Chapter 39: A Prodigy
[ HARUE'S POV ]
The agency gym was massive — industrial steel beams, flame-retardant walls, reinforced flooring, and a ceiling high enough to let Ryukyu fully stretch her wings in dragon form. It looked like it could survive a hurricane and a villain attack at the same time.
Perfect for a spar.
I stood on one end of the gym floor, rolling my shoulders and feeling the familiar warmth starting to hum beneath my skin. The brief buzz of excitement tickled at the back of my neck. It had been a while since I fought someone with enough durability to let loose a little.
Ever since the battle with the nomu.
That thing made me crave battle with opponents more.
Ryukyu stood across from me, still in her human form, arms crossed casually. Calm. Unmoving. She watched me with those piercing golden eyes of hers — patient, calculating. It was hard to believe this gentle-looking woman could turn into a towering dragon in less than a second.
"You ready?" she asked, her tone neutral.
I gave a lazy shrug. "Guess we're doing this now, huh?"
"No better time," she said, then added with a faint smile, "Let's see what kind of fire you've got, Blazeling."
Still not over that nickname…
With a flash of golden light, her body swelled and shifted. Grey armor-like scales burst across her skin as she transformed in an instant — massive claws, thick tail, fangs, wings stretching outward and slicing through the air with a whoosh.
Boom.
She moved. Fast for her size — surprisingly fast — her wings propelling her toward me as she brought one clawed arm down in a crushing arc.
I stepped to the side effortlessly, her claws slamming into the floor where I had just been standing. The reinforced panel cracked under the pressure. Dust and bits of stone leapt into the air.
Heavy, I thought, sliding back to make space. But slow.
Another strike — this time from the left — her wing sweeping across the space like a guillotine. I jumped back, a thin trail of fire escaping my feet as I floated for a second midair before landing again.
She was powerful. There was no denying that. But even in this light spar, I could tell…
She can't touch me.
A dragon was dangerous, sure — claws, teeth, raw force. But brawler-type heroes like her? Against someone like me — someone who could turn into flame itself? They were at a serious disadvantage.
When I fly or flame on, I'm barely even solid. A punch would pass right through. Her strikes would never land unless I let them.
And I wasn't going to.
Another swing. I ducked low, leaving behind a flicker of flame and reappearing behind her in a quick burst. I tapped her scaled shoulder with two fingers before flipping back again.
Tag.
Ryukyu twisted in the air, exhaling through her nose. "You're holding back."
I didn't say anything. Just gave her a grin and circled her again.
She pounced forward with a wing-assisted leap. I let her think she was gaining ground, darting just ahead of her claws, heat radiating off my back.
Her tail came sweeping toward me. I hovered in the air briefly and soared above it, letting a flash of flame carry me higher.
From above, I could hear some cheering — soft at first. When I glanced up, I saw the silhouettes of her sidekicks behind the glass. Nejire's blue hair stood out the most. She was practically bouncing in place.
"Woooah! He's flying circles around her!" she cheered.
I smirked.
Back down on the gym floor, Ryukyu retracted her wings slowly, settling herself as the dragon form melted away. Muscles condensed, scales faded, and her human figure reappeared in a shimmer of golden light.
She let out a breath, brushing her hair back. "Alright. You're fast. Not just fast — evasive. I like that."
"Didn't even burn anything," I said with a shrug.
She arched a brow. "Cocky, are we?"
I gave her a small smirk. "Confident."
She folded her arms. "Then let's see it. That form. The one everyone keeps talking about."
I blinked. "You sure?"
"Impress me."
I took a breath, steadying my thoughts. The gym felt still — almost reverent.
Then — FWOOOM!
Heat erupted from my body as flames danced across my skin. Feathers of molten fire burst from my back, spreading into massive wings. Gold, crimson, white-hot heat spiraled outward in elegant trails.
My body lifted from the ground, hovering on pure thermal force. The air shimmered around me, casting flickering light over the walls. The Phoenix Form.
Gasps echoed from above the glass. One of her sidekicks leaned back with wide eyes. Nejire pressed her face to the glass in amazement.
"WOOOAAH! That's so pretty!"
I didn't go too hard — just soared a few quick laps around the gym. Heat trails followed my wings, but I kept the fire contained.
