Mystery from Another World--MHA

30: Miss Joke's request

After meeting Dabi again, Shine and Wally laid low for the next couple days... at least, when it came to investigating. No one seemed to have caught them sneaking out, but they wanted to wait and be sure.

Wally had told Shine about training with the kids and she was impressed. He thought they had warmed up to him a little more. Some of them even did better in their practical training the day after.

Aizawa had not said anything to discourage it so they assumed he thought Wally had done well enough to pass.

Perhaps because they had now seen enough to take Wally more seriously, Todoroki, Bakugo, and Momo were all thinking more about some of his and Shine's other criticisms of the school.

Todoroki was by far the one who least idealized UA, probably in no small part because his father graduated from it. He was the most willing to push the envelope, so he asked Shine something during one of the down times when she and Wally had Eri at the dorms.

(Wally was teaching Eri how to play frisbee outside at the time, and it was just as well he was fast enough to stop the disc before it could break anything since her aim was not great, but she was having fun, for her.)

"Miss Likstar, do you think the Sports Festival was out of hand?" Todoroki remembered now that they had acted a little odd about that. "Is that when you began to think the teachers were reckless?"

"No, sweetie, I began to think that my first day of training with your class," Shine said dryly, "Wally and I never saw such dangerous training except in this one world, and they had no choice-- they were fighting literal monsters, but at least they were not fighting each other so ruthlessly as that. Well, I can't think you really want to hear more of this. Everyone is already mad at me." She sighed.

"I think the students are more reckless than the teachers," Todoroki seemed hung up on this.

"No, the students only risk their own safety. A man (or woman) can do as they like with that, and we'll never be able to ascertain if it was justified or not, most of the time. When you are risking someone else, most especially someone less powerful than yourself, you are being irresponsible."

She sipped her coffee. "Perhaps it's just a world difference. Still, if it's my job to keep you all safe, I'll not just pretend that doesn't include the training here. Seems to me Deku gets hurt more often in training than he does fighting villains. Todoroki... believe me, okay? That's all I want, safety."

She seemed oddly worried about this.

"I believe you," Todoroki said slowly, as if he was just realizing it himself, "Don't mind the rest of the class so much, by the way. I think they are just nervous about what Vlad King will do once he hears about that lecture you gave 1-B. They are still concerned about Tokoyami."

"Oh, I know," Shine said, "I didn't take it too personally."

"Is there a reason you share those opinions with me, Yaoyorozo, and Bakugo, but not as much with the others?"

"I think I have."

"Not as often."

"I suppose it's because the others never ask me why I think what I think. You three do."

That made sense, actually.

"If it matters," Todoroki lowered his voice a little. "Sometimes, we do feel it's excessive. I mean, getting a building dropped on us didn't feel like a scenario that would happen in the real world very often. Especially with the added difficulties."

"You think?" Sarcastically.

Todoroki looked uneasy.

Shine leaned on her hands. 'I'm sorry. The sarcasm isn't because I'm mad at you. just my way of coping. My people are sarcastic by nature. Americans, you know. Big on dry humor."