The next day.

  Henry:

  First day of school- it's finally here! Good because I got- punishments... Yay...

  So, I meet my professor, Sekijiro Kan, or Vlad King, first thing in the morning. I mean, that's just amazing! So let's see, how many times did I outmaneuver this guy in the last two years... six times, maybe? That's six public humiliations- and he gets to be my disciplinarian. This is gonna go well; I have high hopes for this going amazing... crap...

  We do the whole thing: He unlocks my ankle monitor so I can change and shower, and I go out of school in nothing but a T-shirt, shorts, and tennis shoes—apparently, this is the official UA gym uniform. It doesn't do much in the cold.

  I might as well note that the UA campus is beautiful in the early morning as I walk behind the red-costumed hero professor. We head for a large track and field area, and I can take in the sights for a bit. There are many buildings, most with red brickwork, and the soft green grass squishes under my tennis shoes as we walk.

  I grin—like a forced smile—shivering in the cold. Why do I have to be wearing so little? Oh, right. This guy probably hates me.

  I look at the track as we approach. It's surrounded by grass, about four hundred meters around, and covered in black rubber.

  He speaks up and points at the track. "Get over here! Move! The white line, there- now!" Sensing anger, I move quickly and stand on the line. A part of me feels like running, but I'm here in this school with a mission. I want to make Purple Bandit into something better- and it'll take a lot before I give up.

  He folds his arms and looks down at me. Crap, he's big...

  "Got anything to say?"

  I shake my head. I'm pretty sure silence is the best policy right now. Hizashi said trying to avoid punishment is pointless in this school.

  "Good. Then try listening," he says. He turns and starts marching back and forth in front of me. "It occurs to me that a lot of things are wrong with you, and now, for the next few weeks, it's up to me to beat into you how to look, act, and think more like a real hero." I gulp.

  He eyes me.

  "Let's get something clear." He returns to pacing. "I doubt anything I do will compare to Charles in severity. I'm not trying to make you afraid of me out here; I'm trying to correct your behavior and communicate with you what is unacceptable. My goal is not to hurt or intimidate you but to correct you."

  "When I say I will beat you, understand, boy, this is a metaphor. I am a real man, which your life has been sorely missing. If I ever lay hands on you, I take that as a sign that I have lost control of the situation, and let's get something clear- I do not lose control easily." And- now I'm confused.

  "So... so violence means you've LOST control?"

  "Absolutely," he says, turning, folding his arms, and looking down at me.

  "But don't you always fight people on the streets?"

  "Does it not occur to you that me being willing to engage in violence to solve a problem could be the exception that proves the rule? When a fire breaks out, like with your episode in the mall, you acted irrationally, and I'm sure that felt natural to do- you acted as if all control was unraveling, and you had to act desperately to contain it. At UA, we teach how to regain control in desperate situations using controlled violence. But you cannot progress until you understand this truth- violence represents a loss of control by its very nature. Your goal isn't to revel in it; it's to finish it so you can restore order."

  "So... you're here to punish me..."

  "Without violence," he holds his hands behind his back. "You will punish yourself- this is the essence of self-discipline. Self-denial and inflicting pain in a manner to create self-improvement." He points at an obstacle course composed of a ten-foot high wall, a three-foot tall balance beam, seven two-foot hurdles, monkey bars seven feet above the ground, and finally, a zip line from a high pole to a forest finish line. There are mud pits all over the course- for safety, I guess... that and humiliation. Of course, if it is for that, no one except Vlad and me is out here.

  He starts up again. "Normally, I would ban you from using your quirk, but doppelganger strikes me as... allowable- you will be allowed to engage it three times per run. Every time you fail an obstacle, you do ten pushups and restart. If you fail to finish in under seven minutes, that's also a failure." He chuckles. "And of course, given the size of that wall- I don't know if there even is a way to overcome it without a quirk at your size, so that puts you down to two uses of doppelganger. I'll be nice and say you have a seven-minute time limit."

  My eyes go wide when I look at the crouse. "You've got to be kidding..." I say.

  "What? You used to run rooftops and evade pro heroes in the wild concrete jungle; why is this scary?"

  "It... it's just... only two uses of doppelganger?"

