Chapter 11: The Spirit of a Dragon and the Taste of FireThe adrenaline of the Quirk Apprehension Test had faded, replaced by the sterile smell of antiseptic and the quiet hum of the air conditioner in the Nurse's Office.
Izuku Midoriya sat on the edge of the bed, looking at his bandaged finger. He was tired, mentally drained, but alive. He hadn't been expelled.
"You really are a reckless child," the small, elderly nurse—Recovery Girl—scolded gently. She hopped down from her stool. "To break a bone on the very first day... Is this going to be a habit?"
"I'm sorry..." Midoriya mumbled.
Standing near the door, Natsu Dragneel leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. He had a small plaster on his cheek from when he face-planted into the sand pit earlier. Happy was floating beside him, munching on a rice cracker he had mysteriously acquired.
"Well," Recovery Girl sighed. "Let's get this fixed."
She puckered her lips and leaned in. SMOOCH.
She planted a wet kiss right on Midoriya's forehead.
"GAAAAH!!" Natsu recoiled, pressing his back against the wall as if he'd seen a ghost. "What was that?! Old lady! What are you doing?!"
"It's my Quirk, you loud boy," Recovery Girl grumbled, waving her cane at him. "I accelerate the body's natural healing. It drains stamina, though."
Midoriya slumped over, instantly exhausted, but the purple swelling on his finger vanished.
Natsu watched, eyes wide. "Weird... but effective."
He walked over to the bed. Midoriya looked up, expecting mockery. Instead, he saw Natsu grinning down at him.
"You're crazy, you know that?" Natsu said bluntly. "Breaking your own finger just to throw a ball."
"I... I didn't have a choice," Midoriya whispered, looking at his hand. "I can't control it yet."
"Maybe not," Natsu said. He reached out and slapped Midoriya heavily on the back, nearly knocking the wind out of the green-haired boy. "But I liked it! You didn't back down. Even when the teacher told you to give up, you glared right back at him."
Natsu's onyx eyes gleamed with approval.
"You've got the spirit of a Dragon, Midoriya."
Midoriya blinked, confused. "A... Dragon Spirit?"
"Aye!" Happy chimed in, floating over. "It means you have guts! You don't let fear stop you from burning bright!"
"Dragon Spirit..." Midoriya repeated the words. They felt strange, but strangely warm. "Thank you, Dragneel-kun."
"Call me Natsu!"
Lunchtime.
The U.A. cafeteria was a culinary paradise. The main hall was bustling with hundreds of students from the Hero, Support, and General Education courses. The smell of gourmet food prepared by the Pro Hero Lunch Rush filled the air.
Natsu, Happy, Midoriya, Iida, and Uraraka found a table together.
"This rice is delicious!" Uraraka beamed, shoveling white rice into her mouth.
"The nutritional balance is impeccable," Iida noted, analyzing his beef stew.
"I want fish!" Happy complained, staring at his bowl of regular cat food that Natsu had brought. "Raw fish! Lunch Rush! Do you have any fresh caught tuna?!"
"Be quiet, Happy," Natsu said. He was staring intensely at his own tray.
He had ordered the "Super Spicy Mapo Tofu" with extra chili oil. But apparently, it wasn't enough.
"It needs more kick," Natsu muttered.
To the horror of Iida and Uraraka, Natsu leaned forward, opened his mouth, and inhaledsharply over the steaming hot dish.
He didn't eat the tofu. He ate the heat.
Visually, the steam and the heat waves radiating from the spicy food were sucked directly into his mouth like a vacuum cleaner. The red, bubbling sauce instantly cooled down and turned a dull brown color.
"Mmmm!" Natsu swallowed, patting his stomach. "That's some good heat! Spicy fire is the best!"
Then, he picked up a spoon and started eating the now-cold tofu.
The table went silent.
"Uh..." Uraraka froze, her spoon hovering mid-air. "Natsu-kun? Did you just... eat the temperature?"
