Yesterday had been… incredible.
Mina stayed the night, and when Dad came home, he didn't seem to care all that much. Gave her a glance, gave me a glance, then asked how school was going like it was a weather report. I told him it was fine, that I was doing well.
Mina, of course, couldn't leave it at that. She tossed in a smug little "He got first in Aizawa-sensei's quirk test," like she couldn't resist bragging on my behalf. Dad blinked, gave me a small nod of acknowledgement—more reaction than usual, honestly—and then wandered off to microwave leftovers and vanish into his room.
Whatever. It was practically a miracle that he even showed a little interest.
This morning, I drove Mina to UA. We had to stop by her place first so she could change into a clean uniform. I waited in my car for her and she took around 15 minutes to get back out in a fresh uniform.
We rolled into campus with seven minutes to spare.
The rest of the class was already inside when we arrived. Mina gave me a playful wink as she walked to an open desk near the front. No open seats next to her—and none near the back where I would prefer to sit—so we split up. I dropped into a seat in the second row. Sato was on my right, Sero on my left.
Two minutes later, the door slammed open with the force of an actual wind gust.
"GOOD MORNING CLASS 1-A!" Present Mic shouted in English, practically vibrating with energy.
A few students flinched at the volume, but no one responded.
Undeterred by the silence, he gave us finger guns and switched to Japanese. "This is English class! That means we'll speak in English only—no Japanese at all! Don't worry about mistakes, I won't penalize anyone for them. Just give it your best effort!"
Ugh. Not one of those teachers.
I'd had Spanish classes like this way back in my old life. Teachers who acted like using your native language was a crime against humanity. It was always awkward, always painful, and it always resulted in half the class trying to mime their way through simple sentences.
Still, those sucked back then because I was learning a different language, over here I was already fluent in the language we're learning.
And not just fluent at a high school level. It was more like being fully fluent, having lived an entire life speaking only English.
So for me? This class was practically free, I won't struggle at all.
Mic clapped his hands once. "Let's start with something easy! Self-introductions. One sentence. Just tell us your name and something you like!"
He pointed to the first row. The students looked like they'd just been shot.
Iida, ever the overachiever, adjusted his glasses and stiffened in his seat.
"My name is Tenya Iida," he said in halting, heavily-accented English. "I like… engine."
Present Mic threw him a double thumbs-up. "AWESOME ENERGY, BROTHER! But hey, small correction—it's engines. Plural, my man!"
Iida gave a quick, formal nod, already scribbling the fix in his notes.
A few more introductions followed. Asui's was short, but understandable. "My name is Tsuyu Asui. I like frogs."
Then came Kaminari.
"My… uh… name… Kaminari Denki. I like uhh… thunder?" He looked around, unsure if that was a word. When he said thunder it was more like 'sun-da' but it was just an accent.
Present Mic gave him a supportive clap on the back. "RIGHT WORD, BUDDY—BUT NEXT TIME, OWN IT!"
Kaminari gave an exaggerated thumbs-up like he'd just survived a minefield.
Next was Sato's turn.
"My name is Rikido Sato," he said slowly. "I like.. baking sweets for my friends."
"Yes. Cake is good," Sero said, doing his best to stay in English.
Present Mic beamed. "YES! Sweets bring heroes together!"
Then it was my turn.
I sat up just a bit straighter.
"Hello, My name is Kyūta Henshin," I said smoothly, English as natural as breathing. "Just like my fellow classmates, I'm an aspiring hero. And an activity I enjoy is exercising at the gym."
Present Mic's eyebrows shot up.
"OHHHHH! We got a native speaker in the house?! LET'S GO!"
I gave a small shrug. "Something like that."
A few students glanced my way. It was one of the first times a foreign language class's difficulty curve tilted in my favor, and I wasn't shy about enjoying it, nor did I mind the attention.
As the class went on, Present Mic bounced between desks, firing off vocabulary prompts and short scenario questions like a quiz show host. His energy was relentless—but the pacing worked.
Sero looked perpetually two steps behind, though he pushed through with patience. Sato managed simple replies, but stumbled once when trying to say something like, "My hobby include baking and eating desserts."
I leaned over and tapped his paper.
"You want to say 'My hobbies include baking' not 'hobby'. The reason is that 'hobby' is singular, and when you talk about more than one thing, like baking and eating, you need to use 'hobbies' because it's plural."
He blinked, nodded slowly, and scratched it out with a quiet "Thanks."
Sero, nearby, glanced at my notebook and adjusted his own answers accordingly. I didn't say anything, but noticeably wrote a little slower than usual so he could keep.
Mina caught my eye at one point. She was sitting one row in front of me, visibly mouthing "Help me" in exaggerated English as she gestured toward her blank worksheet.
I didn't respond—just raised an eyebrow.
She sighed, slumped forward, and drew a sad face in the margin of her paper.
The lesson continued for nearly two hours—translations, small group dialogue activities, and a vocabulary game that sent the room into chaos when it started speeding up.
Still, for all his volume and chaos, Present Mic actually kept things moving. He corrected without shaming, praised even weak efforts, and somehow had everyone speaking at least a little more confidently by the end of it. You could tell he genuinely wanted the class to learn—even if his methods felt like hosting a radio show.
When the bell finally rang, I had two full pages of neat, correct answers. Most of the class looked exhausted.
I packed up my things while the others groaned or stretched out their backs. Sero gave me a nod of appreciation. Sato handed his paper in with a tired smile. Mina threw me a look as we filed out, like I owed her tutoring. I wouldn't mind that at all.
Only one more class today.
And that one?
Was going to be a lot less talk, a lot more action.