Haruto met back up with Hagakure, who seemed similarly unsure about her own results in the practical. He wondered to himself briefly how an invisible girl would even take out some big robots, but he did not voice this. She already seemed kinda down enough. "But hey," he told her as they parted at the home train station, "don't forget what I said. We're both gonna get in, alright?"
Toru might have smiled. Who knows. "Sure," she told him.
Haruto arrived home and dropped his backpack by the door, exhausted. Right now he wanted to go to sleep for approximately forever, but he knew he had to face his family first.
They were in the living room; his mom spotted him before his dad. "That took a long time," she said with raised eyebrows. "Well, at least you're in one piece still."
"Nii-san!" Naruko ran into the room, stopping short upon seeing him. Wait, how does my face even look right now? "How did it go?" she asked.
"It went. We'll find out in a few days."
His father grunted and turned back around. "Well, you gave it a try. We let you have your fun. May as well start thinking about those other high schools now." His mother nodded in agreement.
Haruto said nothing; he only retreated to his room.
The next few days were uneventful. Haruto exercised, he did chores, he kept his eyes down and his feet on the ground. It was like his parents had forgotten that he'd even taken the exam at all. He slowly came to realise that they had not once considered the possibility of him getting into UA. They already thought they'd won; that they'd gotten him into a useful high school for good. Soon he would be out in the regular workforce and out of their hair.
When the message came, Haruto tried to keep his heart rate down, he really did. But it wasn't exactly working. He came back into the house with the letter in hand, and of course Naruko spotted him.
She gasped. "Is that what I think it is?"
"Chill out. It could be a rejection letter." Haruto had come to the conclusion that his point value was probably very average, so it could really swing either way. In any case, he didn't want his sister to know just yet. "Stay out of my room for a minute."
He closed the door behind him and sat down on his bed, opening the letter carefully. When light erupted from it, forming a projection, he shrieked and dropped it onto his sheets.
"I am here… as a hologram!" It was All Might. Haruto obviously knew the most famous man in Japan by sight, even though he wasn't big into heroes. Intrigued, he tilted his head and leaned closer.
"That's right, I, All Might, will be a teacher at UA this year! Namikaze Haruto! You passed the written exam very cleanly! And in the practical exam, you scored thirty-eight points… in the attack category, that is."
Suddenly, a video clip was playing. Haruto recognised himself, and the girl Mina. She was cutting him free of the robot with her acid, and then the other one came flying down from the roof… and he shoved her out of the way before warping himself.
All Might again. "Both you and Young Ashido proved yourselves worthy of the higher ideals of heroism! What kind of school would UA be if we did not reward the acts of saving others? And so, both you and Ashido received thirty rescue points each, more than enough to not only pass, but put you both in the top ten!"
Haruto's mouth fell open. His eyesight seemed to shimmer, or was that just the projection? He couldn't believe it. I got in. I… I got in. His parents had never entertained this possibility, but until this moment he hadn't really been entertaining it either. He'd always assumed deep down that he'd failed. But… this was proof, wasn't it?From All Might himself? I must be dreaming. He gave himself a pinch.
"A written letter is also within containing the finer details. Please share it with your parents. I cannot wait to see you in the hero course very soon! Go beyond! Plus Ultra!"
The projection flickered out. All Might was gone.
Haruto felt like a zombie as he walked into the living room. His feet seemed to move on their own. He didn't even know what to say to them.
"Oh? Is that the letter?" His mom gave him a look. "Let's see it, then." His dad was watching his expression closely. I look lost as fuck right now, which could go either way.
He silently handed the letter to his mother. She unfolded the paper, scanned the first couple of sentences, and her eyes bugged out of her head.
"You… you got in," she murmured.
His dad's head snapped toward her. "What?" he demanded.
"WHAT?" Naruko echoed, and suddenly she was running at him, laughing and crying. She leapt into his arms and they spun, laughing together. Haruto couldn't help it; she was infectious. "You got in," she sang. "You did it, you did it, Haruto did it!"
"I… I can't believe it," his mom breathed.
His parents both turned to look at him, Naruko still hanging from his neck by his arms. "That's right," he told them. "I got in. Your son got into the most prestigious high school in the country. Do you object to him attending?" He didn't know where he'd gotten this steel from, but he was going to hold onto it for all it was worth, dammit.
They exchanged glances. "The school doesn't make you pay, after all. All he had to do was pass," his father mumbled.
His mother sighed. "You're right. I suppose it won't be much of an extra burden on us, in the end. You may go, Haruto."
"Ha HA!" Naruko exclaimed, and jumped up and down in victory. "My brother's gonna be a HERO! The best hero there ever was!"