Both Aizawa and Tsutsumi stood at the edge of the training ground, watching silently as Todoroki and Bakugo sparred in the center of the arena.
Fire and ice collided again and again, punctuated by controlled explosions. The two moved with clear intent, testing limits rather than trying to overwhelm each other. Their new support gear, modeled after the Rider System, Tsutsumi had recreated from his memories and experiences in other worlds, along with Tsutsumi's own Quirk.
They worked quietly in the background, doing exactly what they were meant to do. The armor helps stabilize their Quirk and helps with their weaknesses.
Todoroki's armor was relatively simple in appearance, but extremely precise in function. Embedded temperature regulators constantly monitored his body, adjusting in real time. When his right side cooled too much, internal heating kicked in. When his left side overheated, cooling systems activated in response. It didn't replace his Quirk control, it smoothed out the dangerous edges when he pushed too hard.
Bakugo's suit, on the other hand, hugged his body tightly. Instead of focusing only on his palms, it absorbed sweat from across his entire body, channeling it into reinforced storage units built into the armor. That sweat was then compressed and redistributed, ready to be ignited when needed.
Ice spread outward from Todoroki's right leg as fire erupted from his left foot. Using both at once, he slid forward across the frozen ground, gliding past Bakugo in a smooth arc.
Bakugo reacted instantly. The vents on his gauntlets flared, explosions firing off in quick bursts to help him twist his body around. His fist slammed into the ice platform where Todoroki had just been, shattering it into chunks that skidded across the arena.
Todoroki didn't slow. Turning on his heel, he sent a wave of flame straight at Bakugo.
Bakugo crossed his arms and took it head-on. The heavier outer armor absorbed the heat, dispersing it across reinforced plates. The impact pushed him back a step, but he stayed upright.
Then the temperature dropped sharply.
Ice surged forward, creeping across the ground and climbing upward, clearly meant to trap him in place.
"Cast off," Bakugo said flatly.
With a sharp mechanical hiss, the bulky outer armor burst away from his body, separating and ejecting outward before dissolving into fragments of light. Beneath it was a sleeker frame, lighter and far more streamlined, with exposed booster engines on his back, wrists, and legs.
The stored sweat ignited. Explosions fired in controlled bursts, launching him forward and out of the ice's reach.
Now moving faster, Bakugo zigzagged around the arena. He wasn't matching Ida's top speed, but the reduced weight and redesigned boosters let him maneuver far more freely than before.
Using the engine in his legs, Bakugo spun midair and drove a flying kick straight toward Todoroki's chest.
Todoroki raised his arms instinctively, ice forming into a solid shield just in time. The kick landed, shattering the ice outward, but the moment it broke, flames surged through the cracks, rushing toward Bakugo.
Already retreating, Bakugo blasted himself backward, narrowly avoiding the flames. With his armor shifted into speed mode, he treated every attack as dangerous, refusing to rely on protection alone.
Aizawa finally spoke, eyes never leaving the fight. "Setting aside personal preference… is there a reason you only had your assistant make upgrade gear for those three?"
Tsutsumi glanced briefly at Aizawa before looking back at the arena. "They already have good control over their Quirks. At this point, most of their growth comes from time." He paused. "Or being forced into a life-and-death situation."
The last part caused Aizawa to sweatdrop.
"They've hit a natural plateau," Tsutsumi continued calmly. "But unlike many in the class, they're still trying to push past it. As long as they remember this is just a suit, and that they are the hero, I don't mind them using armor based on my own power."
He shifted his gaze slightly. "The others still have problems. In this class, there's an idiot who thinks the tool is what makes the hero, not the person using it."
Midoriya: "..."
Aizawa raised a brow, not sure who in the class Tsutsumi was referring to, but he decided not to ask and let him continue.
"Many of them still have flaws in their thinking; another idiot in the class thinks embracing a killer is a good idea, running full speed at them to give them a hug."
Ida: "..."
"Huh," Aizawa muttered. "Didn't think someone like that would make it into my class."
He wants to expel whoever is dumb enough to charge headfirst toward a killer.
But since Tsutsumi didn't bother telling him their name, Aizawa decided not to ask, thinking that Tsutsumi was covering for this idiot who might have some redeeming quality.
