Chapter 77: Planning for the Festival
Looking at them with a calm but determined expression, Aoi leaned forward slightly and said:
—Well, then the plan will be as follows: Nemuri and I are going to talk to Nezu about her situation and resolve it once and for all. And regarding Rumi's issue, I'm going to have a man to man conversation with my old man. If it fails which I really think will happen, knowing how he is.
Rei, her face filled with a mix of hope and lingering worry, said softly:
—Son, your father can't be that selfish to the point of refusing something like this, right? It's for his grandchild, after all.
Aoi looked at her for a moment, sighed deeply, and said with a tone that carried years of built-up disappointment:
—Mom, I'm not going to put Rumi's safety or the baby's in the goodwill of a man who only has ambition in his eyes. Even after everything he did to us, to you, to Shoto... you still see goodness in him. But he never had the idea of regretting anything or trying to improve as a human being. After all, he knows exactly where we live, and he never once tried to come here to apologize to you. After all, you were one of the biggest victims of his ambition the one who suffered the most by his side.
Rei fell silent upon hearing that, her eyes lowering as old memories surfaced, the pain still there beneath the surface.
Nemuri, Ryuko, and Rumi immediately moved to comfort her, placing gentle hands on her shoulders and offering quiet words of support.
Aoi looked up at the ceiling for a long moment, sighed again, and said thoughtfully, almost to himself:
—I sincerely don't know what's so special about being number 1 in the rankings. After all, you don't gain anything real from it. You don't get more resources allocated to you, you don't gain any actual power to order the heroes below you around. That position doesn't increase your quirk's power or your life expectancy in any way. I understand ambition in those isekai magic comics because there you can access more powerful spells, have enchanted weapons, and things that really help you grow stronger. But what does he gain by being number 1 in the hero rankings besides more responsibility, endless social pressure, and having every single thing you do compared to the previous number 1? All Might solved crises with one blow. All Might was more charismatic. He was kinder to everyone.
Ryuko said quietly, understanding the weight behind his words:
—Well, I think your father spent so much time being compared in everything to All Might that he became completely obsessed. It consumed him.
Aoi said, his voice steady but laced with resignation:
—My father doesn't understand that there are certain things—no matter how much you try, how hard you push you just can't reach them. Not everything is attainable through effort alone.
Nemuri said softly, adding her own perspective:
—Well, the real world is much sadder than that. It's like a normal person having the goal of surpassing you, Aoi. Either she gives up halfway, realizing it's impossible, or she sinks in frustration seeing that her effort didn't even get close to the base of the mountain—you're already at the peak.
Aoi said, nodding slightly:
—There's a phrase I think is very beautiful: hard work beats natural talent. That is, as long as I try hard, I can defeat geniuses. But there's another point in that phrase that people forget: and if the genius also tries as hard or harder than you, added to the natural talent, what chance do you have? That's my father's situation with All Might. He believed that with effort alone he would get close to All Might. But he forgot one crucial detail: the genius he wanted to surpass was also trying harder than him to get stronger and stronger every day. So it wasn't that the effort was useless—it was that every time he climbed one meter up the mountain, the mountain grew two meters taller.
Rei fell silent upon hearing that, her expression distant because that description perfectly captured Enji's life: every time he thought he had finally gotten close to All Might, reality threw him back to the ground, harder than before.
Rumi, sensing the heavy mood, broke in energetically:
—Well, enough depressing talk for now. I want to know the details of the plan that my idiot husband here came up with in case my idiot father-in-law doesn't cooperate.
Everyone then set aside those heavier thoughts for the moment and returned to the main topic: resolving Rumi's situation effectively.
Aoi said, refocusing the group:
—Well, as I already said, I'm going to talk to him tomorrow, taking advantage of it being Sunday so there's no rush with school or work. I'm also going to talk to Nezu with Nemuri to handle her side smoothly. After that, we'll go to my father's house to receive the "no" I expect. And after that, Rumi, you have to apply to patrol the school grounds at this upcoming festival. Then we can use the excuse that you met All Might during the festival events. You then called him for a private training session after the festival to test and see your difference from the number 1 hero, and an unfortunate accident ended up happening, causing the injury. We just need to talk to All Might beforehand to arrange everything and make sure the story aligns perfectly. I'm going to talk to him at school in private before the festival starts to get everything set and coordinated.
Ryuko asked worriedly, still thinking through potential flaws:
—Well, but will people really believe she got injured badly enough in a simple training session to need months of recovery?