  He laughs as he walks past me, nodding his head. "You rely on that quirk too much. Your attacks and dodges rely entirely on your quirk before things collapse. Your mother, Yuka, told me she's terrified that someday you won't engage it fast enough to evade a serious injury or death, and while that's a concern, you've been doing what you do for years, so I imagine it barely registers for you." He then turns back to look at me. "It doesn't register for thief you anyway. But what about hero you? Hero, you have to run TOWARD danger, not away from it. You can't choose the safest path from here out; you can't even count on your power- because those you are trying to preserve won't have it. You'll have to think of how you use it, not just spam it until something works."

  He chuckles and shrugs, walking over to the rafters. "I'll be watching from a distance to ensure you're safe," he says. "But this is up to you. You will get up every morning at five until you can do this course in under five minutes- if that takes a day, fine. If it takes a month- I don't mind. That's your punishment. Its duration is up to you. You can even train in your off time. Have fun."

  "If... if I say I refuse to do this..." I bite my lip after saying that because he stops mid-step.

  He turns to look at me. "I hope you never do that." He looks down and to the side. "I actually regret that heroes like me weren't there when you and your sister needed us. I'm sorry about that... I want to give you a chance, kid. A chance most kids that make it into this school don't get. I'm committed to going the whole way here if you are. For the next three years, until you are old enough to attend UA as a full trainee, I'm prepared to overlook poor grades and a ton of misbehavior as long as I see a drive to succeed. If you keep working with us to improve yourself no matter what, I won't let go. But if you decide to give up, well... I guess that will mean you want to go back to jail." He sighs and turns around, heading for the bleachers again. "You decide, kid. I'm not Charles. I refuse to be Charles. You'll only be something greater if that's what you really want. I won't force you."

  "I become a hero if I want to... it's up to me, huh?"

  "Yep," he says as he sits down. "So... your choice?"

  I look over at the obstacles. This is my chance. The Purple Bandit can be something extraordinary. I'm being trained for training. How many kids get this kind of chance? How hard did I have to fight to get it? Ever since I was seven years old, I dreamed of making myself into someone extraordinary. This is my chance... no going back.

  Still, I sigh as I realize... this is gonna suck.

  I sprint to the first obstacle, thinking as I run. Only two uses of doppelganger are a massive hit to my usual strategy. I could bypass the whole course if I could spam it... three uses—but Vlad is right—there's no way to overcome that wall without my quirk.

  I can't use it on the zipline; if I fall there, I fall. Even if I could spam my ability, slipping off the handle would be a mistake even a doppelganger can't really undo. Hopping over two-foot obstacles should be easy enough with no powers—that leaves that twenty-foot balancing beam on which I can only correct myself two times to keep from falling. I assume falling or tripping is a failure. Well, here goes!

  As I'm three feet away, I jump three feet into the air and swing my right arm. A clone of me appears, and I quickly transfer to him. My calculations pay off narrowly as I grab the wall's edge and vault onto it. I look down into the mud and shrug—I'm just jumping down.

  Okay, so... did you know you're not actually supposed to do that? It turns out a little mud won't save you from being injured by a drop like that!

  I yelp in pain as one of my ankles rolls on impact and loudly cracks on the ground under the mud. I swing my arm, duplicate myself, transferring to the new body, only to hear Vlad yell, "Sloppy. The mud can only slow your fall, not negate it."

  I sigh, snapping away my injured body. "Well- I guess that's ten pushups, huh?" I ask with a chuckle.

  Vlad starts to shake. "That man... Charles... you don't even try to preserve your own life... I have to break you of this before you're killed." He closes his eyes, then lets his shoulders sag. The man tightens his fists. "I... ya know what? No. Seventy. Pushups. Go."

  "I... what..." I let my arms sag at my sides. That... that's a bit much.

  "You deliberately did something you knew could hurt yourself- you could have been killed! What if you landed on your head or arm and couldn't transfer to a new body? What if you went into shock?" He stomps over to me and puts a finger in my face, "I refuse to be part of such disgraceful behavior. I'll accept lapses in judgment, but that was deliberate." He glares at me. "That behavior has to change. This course is about retraining your mind to not always rely on your quirk so you don't become over-reliant and kill yourself. But I first have to break you of this lack of concern about your own life- every time I see you deliberately put yourself in danger, there will be consequences. Seventy-five pushes up, one hundred sits up, and fifteen laps around the entire track- MOVE!"

  Something is happening. I look into Vlad's eyes as I go down to start doing pushups and... I don't see sadism. He's making me do something that will hurt, but he's not enjoying it. He looks like he's almost crying himself.

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  Again... I don't get it. It's like I hurt him, but... how?