"And lastly, many of the class are satisfied with their growth and don't think growing further for now. Giving people like that more power would just be irresponsible."
Aizawa nodded, acknowledging what Tsutsumi said.
...
Two days before the exam, Class 1-A was collectively thrown off when they found Azu standing at the front of the room, calmly preparing the lesson like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Off to the side, their actual homeroom teacher, Aizawa, was zipped up inside his familiar yellow sleeping bag, slumped in the corner and very clearly asleep.
[Slacking off at work No.1]
Unfortunately for most of them, Azu turned out to be far stricter than Aizawa ever was.
She didn't threaten expulsion. Instead, she tripled their homework. And then increased the difficulty.
When questioned, Azu simply cited their "unsatisfactory academic performance during class" as justification, delivering the verdict in a perfectly calm, emotionless tone.
This immediately caused chaos.
Students who were already struggling academically began groaning, whining, and complaining, directing all of it toward Tsutsumi, who was technically their real substitute teacher.
Said substitute teacher was currently slacking off in Aizawa's chair, feet kicked up, letting Azu do all the work for him.
[Slacking off at work No.2]
He did not help them.
In the evening, the class moved out to train for the upcoming provisional license exam, tension hanging thick in the air as everyone pushed themselves harder than usual.
It was now that Midoriya showed Tsutsumi that he had figured out that he could use his legs to throw powerful kicks.
And Tsutsumi's only response to this was...
"You just figured that out now? What took you so long?"
Midoriya: "..."
The green-haired boy visibly deflated, shoulders slumping as the excitement drained right out of him.
He didn't complain because that sounded like something his class President would say. So he quickly refocus and continue his training.
Tsutsumi, meanwhile, genuinely wondered how it took Midoriya that long.
According to Katsuki, Midoriya is a die-hard All Might fanboy, always talking about being the number one hero like him, but he never sees Midoriya ever work to try and reach that goal, before he somehow pulls out a powerful Quirk from his ass.
Knowing the secret of One for All, Tsutsumi could understand why Bakugo was pissed with Midoriya after hearing their story.
One train day and night from an early age to chase after his goal.
The other, who after training for nearly a year, suddenly gains power that is almost par or surpasses them.
Wasn't Midoriya supposed to obsess over All Might?
Hadn't he seen his idol leap around using his legs? Stomp enemies into the ground? Launch himself with sheer leg strength?
Sure, All Might relied more on punches, mostly because it was easier and he usually had more than enough power to end fights with one hit, but the usage of legs was obvious.
So why did it take his successor this long to notice?
Tsutsumi sighed inwardly and moved on, doing a quick check of the rest of the class. Everyone was at least following his instructions to some extent, pushing their combat ability as far as they reasonably could in the limited time they had left.
Later that night, the dorms settled into an uneasy quiet.
The girls gathered in the living room, chatting softly. Most of the boys stayed in their rooms.
Out on the training field, a certain green-haired student was still there, practicing kicks under the dim lights, refusing to stop.
Meanwhile... Inside the game world.
Massive tree roots twisted and spread across the landscape, covering nearly the entire area like the remains of something ancient and alive. At the center rested a small pond, its surface still, surrounded by old, withered flowers that had long since lost their color.
Orange leaves drifted down from the enormous tree above, silently piling atop the roots.
Tsutsumi, Bakugo, and Todoroki stood quietly as they noticed a woman seated in a chair.
She had long orange hair. And her right arm was missing. Suddenly, the woman stirred as she slowly stood up.
"I dreamt for so long," she said, her voice soft and elegant, carrying an unsettling calm.
She knelt down, reaching for something on the ground.
"My flesh was dull gold… and my blood, rotted."
She lifted a metal arm and fitted it neatly where her missing limb had been.
"Corpse after corpse, left in my wake…"
The arm attached with a dull clang. Then she reached down again, this time lifting a golden helmet.
"As I awaited… his return."
She rose to her feet and placed the helmet over her head.
"…Heed my words."
Her stance shifted subtly, balanced, poised, unmistakably ready for battle. A long blade gleamed in her metal right hand.
"I am Malenia. Blade of Miquella. And I have never known defeat."