"Did he extract the thermal energy from the capsaicin and the steam?" Iida asked, adjusting his glasses, visibly disturbed. "Is that physically possible?"
Nearby students turned to look.
"Hey, look at that guy."
"Did he eat smoke?"
"Gross... but kinda cool?"
"Don't worry about it!"
A cheerful voice interrupted the confusion. Mina Ashido slid onto the bench next to Uraraka, placing her tray down.
"That's just how the Salamander eats," Mina explained, pointing a fork at Natsu. "Back in elementary school, he used to get in trouble for trying to eat the Bunsen burner flames in science class. He's got an iron stomach for anything hot."
"Salamander?" Midoriya asked, looking at Natsu. "Is that your nickname?"
"Yup!" Mina grinned, leaning on her hand. "Because he's fire-proof, eats fire, and honestly? He's got the brain of a reptile sometimes."
"Hey!" Natsu protested with a mouth full of tofu. "I resent the brain part! I'm smart!"
"You got a 9 on the last math test we took in 6th grade," Mina countered instantly.
"That was a long time ago!" Natsu argued.
"He really eats fire..." Uraraka stared at him in awe. "That must save a lot of money on gas bills."
"Aye," Happy nodded. "But our food bill is enormous. He eats five times a day."
Sunset.
The first day finally came to an end. The sky was painted in hues of deep orange and violet as the students filtered out of the main gate.
"I'm exhausted," Natsu groaned, stretching his arms behind his head. Happy was asleep inside his open backpack, snoring softly.
"But we survived!" Uraraka said cheerfully, walking beside him. "And no one got expelled!"
"That was a truly deceptive yet effective pedagogical technique," Iida stated, doing strange robot-arm chopping motions as he walked.
"I guess..." Midoriya murmured, looking at his hand.
"Stop right there."
The group froze. The voice was low, raspy, and filled with suppressed rage.
Leaning against the school gate pillar was Katsuki Bakugo. His hands were in his pockets, his posture slouched, but his red eyes were locked onto one person.
He ignored Midoriya completely. He walked straight up to Natsu.
"You," Bakugo growled.
Natsu stopped, dropping his arms. He met Bakugo's gaze without flinching. "Yo. Explosion Boy."
Bakugo's eye twitched at the nickname. He stepped closer, invading Natsu's personal space.
"Don't think you won," Bakugo spat. "That teacher... he was just testing quirks. It wasn't a fight. It was just gymnastics."
Natsu blinked. He looked at Bakugo, then a slow, confident smirk spread across his face.
"Gymnastics?" Natsu chuckled. He held up one finger.
"I beat you in the 50-meter dash."
He held up a second finger.
"And I beat you in the overall ranking. I was first. You were fourth."
Natsu leaned in, his forehead almost touching Bakugo's. The air between them seemed to vibrate with heat.
"That's two wins for me, Bakugo. And zero for you."
Bakugo's breath hitched. His pupils contracted. His hands smoked inside his pockets. The humiliation of being ranked below not just Todoroki and Yaoyorozu, but this loud-mouthed fire-eater, was eating him alive.
"You..." Bakugo's voice dropped to a dangerous whisper. "I'm going to crush you. I'm going to burn that scarf off your neck."
Natsu didn't back down. The fire in his gut flared up, responding to the challenge.
"Bring it on," Natsu said, his voice steady and serious. "Return the favor... if you can."
Bakugo glared at him for one more second, then scoffed. He shoved past Natsu, his shoulder checking him hard as he walked away into the sunset.
"Just you wait, Salamander," Bakugo called out without looking back. "I'll kill you next time."
Natsu watched him go.
"He's intense," Happy whispered, poking his head out of the bag. "Like a angry pufferfish."
"Yeah," Natsu smiled, fixing his scarf. "But he's strong. I can't wait to fight him for real."
Midoriya watched the exchange, his heart pounding. Kacchan has a new rival... and Natsu-kun isn't afraid of him at all.
The first day at U.A. High had ended, but the sparks of rivalry had just been ignited.