  After I'm done, I fall on the ground, barely able to move, pain radiating through my muscles. Vald sits down next to me and starts to talk. "Rest. Remember to drink water when you can move again. I'll allow a fifteen-minute nap after this because you're so young—but for the moment, listen."

  I swallow and just lay there. I feel the pain, but I also feel something else... I think I feel guilty. Like... like I actually care that I disappointed this man. He seems to care about me, for whatever reason- and I kind of let him down.

  "Henry, you matter- believe that, please. You're just a kid- you're too young to think it doesn't matter what happens to you."

  "When I needed people, no one came," I reply. "Why should I believe that-"

  "Well, we're here now, kid. We're here now. I wasn't there to save you from being damaged like this- but I'm here now." I look at him while he talks, but he looks away. "I should have done better. Heroes like me should have been there for you. But I'm not leaving it there."

  My eyes wander, and I'm unsure how to respond to him. I'm in pain, but it's more soreness than anything crippling. I roll over and push myself up, biting back the protests from my muscles. "I don't understand- why do you care?"

  "Henry, I became a hero to protect the futures of kids like you... it kills me to see how much everyone's inaction did to you."

  "It... it's not your fault..."

  "Not entirely, kid, but I have my responsibilities here and failed them. I knew two kids were in that house, under that man- and I did nothing. But- but this time, I'm doing something. I'm setting things right."

  "There are kids out there who have it worse than me- it's-"

  "The difference is, I didn't know- with you, I kinda did. I'm sorry." He looks back at me. "This will be hard; it will hurt, but if you work with me, we can improve you. We can make you care about yourself- you already care about others, I can see it. You deserve to value yourself, too. I've seen young men kill themselves, Herny... it's not something I want to see you do..."

  "I... suicide? I would never... I..."

  "You're on the path to it, kid."

  "I..."

  "We have professionals at the school who you can talk to, and I promise to never tolerate you not caring about yourself. Will you work with me?"

  "You too? I just... Hizashi acts like this, too. He helps me, and I don't see what he gets from it... but if it means that much to you," I pick up a trembling hand and put it in his. "Whatever you say, big guy."

  I want to be something great, which means I need to live, but there's always been a disconnect. No one outside of Tori seemed to care what happened to me, and I had to risk myself all the time just to protect her—I guess somewhere that made me feel like my life was cheap.

  Looking in Vlad's eyes is like looking in Hizashi's or Tori's—they value me for me. If they value me, maybe that's enough.

  He helped me to my feet. "C'mon then—I said I would let you rest. Let's let you do that before classes start. By the way, this remedial training will continue. Don't you EVER let me see you disregard yourself like that again, or I'll bring the pain again—got it?"

  I nod.

  I stagger to class thirty minutes later, my body racked in pain, and I'm so tired. After Vlad led me to my new class, I sit in the back of a large classroom. I look up at him as the other students visit each other before class. I try to smile at him, and he gives me a weak smile.

  I start putting the new textbooks Vlad gave me on my desk and find a note to keep most of them in my locker. Oh... fair enough. I guess there are actually different classes here, unlike in grade school. I wonder how that works. I'll have to follow everyone just to find out and... I look at the other students, most bigger and obviously stronger than me, likely with better quirks. I hope they won't hate me.

  Which books should I put in my locker, though? The note doesn't say. I start to try to figure out the mystery on my own.

  "Hello, little tag along. I see you chose something to do with my class; I mean our class," says someone standing over me. I look up and see a blonde-haired boy folding his arms and looking down at me with a big grin. "Well then..." he spreads his arms, "I guess you're one of us then! Welcome to 1B! Welcome to the best class, with the best teacher, students, and training- you hit the jackpot little tag along! You're OUR tag along!" The boy pulls me up and pulls my arm, which hurts after this morning. I want to yell at him because of the pain, but I don't like looking weak, so I say nothing.

  "Attention everyone!" The boy says as he drags me over to a group of other students in the room. "This is our new classmate, Henry... um... what's your last name?"

  "Um- Yamada," I say.

  "No- your REAL last name?" he asks.

  "I refuse to go by Miles, dude- I don't claim him, I never did and never wi-"

  "Pssssh," The boy says. "Like I'd be talking about that psychopath!" He moves over and sits on the desk of a shorter teenage boy. The other boy is egg-shaped with blue hair and big eyes... I think I remember that boy is supposed to be the class vice president... Nnn... N...N... nope, his first name is gone, but I think his second was Soda or something. "I'm Neito Monoma if I didn't formally introduce myself," The blonde says. "In any case, what's that surname for you? I mean your REAL surname."