Didn't want to accidentally burn someone to a crisp now do I?
I then landed gently in front of Ryukyu, the fire fading as I returned to normal.
She nodded once, slowly. "Beautiful. Inspiring. And dangerous."
I exhaled quietly. "Yeah. I know."
She gave a rare, approving smile. "Well then… welcome to the team, Blazeling."
Her hand raised into a handshake position.
Sigh..
What am I a Minecraft balze?
Anyway, a small smile made It's way on my face as I shook her hand.
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[ Ryukyu's pov ]
Three days.
Just three days since that fiery boy walked through the doors of my agency with a cocky smile and more raw talent than most seasoned sidekicks.
And I'll admit it: I didn't expect much.
Not because he was weak—far from it. I'd seen the Sports Festival, watched the final match between him and Bakugo from the comfort of my office with folded arms and narrowed eyes. I'd seen what he was capable of. That overwhelming firepower. That presence that demanded attention. Even back then, I thought, "This one… this one's going to be a Top Pro." But popularity doesn't make a good hero. Control does. Discipline. And those are the things I planned to teach him.
What surprised me, though… was that he picked me.
I'm not exactly the go-to hero for first-year interns. Too many people assume I got where I am because of my looks or my transformation quirk. That I'm just a "pretty dragon lady" who got lucky. Some heroes have even said it to my face. Let them. I've stopped caring.
But he seemingly didn't buy into that. He chose me. Out of everyone.
Why?
I don't truly know, but I could feel it in how he treated the job—like it meant something. Like I meant something. Not as a symbol, but as a person. That mattered to me more than I'd expected.
And he's… good. Ridiculously good.
In the last three days, I've had him shadow me on civilian patrols, assist in basic rescue drills, sit in on our planning meetings, even review incident reports. I expected boredom. I expected a young hothead who only came alive in combat, who would tune out the second there weren't explosions and glory on the table.
But Harue Dai listened. He asked the right questions. And when I watched him interact with civilians—when I saw the way he calmed that panicked old woman during the power outage, or redirected those kids playing too close to the flooded alley—I realized something: this kid has charisma.
Not the forced kind you see on hero commercials. The natural kind. The kind that makes people want to trust you. Want to follow you. The kind you can't teach.
By the second day, half my staff already liked him. Hell, I think some of them liked him too much. There was laughing in the lunchroom, teasing during drills, even a few of my senior sidekicks asking if he was planning to transfer in long-term. He fit in that fast.
It made me think. That charisma, that natural charm, combined with those flashy powers and a face that wouldn't look out of place on a magazine cover… if he plays his cards right, the future's already written for him. Number One? Yeah, he could get there. If not by force, then by sheer gravitational pull.
But none of that matters without the work.
And that's the part that stunned me the most.
Harue picked things up with scary speed. He's still rough in terms of hero work—not in combat, obviously. The boy can light up a city block—but the finesse of it all, the awareness, the understanding that his kind of Quirk can do more harm than good if used recklessly? He's learning. Fast.
I've hammered it into his head over and over again: rescue before combat. Civilians first. Minimize destruction. A hero's job isn't just beating villains, it's protecting lives. His Quirk can't just be about domination—it has to be about control.
And he's listening.
He surprised me today during a mock incident drill—he rerouted a rescue plan on the fly when the "victims" were trapped in a simulated office fire and my original approach risked structural collapse. He didn't just suggest the change—he took charge. Gave quick, clear orders to sidekicks almost ten years his senior, and they followed without hesitation. Because he made them believe.
Even Nejire—my bouncy, brilliant airhead—was impressed. And she's hard to impress unless something's glowing.
He's not perfect. He's still reckless at times, a bit arrogant when he knows he has the upper hand. And there's something he's not telling me—something behind that smile. I've seen that quiet look in his eyes when he thinks no one's watching. Like he's remembering something.
For now, I'm just watching. Evaluating. Learning what makes him tick.
He's not like the other rookies I've trained. Not even close. And that's not just because he can turn into a flying inferno or punch harder than a wrecking ball. It's because he cares. Deeply. You can see it in how he treats every task—like it matters. Like it's part of something greater.
I don't say this lightly: Harue Dai is already better than some licensed heroes I've worked with.
I am looking forward to his future.
End of the chapter.