Ultra Responsibility (My Hero Academia X Spider-Man Reader)

Issue 79 - Heart of a Hero

The waiting room was louder than before once the rest of the first round wrapped up. Students from every school were filtering back in, some pumped up, some exhausted, some looking like they had just crawled out of a battlefield. I was still catching my breath when I looked up at the results board one more time and, sure enough, every single member of Class 1A had made it through.

Honestly, I was not even surprised.

If there was one thing my class was annoyingly good at, it was refusing to lose.

Midoriya was the first to make his way over, still a little scuffed up, still carrying that determined look like he was already halfway into planning the next phase.

"I'm glad you two passed," he said, looking between me and Ashido. "Did you have any trouble in the first round?"

I let out a dry laugh, folding my arms. "Nothing major. I had a run in with a huge fan. Real enthusiastic. Walk in the park."

Ashido snorted beside me. Midoriya looked confused for about half a second, then gave me that knowing look that said he was choosing not to ask.

Probably for the best.

Across the room, Hiro was crouched beside Baymax, checking over the cuts and dents left from Psylocke's little butterfly blender attack. Baymax stood perfectly still while Hiro tightened a panel and reattached something under one arm. It was weirdly sweet. Like watching someone fix up a friend instead of a machine.

I hesitated for a moment, then stepped away from Ashido and Midoriya.

"I'll be back," I muttered.

Ashido gave me a small nod, already picking up that tone in my voice. She knew when I actually meant something.

I walked over to Hiro, stopping a couple feet away while he worked. "Hey."

Hiro looked up. "Hey."

I rubbed the back of my neck, suddenly feeling awkward. "I just wanted to say thanks. For earlier. You really had no reason to help me, and you still did. So... yeah. Thanks."

For once, Hiro did not have some snappy comeback ready. He just smiled a little and sat back on his heels.

"You believed in me when you had every reason not to," he said. "So I think that makes us even."

Baymax turned his head toward me. "Your gratitude levels appear genuine."

"Cool," I said. "Good to know."

Hiro laughed under his breath, then went back to tightening Baymax's arm plating.

I almost said more. Something about how rare it was to meet someone who got the whole quirkless thing without turning it into pity or a grudge. But before I could, a voice boomed through the waiting room speakers, sharp enough to cut through every conversation at once.

"All successful applicants, direct your attention to the screen."

Everyone turned.

The massive display at the front of the waiting room flickered to life, and Yokumiru Mera's tired face appeared on it again, looking even more overworked than before. Somehow.

"Congratulations on passing the first phase," he said in the flattest tone a human being could physically manage. "Try not to celebrate too hard. You still have one phase left."

The screen changed.

The arena from before was gone. In its place, the testing grounds shifted and folded, walls splitting apart and platforms dropping away until the whole thing transformed into a ruined cityscape. Broken roads. Cracked buildings. Smoke effects. Collapsed support beams. Fires. Rubble. Sirens.