  "Um... what do you mean?"

  "Hey- back off, man. That's kinda personal, don't you think?" the blue-haired kid asks. "Don't make me pull rank on you."

  "Like you would," Monoma says, patting the smaller boy on the head. "But c'mon, birth surname?"

  "I really don't know..."

  "Oh? Well, if you want to, this school has all kinds of resources," Monoma says, jumping off the desk. "I'll even help you out! What do you know? Just the names of yourself and your sister, and that's all? Oh, what a tragic story! Two parents lose their little ones on vacation to our noble nation-" He holds his hand over his chest... this guy is getting on my nerves. My life is screwed up, sure, but that doesn't make me his project. "but we can make it better!" He declares, thrusting his fist in the air.

  "I mean—if that's what happened..." a girl sitting at another nearby desk adds, "If that is what happened, maybe we should be helping you. I'm Pony Tsunotori," she says, like there's any chance I'm going to remember all these new names. I'll call her Pony—she has weird horse-like legs that I can see under her desk. "So, what do you know about your birth parents?"

  "Nothing," I say with a shrug. "Just leave it alone, guys,"

  "But what if they're out there looking for you?" says a boy with white hair and an enormous jaw with no lips... I'm gonna just pass over that. I've definitely seen stranger. "It's up to you, but it would be kinda sad. I mean, they went through the trouble of naming you and-"

  But I've already had it with this conversation and snap at him, "Shut it!" I clench my teeth as everyone looks at me. "No one named me. I'm Henry Kōji- I was just found. Same with my sister. We were found together, and they gave us the whitest names they could come up with."

  "So... that means... wait..." Monoma starts. "Do you even know if Tori really is your sister?" he chuckles. "Well, I could help you there if-"

  That tears it. No one questions if Tori belongs to me- or if I belong to her. "She's mine, I say she's mine, and she's mine- BACK OFF!" I shout, punching a desk next to me so hard that it bounces when my fist leaves it.

  "That's enough, everyone. Ten minutes to class start. You all keep antagonizing the newbie, and you're gonna spend them in silence," Vlad says over them, looking up from the papers he grading.

  "We weren't trying to antagonize-" Monoma says, but Vlad interrupts.

  "Adoption is a personal matter; you don't get to say where Henry belongs; that's not your place- and besides, if you don't want to antagonize, you clearly have, so back off."

  Monoma folds his arms and huffs. "Fine... well—can we talk about your exploits as the Bandit?"

  "I mean... sure, that's fine."

  "COOL!" Says another boy behind me. I turn and see- what the... He has green skin, green hair that sticks up and flows forward over his eyes, and a bird-like snout. Hooked blades come out either of his cheeks and seem fixed in place... I guess he doesn't get a lot of kisses. "There was a time I wanted to tear you to pieces for embarrassing some of my favorite pros, but now that you're here, I'd love to know how you did it! Besides, you took on that Bakugo guy without a ranged quirk- I want all your secrets so I can rip him apart!" And mid-conversation, at some point, his face ended up inches from mine.

  "I um... I'll see about um..."

  "Don't worry, little man, I'll make sure he never messes with you for it either- that jerk is MINE!" He sticks his hand in my face. "By the way, I'm Togaru Kamakiri, and in this class, we stick together."

  "I... I'm so happy..." I say with a cringe as I back away, unsure I want to shake right now.

  "On the name thing, what should we call-" I turn and glare at another boy; this guy is... well, my glare falters because he's about seven feet tall with brown fur all over his body like a living Big Foot from the Americas. I have to stop myself from laughing at his thick-rimmed glasses and wetting myself because he looks like he could snap me like a twig. "Ease up, young man; I won't push the issue. I just want to know what name you prefer. Kendo and Shoda will need to know for your papers, and the rest of us will need to know... apparently, so we don't piss you off."

  I blink, realizing he has a point. "Oh... oh well... I mean, it's not like that. I just don't like talking about my birth folks- they just aren't around, okay? Whatever happened to them, it was probably more than a decade ago and-"

  He raises a big, furry hand. "Hey, enough said. There's no need to restate your case. I can respect boundaries. We still need a name, though."

  "Right, um- Henry Yamada."

