hand. Kirishima shakes it and smiles back.
"We're doing well, thanks! We're the Kirishimas! Sorry if we're a little later than the others. Had to shake out some nerves before we got here," he explains.
"Oh, no, don't worry about it at all! Everyone's a little nervous before school starts!" she reassures them. That...made Reiki feel a little less nervous.

Fuyumi kneels down to the little girl's level so she can meet her eyes. She can tell that she's still nervous, so she speaks in a warmer tone.
"Forgive me, but I haven't asked you your name," she says. Reiki swallows.
"...Reiki..." she says quietly. Her teacher smiles.
"It's nice to meet you, Reiki. I can't wait to have you in my class!" she beams. "Would you like to take a look around the room while I ask your dad some questions?" Reiki thinks for a moment, peering around the room, then up at her papa. Kirishima smiles, squeezing her hand a little to let her know it's ok. She looks back at Miss Fuyumi and nods.
"Alright," the teacher smiles. "You go ahead then and take a look around." Reiki nods again, reluctantly letting go of her papa's hand. She heads over to one shelf, looking at pictures of past classes doing different activities like crafts, worksheets, and cooking- wait...cooking? She looks closer at those pictures. They're mainly of kids in aprons and chef hats measuring, mixing, and decorating various different ingredients and goodies. She didn't know you could cook in second grade! Now this has her intrigued.

Her nerves start disappearing as she makes her way around the classroom, examining it and the many pictures of kids doing activities with Miss Fuyumi, and by the time she gets back to her papa, the adults had finished talking. Miss Fuyumi smiles down at the girl.
"So, what did you think about the classroom?" she asks.
"It's cool," Reiki says, taking her papa's hand again. She's not as quiet as before! That's good!
"I'm glad you think so! Now then," she starts, squatting down to her level. "I'd like to get to know a little bit about you, Reiki. Do you think you could answer some questions for me?" Reiki thinks for a moment. Get to know me? Like with Eri and Kota!
"I think so," she answers. Fuyumi beams.
"Awesome! How about we sit and talk here while your papa takes a look around?" she asks. Reiki nods, and they get right to work.

—————

That Friday, Reiki skips into the dojo lobby and stands on her tiptoes as she greets Miss Asui.
"Hi Miss Asui!" she beams.
"Why hello there, Reiki!" the receptionist grins. "How was your week?"
"It was great! Me and my papa met my new teacher and saw my school, we went shopping for school supplies, and tomorrow I'm getting a haircut!" Reiki answers her, any and all sadness that had been seen on Monday completely gone.
"That's awesome! Why don't you go tell your senpais about it? Sensei will be waiting for you," Asui says.
"Ok!" Kirishima chuckles as he follows after his daughter as she bounds into the dojo. She does her entry ritual, setting her stuff down after greeting her teacher and working to get her shoes off. She gives her papa a hug goodbye before scurrying over to her senpais. Bakugou noticed her and her papa the moment they came in. He looks at her for a moment, then over at her papa. Their eyes meet for a few seconds. Bakugou quirks an eyebrow as his eyes flick between the man and his daughter. Kirishima seems to understand, and he smiles nice and wide, putting up a thumbs up.
She's good.
Bakugou nods, and turns back to his clipboard.

—————

Two weeks later was the kids' first belt test. Some of them were nervous, as it was the first test, but not Reiki. She was confident. She knew that what they had learned was just first level skill, and that the only real difficult thing was remembering the dojo kun, which she had memorized. So, when Bakugou asked who would like to go first, her hand shot up. Her classmates marveled at her confidence, but everyone else knew that she was ready, including her. She performed wonderfully, and was the first to get a belt. She couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day, and neither could her guardians. The two of them cheered for her during the class's presentation, and the ice cream they had afterwards was completely worth it.

—————

After all the kids left with their families, Bakugou and Asui went back to the dojo to close up, and at the end of the day, they headed home. They'd been running the dojo together almost as long as they've been living together, and had been friends even longer, even if Bakugou denies it. So it's not a surprise when Asui notices something off about her cranky roommate.
"So what is it?" Bakugou glares at her. She doesn't look back, of course. She's driving.
"What?" he asks.
"Something's different. Do you have a favorite?" she elaborates.
"The fuck are you talking about, Frogface?" he huffs.
"Almost every time we drive home after a day of junior classes or tournaments or whatever, the first thing you say is: 'I fucking hate children.' You haven't said that phrase in two or three weeks. Change of heart?" Bakugou's eyebrows seem to furrow even more.
"No. Quit reading into things so damn much. Who are you, fucking Deku?" he snarls as he turns his eyes back to his phone.
"No. Izuku wouldn't ask you directly at first. He'd conspire about your abnormal behavior first. You know I'm always blunt," she snorts. Bakugou rolls his eyes.
"Painfully aware. Now just shut up and drive." Asui peers are him for a moment and snorts again.
"Hai, Sensei."