Chapter 8: The Cake is a Lie, but the Hugs are Physics-Defying
(Sunny Midoriya POV)
There is a specific kind of twitch that develops in the left eyelid of a kindergarten teacher who has spent four years trying to explain to a four-fingered boy why he can't use the school's gravity as a "suggestion."
Ms. Hina had that twitch today. It was rhythmic. It was musical. It was practically keeping time with the TIC-TOK of the classroom clock.
"Good morning, Ms. Hina!" I chirped, my head rotating a full 360 degrees on my neck before snapping back into place with a loud TWANG. "You look lovely today! Is that a new shade of 'Existential Dread' you're wearing? It really brings out the sparkles in your eyes!"
"It's my birthday, Sunny," Ms. Hina whispered, her voice sounding like dry leaves being crushed under a steamroller. "I just want to get through the day without the fire department, the police, or a Pro Hero showing up. Can we do that?"
I leaned against the air, crossing my legs and pulling a giant, golden pocket watch out of my chest cavity. "Well, looking at the schedule... I had 'Interdimensional Talent Show' penned in for 10:00 AM, but for you? I can move 'The Great Marshmallow Flood' to Tuesday."
"Sunny..."
"Don't worry, Teach! The Crew has it all under control!"
Behind me, the "control" was questionable. Izuku was frantically trying to blow up balloons, but every time he finished one, Aqua would "bless" it with holy water, causing it to become so heavy it hit the floor with a THUD that cracked the tiles.
"Stop it, you useless goddess!" Bakugo yelled, his palms sparking. "I'm the one who's gonna make the best decorations! I'll blast this confetti so high it'll rain for a week!"
"How dare you!" Aqua wailed, her face already melting into a puddle of tears. "I am a high-ranking deity! My decorations are divine! This glitter is made from the crystallized salt of a thousand believers!"
"It's just salt, Aqua," Toga said, her messy buns bobbing as she skipped past, carrying a tray of cupcakes. She had used red frosting. A lot of red frosting. "See, Ms. Hina? I made them look like little hearts! They're even 'bleeding' jam!"
Ms. Hina looked at the cupcakes. She looked at the cracked floor. She looked at the "Happy Birthday" banner that I had accidentally spelled in ancient hieroglyphics because I thought it looked "classier."
She sat down at her desk and put her head in her hands.
"I think we're losing her, boys," I whispered to Izuku.
"We have to do something real, Sunny," Izuku said, his green eyes earnest. "She's been so patient with us. Even when you turned the sandbox into a literal desert with a thirst-crazed coyote, she didn't quit."
"To be fair, the coyote was a paid actor," I muttered.
I looked at Ms. Hina. Really looked at her. Beyond the twitch and the tired sighs, she looked... sad. We were only a few months away from graduating to middle school. The Chaos Crew was moving on.
I felt that familiar "heaviness" in my chest. Reality. It was time for a Commercial Break.
I stepped toward her, my bright, saturated colors fading into the soft, muted tones of a normal human boy. My gloved hands became skin. My oversized eyes shrank to a normal size. The air stopped buzzing with the sound of a slide whistle.
"Ms. Hina?" I said, my voice no longer a theatrical drawl, but the soft voice of a kid who really cared.
She looked up, startled by the sudden lack of "Toon" in the room. "Sunny?"
"We know we're... a lot," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "I know I break the windows, and Aqua breaks the plumbing, and Kacchan breaks the silence. But you're the first person who didn't look at us like we were 'problems' to be solved. You looked at us like we were just kids."
Izuku stepped up beside me, handing her a small, hand-drawn book. "It's a 'Hero Analysis' on you, Ms. Hina. Your Quirk might be 'Soft Touch,' but your real power is being able to handle all of us."
Toga placed a cupcake—a non-bleeding one—on her desk. "You let me draw with red crayons," she whispered. "Nobody else did that."
Even Bakugo looked away, huffing. "Whatever. Your lessons weren't... the worst. I guess."
Aqua, seeing the mood, stopped crying and actually did something useful. She raised her hand, and instead of a flood, a gentle mist filled the room. It caught the sunlight from the windows, creating a dozen tiny, shimmering rainbows.
"A goddess knows when to provide the proper atmosphere," she said with a tiny, genuine smile.
Ms. Hina looked at the book, the cupcake, and the rainbows. She looked at the five of us—the weirdest, most chaotic collection of children in the history of UA's feeder programs.
She started to cry. Not 'Aqua-crying' (which usually involves a snorkel), but real, happy tears.
"You kids," she sobbed, laughing. "You're going to be the death of me. I'm going to have grey hair by thirty."
"Don't worry!" I shouted, POPPING back into full Toon-mode. BOING! My colors snapped back, and I pulled a giant, three-tier cake out of my back pocket. "I've already contacted a hair-dye company! You're officially sponsored by 'Toon-Tone'! You can have neon pink hair whenever you want!"
"Please, no," she laughed, wiping her eyes.
"Too late! Music, maestro!"
I snapped my fingers. A piano fell from the ceiling—stopping inches above the floor—and started playing a high-speed jazz version of "Happy Birthday."
We spent the afternoon in a blur of sugar and slapstick. For once, nothing exploded (too much). The cake tasted like clouds and nostalgia. For a few hours, the looming threat of middle school, the League of Villains, and "Destiny" didn't matter.
As the sun began to set, casting long shadows across the classroom, Ms. Hina stood at the door, waving goodbye to the moms.
I was the last one out. I paused at the gate, looking back. Ms. Hina was holding the "Hero Analysis" book close to her chest, looking at the classroom—messy, glitter-stained, and full of life.
"See you tomorrow, Teach!" I yelled, waving a four-fingered hand.
"See you tomorrow, Sunny," she called back, and for the first time, her eyelid didn't twitch once.
I turned to Izuku and the others. "Alright, crew! Next stop: Middle School. I hear the physics there are even more stubborn. Who's ready to break 'em?"
"I'LL KILL YOU!" Bakugo roared.
"I want more cupcakes!" Aqua wailed.
"I'm ready, Sunny!" Izuku cheered.
I grinned, my teeth doing a literal DING of white light. "Then let's make it a classic."
[A/N: And that's a wrap on the Kindergarten Arc! Ms. Hina finally got her flowers. Next chapter, we're aging up. Get ready for some Middle School mayhem, the introduction of some familiar UA faces, and Sunny trying to explain to a guidance counselor why his career goal is 'Unemployed Rabbit.']