"Has anyone seen my All Might keychain?"
Miss Haru held up the empty desk drawer, frowning. The small metal keychain was her good-luck charm, always sat in the top-right corner. Yuichiro looked up from his coloring book and around the classroom; other kids did the same.
"Maybe it fell?" Kirishima suggested. Miss Haru checked under her desk, but there was nothing. She straightened up, scanning the room, and her eyes landed on Yamori, a quiet boy with a gecko quirk who sat in the back corner.
"Yamori. Come here, please."
The boy's tail curled nervously as he approached. "Yes, Miss Haru?"
"Did you take my keychain?"
His eyes went wide. "N-no! I didn't!"
"Yamori, you were the only one near my desk during free time. I saw you walking past it twice."
"I was getting crayons!"
"Can you empty your pockets for me, please?"
Yamori's hands shook as he turned his pockets inside out. An eraser, some lint, nothing else.
"Your cubby then."
"But I didn't-"
"Now, please."
Yuichiro's hand shot up. "Miss Haru?"
"Not now, Yuichiro."
"But Yamori didn't do it!"
Miss Haru paused, glancing over. "And how would you know that?"
"Because I saw Miki take it." He pointed across the room at a girl with pink hair and a magnet quirk. "When you were helping Nagi with his reading. She used her quirk to pull it from your desk."
Miki's face flushed. "I did not!"
"Yes, you did! I watched you!"
Miss Haru's expression grew stern. "Yuichiro, that's a very serious claim."
"But it's true!"
She walked over to Miki's desk. "Miki, did you take my keychain?"
"No, Miss Haru!" Miki's voice pitched higher. "I would never! Yuichiro's lying!"
The teacher looked between them, then back at Yamori, who stood frozen near the cubby shelves. Her shoulders sagged slightly. "Yamori, I'm sorry, but you've been caught taking things before. Your cubby, please."
"He didn't do it!" Yuichiro stood, "Why won't you listen?"
"Sit down, Yuichiro."
"Not until you believe me!"
Kirishima tugged his sleeve. "Yu..."
"Miki took it with her magnet quirk! Check her cubby, not his!"
"Enough!" Miss Haru's voice rose. "Yuichiro Ichinose, sit down right now, or you're going to the principal's office."
Yuichiro clenched his fist. "You're making a mistake."
"Office. Now."
"But-"
"Now!"
Yamori's tail drooped, tears sliding down his cheeks as he opened his cubby. Yuichiro didn't move, his violet eyes looking at the teacher. "This isn't fair."
Miss Tanaka pointed at the door. "Go."
Principal Karaki's office made him nervous. Yuichiro sat in the chair, staring at the floor. Miss Haru stood by the door with her arms crossed.
"Yuichiro." Karaki folded his hands on his desk. "Miss Haru says you disrupted class, refused to follow instructions, and accused another student of stealing."
"Because she did steal! I saw it!"
Karaki sighed. "Did anyone else see it?"
Yuichiro's mouth snapped shut. His eyes darted away. "...No."
"So it's your word against Miki's." He leaned back. "And you're asking us to believe that Miki is lying, Yamori should be left alone, and Miss Haru made a mistake."
"Yes!"
Miss Haru stepped forward. "Yamori has taken things before, Yuichiro. Pencils, erasers-"
"That doesn't mean he did it this time!"
"-and you're very protective of the other children." Her tone softened slightly. "It's kind that you want to help, but making up stories-"
"I'm not making it up!" His voice cracked, "Why won't anyone believe me?"
Karaki's expression stayed neutral. "The issue isn't about believing you. It's about how you acted.
Yuichiro's hands gripped the armrests. "So... so even if you're wrong, I have to listen? Even if someone gets blamed for nothing?"
"You follow Miss Haru's instructions," Karaki said. "If you have a concern, you talk to her after class; you never should cause a scene."
"That's not fair!" Just because he did stuff before doesn't mean he did this! Karaki reached for his phone. "We're calling your parents."