"Katsuki," Todoroki said flatly, gripping his weapon, "this isn't a treasure room. This is a boss fight."
Bakugo scowled. "How the hell am I supposed to know that stupid map would lead us to a boss fight!?"
He pulled out his long sword and shield.
"Well," Tsutsumi muttered, adjusting his grip on his great bow, "that was a long cutscene."
If it hadn't been for that, he probably would've already jumped the boss before she finished standing up.
"At least we saved at the entrance," Todoroki sighed, drawing his long tachi and stepping forward.
The three of them braced themselves.
...
The next day, at the provisional licensing exam location.
The moment the school bus came to a stop, Aizawa stood up and told his students to get out. One by one, Class 1-A filed off the bus, stretching, talking quietly, and trying to shake off their nerves.
Stepping back, Aizawa did a quick headcount.
Nineteen students. All present.
So far, so good.
What did catch his attention, however, was the state of three particular students. Tsutsumi, Todoroki, and Bakugo all had noticeably heavy dark circles under their eyes, far worse than simple pre-exam nerves.
Aizawa stared at them for a moment longer than necessary.
He eventually concluded that they were probably just too excited or too nervous to sleep properly. Teenagers tended to do that before important exams.
"…Try not to pass out," he muttered, turning away.
"After we're done with this exam," Tsutsumi said quietly, "we jump her."
The two standing beside him nodded in perfect agreement.
The comment immediately drew confused looks from several nearby classmates. A few of them turned to Jiro for an explanation.
She simply shrugged.
"No idea," she said casually, pretending very convincingly that she didn't know the three of them had stayed up the entire night gaming before an important exam.
Aizawa chose to ignore the concerning statement from his problem child and clapped his hands once to get everyone's attention.
He began explaining the rules, structure, and importance of the provisional licensing exam, what it meant for their future as heroes, and why this wasn't something they could afford to take lightly.
Midway through his explanation, a group of students approached from behind.
They wore the uniforms of Shiketsu High.
Among them stood a tall male student, taller even than Shoji, his presence impossible to ignore.
Aizawa recognized him immediately.
Yoarashi Inasa. A student who had previously enrolled in U.A. through the recommended entrants exam… only to turn down the offer afterward.
Before Aizawa could dwell on that thought, a loud, overly energetic voice suddenly rang out.
"Eraser? It's you, isn't it, Eraser!?"
Aizawa flinched.
Turning around, they saw a woman with seafoam-green hair approaching them. She wore a sleeveless navy-blue shirt with a high collar buttoned all the way to her chin, along with puffed shorts decorated in a green-and-orange pinstripe pattern.
"I've seen you on TV and at the sports festival," she said cheerfully, "but it's been a while since I've seen you in person!"
Aizawa's eyelid twitched. Midoriya, meanwhile, immediately recognized her. The Smile Hero, Ms. Joke. Real name, Fukukado Emi.
She stepped closer, grin wide. "Let's get married."
"No," Aizawa replied instantly, without missing a beat.
That only made her laugh harder. She clearly wasn't taking him seriously at all.
Ms. Joke continued chatting happily, even striking up conversations with a few students from Class 1-A. Taking advantage of the distraction, Aizawa quietly pulled out his phone and typed a quick message.
[AizawaShota]: How can I get rid of her?
A second later, Tsutsumi glanced at his own phone.
[TsutsumiRyoko]: Does she really love you?
[AizawaShota]: No. She's flirting and wants to see my reaction.
Tsutsumi didn't hesitate.
[TsutsumiRyoko]: Then flirt back. Beat her at her own game. If it works, she'll leave you alone. If it fails, you get a wife.
Aizawa slowly turned his head and stared directly at Tsutsumi with an utterly blank expression.
Another message popped up.
[TsutsumiRyoko]: After marriage, before the honeymoon, you can just ask for a divorce.
Aizawa's eye twitched as he looked back at him again.
[AizawaShota]: Kono hito da nashi! (You aren't human!)
In the end, Aizawa decided to ignore Tsutsumi's inhumane advice entirely.
He pocketed his phone and shifted his attention past Ms. Joke, noticing students from Ketsubutsu Academy approaching and greeting their class.