“Did you know that Individuals vary greatly in how well they tolerate departures from normal atmospheric conditions, whether these are changes in temperature, pressure or oxygen content of the air. Bounds of survival also depend on how slowly environmental changes set in, because the body can gradually adjust its oxygen usage and metabolism in response to external conditions. But some rough estimates of our breaking points can be made.” The young girl scratched her head slightly, smiling before continuing on.

“Neh neh neh, Look at me. Blah Blah Blah, Mr. number one hero. I’m Endeavor. I’m super cool. I think im better than everyone.” The woman rolled her eyes at the little action figure marching back and forth in front of her. Stupid heroes. They all annoyed her. They deserved to be mocked.

Damn. Sojuro really hated attending the hero rankings. And yet, twice a year her forced himself to show up to it. It was good for his reputation, showed people that he was serious. Not that he’d ever make it to the top ten, but still.

Lost in his own thoughts, and in a hurry to put as much distance between himself and that stage as possible, he didn’t notice there was anyone else nearby until he had bowled into them. Well, at least he was tiny enough he probably didn’t hurt them.

“Cool. Nice to meet you.” In all honesty, Kyoka usually skipped pleasantries, herself. But she also tended to avoid talking to new people at all until she got pushed into it—so it seemed a little ill-mannered to actually carry on a conversation with Akane without bothering to introduce herself. Besides, she’d stumbled on Kyoka trying to pick a lock and hadn’t immediately run to Vlad or Aizawa, and made decent conversation, so for once it didn’t feel like a lie to say it was nice to meet someone.

“It’s… hard to explain. Mostly just because I don’t really know how to put it into words for myself, let alone anyone else. When I told my parents what I wanted to do, they said it was about ‘what your work brings to others.’” She shrugged a little. “I guess… a lot of the good reasons to be a hero are reasons to be musicians, like my parents—you can help people and make their lives better, or be a source of hope and comfort, or, I mean, I guess be famous and glamorous if that’s all you’re after. I just… thought I could do more. Something more tangible. And—I knew I could be good at it, if I put in enough work. Don’t know if I’m there yet. Which is why I think it’s important to not just lean on one thing—you have to learn other skills, and think quickly and unconventionally. If your classmates don’t get that, they’re not gonna last long unless they learn.”

The girl nodded thoughtfully, carefully thinking over the other’s answer. Truth be told, she had only asked because she wasn’t quite sure why she wanted to be a hero. It’s nice to help people, but she can do that a lot of different ways. She could do that by acting as the shrine maiden the way the women in her family always have. But instead she put herself here. 

“I guess that makes sense. It certainly is easy to bring joy as a hero. Though it’s a lot like being a doctor or a vet I suppose. You’ll lose lives along with saving them, and sometimes that’s the most merciful route, but not everyone will see it that way. Not to mention you’ll now be held to a higher moral standard and have your every mistake and flaw publicized. It’s easy to see why Aizawa tries to hard to stay away from the media when so many heroes do the opposite. I don’t think i’d like my personal life becoming public discussion.”