Musume

Chapter 8

Shinso’s reaction when she appears at his door with his own envelope

When Shinso’s door opened and he saw his best friend ―only friend, his mind whispered― standing there with a white envelope in her hands, he paused.

Somehow, despite not knowing how she’d got it, he knew what it was.

He was alone in his house so he invited her in and guided her to his room, where he sat down in his bed as she took a seat at his desk and stared at the letter now in his hands.

“Are you going to open it?” she asked softly.

Shinso didn’t answer. He couldn’t.

Then he whispered at her.

“What if I didn’t make it?”

Her face didn’t change as she replied, very simply.

“Then we look for another school.”

“But… but it’s UA!”

“I know.”

Shinso stared at her, reading her conviction in her face and knowing how much this meant to her.

“We won’t know until you open that letter.”

Shinso looked back down at the innocent-looking white envelope. It looked so common despite holding his future inside.

Nobody expected him to get in, he knew. Not his parents, not his teachers, not his classmates… Nobody but her. He’d long grown used to that, though, to her being his only support.

But he so didn’t want to disappoint her.

With a deep breath, he opened it, took out the sheet of paper carefully folded inside and started to read.

He looked up with tears in his eyes.

“What does it say?”

“I passed.”

They both laughed.

HPBNAHPBNAHPBNA

As a congratulations for passing the exam, Toshinori took Shinso, Izuku and Yumi out for dinner to a restaurant close to Izuku’s house, as that way they could drop him off and go home, where Shinso and Yumi planned to have a sleepover.

The green-haired boy was a small bundle of nerves, talking incessantly about the kind of things they would be learning at UA.

The purple-haired teen was just as nervous, but it showed in a different form, with him being more quiet than usual.

The red-haired girl was… well, she was herself, calming Izuku whenever he got to be too much and dragging Shinso into conversation.

Toshinori smiled as he took a sip of his soup.

Watching the three kids, he decided it was time to reveal his secret to Shinso. Not only did he feel he could be trusted, but he also hoped having no more secrets between the three of them would help them make a lasting friendship.

HPBNAHPBNAHPBNA

“I still remember the day I found you, so small in that fire,” almost shuddered the man. “and now look at you: about to start classes at UA and designing your first hero suit.” Sighed Toshinori taking a seat next to her on the kitchen isle.

His little princess smiled up at him but she was soon back to worrying about the design, tapping her lips with the pen as she surveyed what she had.

Frustrated, she turned to her dad and showed him what she had so far.

Toshinori was rather reassured when he saw that her chosen outfit covered her from head to toe, unlike most heroines nowadays. But of course, with her Quirk she could afford it.

As Toshinori thought over what could be missing in the outfit, Shinso came down for breakfast, greeting them before taking a seat next to Yumi, where the girl had already prepared a few pages and pens for him to start on his own design.

“What are you doing?” asked Shinso as he took a sip of his coffee.

“Designing my Hero costume.”

Shinso turned alarmed and drank the rest of the coffee at once.

“I forgot about that, when did we have to send it?”

“Tomorrow.” Replied Yumi. “But don’t worry, I’ve made you a few sketches just in case you didn’t feel inspired. Feel free to change anything that you don’t like and add anything you do.” Explained the girl pushing the second stack of papers towards him.

“Yumi-hime,” called her dad to get her attention. “I think you’re only missing a utility bet and maybe a cloak.

And with that topic of discussion, they spent most of the morning.

HPBNAHPBNAHPBNA

It was the day before classes began and she woke to the aroma of pancakes, the only thing her dad really knew how to cook, and a burnt smell.

That meant it was a special day.

She wracked her brain for what could be important so close to starting school and then stopped dead as she realized.

Of course, it was her birthday.

Well, the day they had chosen as her birthday because they didn’t know when it really was.

It was the anniversary of the day daddy found her.

Sometimes, Yumi wondered about that day. Or more specifically, about the time before that. Where she came from, who her birth parents were, how she’d ended up in that burning building…

But she never dwelt on that.

She knew who she was.

She was Yagi Hiroyumi, daughter of Yagi Toshinori, best friend of Hitoshi Shinso and future Pro Hero.

With renewed spirits, she finished dressing for the day in a blue skirt and a white button up shirt and left her room.

Her daddy was in the kitchen with a yellow apron on and the culprit of the burnt smell smoking on a tray.

“I’d better buy you a cake.” He said with a mournful sigh.

Yumi smiled brightly and skipped to him, pressing a kiss to his hollowed kiss.

“Happy birthday, my little princess.”

“Thank you, daddy.” She answered. “And it’s okay; your pancakes are the best.”

In the middle of breakfast, the doorbell rang. Yumi hurried to open the door and jumped upon Shinso upon seeing him.

The boy wrapped her in a hug and whispered a happy birthday into her hair.

After inviting him in and placing a serving of pancakes in front of him, they lapsed into a comfortable silence.

HPBNAHPBNAHPBNA

After breakfast, Yumi proceeded to spend the day in the company of her two most favorite people. Uncle Naomasa came by too, dropping off her gift on the way to a crime scene.

It was brand new hiking material and he also promised they’d use it on her next free weekend.

Then they got lunch and an ice cream and returned to her house, were Shinso and her daddy gave her their own gifts.

Shinso had gotten her a new fantasy book series that she’d been eyeing for a while, whilst her dad had gone for a pretty pendant in the shape of a Y that hung just below her neckline.

Then Toshinori sat them down in the sitting room and the truth was revealed.

Shinso was struck speechless as All Might’s buffed up form deflated.

Yumi was simply beaming that she didn’t have to keep any more secrets from her best friend.

All in all, it was a great birthday.