---
Yui arrived first, still in her chef's uniform with her hair pinned back. Ikari came through the door minutes later, a hard hat under his arm, work gloves sticking out of his pocket. "We got here as fast as we could!" He looked at Yuichiro. "You okay, buddy?"
They settled into chairs beside Yuichiro while Karaki explained. Ikari's usual grin faded as he listened. When Karaki finished, he looked at his son. "Yu, did you see Miki take it?"
"Yes."
"You're sure?"
"Yes!"
"So my son saw something happen, told the truth, and got in trouble for it?"
"The problem is the disruption, sir."
"He was trying to stop an innocent kid from getting blamed." Yui touched his arm gently. "Ikari." She turned to Yuichiro, "Sweetie, we're proud you told the truth. That took courage, but you still have to listen to your teachers even when it's hard." Yuichiro's face fell. "But she was wrong!"
"Maybe she was." Yui squeezed his hand. "But there are ways to handle these situations. Ways that don't get you sent to the principal's office."
"I tried! She wouldn't listen!"
"Then you try again later, or you ask us to help." She smiled gently. "We'll always listen, but disrupting class? That's not okay." Ikari nodded, "Your mom's right, buddy. You did a good thing by standing up for Yamori, but the way you did it? That's what got you in trouble."
"That's stupid," Yuichiro muttered.
"Yuichiro," Yui warned.
"It is! Yamori was crying! And everyone thinks he's a thief when he didn't do anything!"
Karaki cleared his throat. "For what it's worth, we'll check Miki's cubby as well, just to be thorough."
"You should check it first! before Yamori! Yuichiro said.
Karaki's expression didn't change. "Yuichiro will serve detention tomorrow during recess, and I expect an apology to Miss Haru for his behavior."
"What-"
"Yuichiro." Yui's tone left no room for argument. "What do we say? He stared at his lap for several seconds before mumbling, "Sorry for yelling."
"Thank you." Karaki stood. "We'll be in touch if we find the keychain."
The car ride home was quiet. Yuichiro stared out the window, arms crossed, scowling at nothing. Ikari glanced at him in the rearview mirror. "You know we're proud of you, right?"
"Doesn't feel like it."
"We are!" His dad's grin returned. "Takes guts to stand up like that! You've got the heart of a hero!"
"Then why did I get in trouble?"
Yui twisted to face him. "Because the world isn't always fair, sweetheart. Sometimes doing the right thing doesn't always lead to a happy ending."
Yuichiro's scowl deepened. He looked back out the window, watching buildings blur past.
"Was it worth it?" Ikari asked quietly.
Yuichiro thought about Yamori's tears. "Yeah," he said. "It was." Ikari caught Yui's eye in the mirror, smiling. "That's our boy."
---
Yuichiro sat in the corner during recess detention, watching other kids play through the window. Kirishima appeared in the doorway, holding two juice boxes. "Miss Haru said I could bring you one."
"Thanks." Yuichiro took it, poking the straw through.
"She found the keychain." Kirishima sat beside him, legs dangling. "In Miki's cubby, just like you said."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Miki's gotta apologize to Yamori after lunch, and Miss Haru looked really sad about it. You got in trouble for nothing."
"Not for nothing." Yuichiro watched Yamori through the window, playing tag with other kids, smiling. "He's not sad anymore."
The classroom door opened, and Miss Haru stepped in, holding a small piece of paper. She walked over, crouching to Yuichiro's eye level. "I owe you an apology," she said softly. "You were right about Miki, and I should have listened. I'm sorry, Yuichiro."
He looked at her, then nodded. "It's okay."
"It's not, really." She handed him the paper; it was a note excusing him from the rest of detention. "But thank you for standing up for Yamori." She stood and left. Kirishima jumped up and down. "See! You're a hero!" Yuichiro stared at the note, then out the window at Yamori laughing with friends.
Heroes stand up, he thought. Even when it's hard.
"Yeah," he said quietly, tucking the note in his pocket. "Come on. Let's go play."