Aoi smiled upon hearing that concern and said confidently:
—Well, if it were you or Nemuri in the story, no one would believe it or there would be a lot of doubts and questions. But you've all seen how Rumi fights like a complete maniac and how she likes to play around and push limits. All the fans and media who know her personality will only have one reaction to this news: "Of course she couldn't stay quiet—she has to pick a fight with everyone, even the number 1."
Nemuri said, smiling as she nodded in agreement:
—Well, it's true. With Rumi's personality being the way it is—wild and competitive—her challenging All Might to see the difference in strength between the two is something she would definitely do without a second thought. No one would suspect a thing about it being a cover. And since she'll be officially patrolling the school festival, explaining that she took that opportunity to challenge him and ended up getting carried away in the heat of it and getting injured makes perfect sense.
Rumi said, pretending to be offended but with a grin:
—You guys talk as if I were some kind of fight maniac.
Aoi said teasingly:
—Rumi, the majority if not all of our encounters over these years always ended with us fighting and exchanging punches and getting all bruised up by the end.
Rumi said excitedly, looking straight at Aoi with sparkling eyes:
—But you like doing that too, right?
Aoi, smiling warmly, leaned in and kissed her before saying:
—If I didn't like it, I wouldn't be dating you, you crazy bunny.
Rumi smiled happily, beaming just from hearing that.
Rei said gently, bringing things back:
—Son, now that you've planned everything out for Rumi and Nemuri, what was the thing you wanted to say when you first arrived home?
Aoi said:
—Well, as you all know, the U.A. Sports Festival is coming up soon, where various students show their abilities to get noticed and be chosen for internships. So I invited a group of friends from school to train here at the house and prepare properly for the competition.
Aoi then suddenly remembered something and muttered:
—Damn it.
Nemuri asked curiously:
—What is it? What's wrong?
Aoi said with a tired smile, rubbing the back of his neck:
—It's nothing major. But since Rumi is pregnant now, I won't be able to do the internship with her like we planned. So I'm going to have to try a little harder to stand out and be chosen by someone else. After all, I definitely don't want to end up going to my old man's agency.
Ryuko said:
—Then why don't you come to our own agency instead? You built that huge agency for me, Mirko, and Nemuri in the first place. Why don't you do the internship there? I can officially call you and make it happen.
Nemuri said:
—Well, it was a big waste of money, that giant place. After all, I ended up becoming a teacher and hardly do any field missions anymore it's mostly sitting empty.
Rumi said casually:
—Well, I don't like working in groups anyway. They end up hindering me more than helping—getting in the way of how I fight.
Ryuko sighed and said:
—You two... Rumi, a hero's work also needs a team for certain things that strength alone can't solve—strategy, support, coordination.
Rumi said boredly but confidently:
—But I don't really need that kind of help. Look, I'm strong enough on my own. And with the six styles that Aoi taught me especially the ones that use the legs I got much stronger and more versatile. Plus the equipment that our husband here made for each of us with his flames for emergency healing. That is, I can fly with Geppo, I can fight at high speed like Soru, and I can create cutting wind blades with Rankyaku. That is, most heroes don't help me at all they'd just drag me down or slow me.
Aoi said, smiling in agreement:
—Well, Rumi is right about that. Teamwork is only really necessary when you have quirks that complement each other perfectly or the same level of power or a very important specialized quirk that fills a gap. Otherwise, it's better to stay alone and operate independently. And Rumi is only in fifth place in the rankings because of her personality that even though she's incredibly strong, she doesn't have a very "popular" personality with the public. After all, most people prefer the smiling, cheerful, and gentle heroes, not a maniac who fights laughing while getting hurt and covered in blood. That's why I sincerely don't know how my father managed to become number 2 with his attitude.
Aoi then looked at Ryuko and said:
—Well, leaving that aside for now, I'm not going to our agency because currently you're the only one who could officially call me for an internship, and you already have a well-balanced and functional team in place. And as you know, I fight just like Rumi kind of crazy and unrestrained. So I don't fit well with your team's dynamic I'd probably disrupt the balance.
Aoi said, smiling reassuringly:
—But you can all rest easy about it. After all, with my strength and track record, it shouldn't be very difficult to find some pro hero interested in calling me for their internship.
Rei said warmly, standing up to signal the end of the heavy conversation:
—Well, after this long conversation, let's prepare dinner. After all, now there are two pregnant women in this house, and their nutrition has to be carefully controlled healthy meals from now on.
Aoi smiled, catching the hint immediately, and said:
—Well, I got the hint loud and clear. I'm already going to prepare the food something good and nutritious for everyone.