  "So you DO claim our dorky English teacher, huh?" Asks a small girl behind me. I spin around, about to chew her out for talking down about my new father, until I see she's smaller than me and how she immediately backs up. She has brown hair and bangs that cover her eyes. She's just shorter than me and actually kinda skinny. "I'm sorry- I didn't mean anything by it. I just... I like him, is all. He's kind of funny and nicer than most teachers here. I think it's cool that you're his kid, and he's kinda cool and... well..." As she talks, I twist my lips a little, then put a hand on her shoulder.

  "You think my dad is cool, huh? Well, I like you already." I say, pulling her beside me and putting her arm over her shoulders. In a particular context, being that they've done nothing wrong, I don't like people being afraid of me. It makes me feel like I'm legitimately a villain, not just someone who was coerced. Also, she was nice to my dad, which means a lot to me these days. "No one messes with- what's your name?"

  "Wow, you're confident—for a few minutes there, I thought... Well, then again, I guess you were ready to throw down. Um... I'm Kinoko Komori."

  "No one messes with Kinoko!" I say, then grin at the others as if to dare them to gainsay me, my eyes particularly shifting to Monoma, who I already suspect I won't like.

  A hand suddenly extends over my head and messes up my hair, pushing me down. "That's not how we work in this class anyway," says a girl on the other end of that hand. She has orange hair and a messy ponytail. "Everyone has everyone else's back- long as your 1-B. If you're in a different class, all bets are off." I look at her. I think I remember that she's the class president- Ka... ka... what's that Korean martial art? Oh, right, Kumdo!

  "Tori is gonna be in a different class... I think she's gonna be under Recovery Girl... you all better not-" I note, but I get cut off again.

  "Is she the cute little girl who dropped off my meds for my knee injury this morning? The nurse's assistant?" asks a boy to my left. I turn and see a muscular boy with silver hair. This sure is a colorful class, if nothing else. "She looks even younger than you."

  "She's eleven and-"

  "Then don't worry about it. Anyone who screws with her is gonna have ME to answer to." He grins. "Imagine messing with a nice girl like her- and eleven years old? No, I'll smash anyone who acts so pathetic!"

  "Ya know... I'm getting a vibe that I'm actually gonna like a lot of you," I say.

  I hear a girl chuckle. I turn and see- a freaking knock-out girl! She has dark hair, a perfect hourglass figure, and a smirk that says I should look elsewhere. "Hey, don't worry, pumpkin. You're cute; we'll take care of you."

  "Well, I mean... if you could take care of me a little closer to me..."

  She laughs, "Smooth... honey- you are WAY too young for me."

  "Like two years..."

  "Three- it's a big deal here," she holds up three fingers. "Sides- the way you have your arm around Kinoko like that, I think she's starting to like you..."

  Kinoko and I suddenly move away from each other. Kinoko looks away, seeming to blush. I try to backtrack. "Yeah well... If you're too old, then she's... um..."

  "I mean- she's fourteen, so- I don't know, that's better, right?" the super hot girl says. "I'm Setsuna Tokage by the way. And this isn't a romance class. I'd recommend you keep things innocent... even if I think that's boring."

  Another girl suddenly moves between me and Setsuna. "Okay!" She says with a cringe. She's tall and has long green hair that reaches down to the small of her back. "I'm Ibara Shiozaki, and pay no attention to my sin sick friend- she knows not what she does." She holds her hands over her chest as Setuna rolls her eyes. "I just want to express my heartfelt adoration for your journey! The trials of a boy forced into crime- love for his sister ever before him as he pushes forward, and now he comes here to recover and better himself- ohhh- it's enough to bring a girl to tears! You are welcome here. We will be your foundation for a better life, I promise. Come to me whenever you need support or a friend, in trouble or good times, I promise to be your aid!"

  Okay... I give her a thumbs up. Weirdo alert... but I guess she's on my side.

  The students keep chatting at me and with me, and despite all that's happening- I suddenly forget to feel bad. I smile and sit down as Togaru pulls out a chair to ask me how I outran their teacher in my villain days. Even Vlad gets involved at that point.

  I... I can make it- yeah... yeah, I can do this.

  I even find a note in my shirt pocket and read it. It's my new mother, Yuka, reminding me to meet her in the family room later.

  Please don't wake me up... I like this dream... I know my old father's gang didn't evaporate.

  ...

  I know they're on their way.

  ...

  ...

  I'm going to fight for this life.