The two-day grace period expired with the relentless chime of Yuta's alarm clock.
The transition from the soft cushions of the sofa and Eri's quiet "nursing" to the high-tension atmosphere of UA High left him feeling ... restless.
He sat up, rubbed his eyes, and stared at the ceiling for a moment before swinging his legs out of bed. 'Wake up to reality.'
__
"You have everything? Spare uniform? Extra snacks?"
Aiko was hovering by the front door, her eyes scanning Yuta like a radar dish.
"Mom, I'm going to the hero course, not a war zone," Yuta chuckled, hoisting his yellow backpack over his shoulder.
He looked down at Eri, who was standing beside Aiko's wheelchair, clutching the hem of her own dress. "And you, Snowball. No worrying while I'm gone. That's an order from the Head Chef."
Eri nodded solemnly. "Be safe, Yuta."
"Always am."
Aiko reached out and squeezed his hand once. "If anything happens, ..."
"I'll call. I know." Yuta smiled. What could possibly happen in U.A High? "I'll be back this afternoon."
"Good." She released his hand. "Now go before you're late."
He chuckled, waving goodbye before turning away.
Not long after, he noticed his walk to school was going to be different today. Why? People were staring.
A middle-aged woman glanced at him twice before whispering to her husband. A group of middle schoolers whispered excitedly, one of them pulling out their phone.
Yuta blinked.
'Right. I'm famous now.'
He hadn't stepped out of the house in two days, so the experience was pretty new. By the time he reached the platform, a few people had worked up the courage to approach.
"Excuse me!" A man in a business suit called out. "You're that kid from the Sports Festival, right? Second place?"
Yuta paused, turned, and gave a polite nod. "Yeah. That's me."
"Your matches were incredible!" The man grinned. "Just My luck. My son's been talking about it nonstop. Could I get a quick picture for him?"
"Uh... sure."
The photo was quick. The man thanked him profusely and hurried off.
Two more people approached before the train arrived. Both asking for autographs, which felt surreal.
I'm fifteen. Why are adults asking me for autographs?
When the train finally pulled into the station, Yuta boarded quickly, hoping for some anonymity.
No such luck.
The moment he sat down, two young girls, twins with pale green skin and matching pigtails squealed from across the aisle.
"Oh my gosh, it's him!"
"It's really him!"
They scrambled over, bodies practically vibrating.
"Can we get a picture? Please? Please?"
"Uh—"
"We watched all your matches! You were so cool!"
"Alright."
The twins squealed again, flanking him on either side as one of them held up a phone.
"Say 'Plus Ultra!'"
"...Plus Ultra," Yuta muttered.
The photo snapped.
The twins thanked him about seventeen times before retreating back to their seats, giggling the entire time.
Yuta sighed and leaned back against the window.
This is my life now.
The rest of the train ride was uneventful, though he caught more than a few people stealing glances at him.
By the time the train pulled into the station near U.A., Yuta was ready to disappear into a crowd.
[U.A. HIGH SCHOOL — MAIN ENTRANCE]
The campus was buzzing.
Students clustered in groups, voices overlapping as they discussed homework, hero agencies, and the aftermath of the Sports Festival.
Yuta pulled out his phone, checking the official UA notification he'd received that morning.
> TO: YUTA AKUTAMI
> SUBJECT: CLASS ASSIGNMENT
> Based on your performance and the recommendation of the faculty, you have been assigned to Hero Class 1-A. Please report directly to your new homeroom.
>
'Class 1-A.' He exhaled.
He pocketed his phone and headed towards the Hero Course wing.
__
[CLASS 1-A — 8:55 AM]
Inside the classroom, the atmosphere was chaotic.
Conversations overlapped as students recounted their experiences from the break.
"It's different when you're broadcast live on TV. I got stopped three times on the way here!" Ashido said excitedly. "
"Same!" Kaminari grinned. "Some guy asked if I could charge his phone. I said yes, obviously."
"You didn't actually do it, did you?" Jiro asked flatly.
"...Maybe."
"So many people were looking at me too." Hagakure said with excitement. "It was kinda embarrassing."
Ojiro chuckled. "Isn't that how things normally are for you Toru?"
"Hmph. At least you guys got good responses." Sero uttered, clearly not sharing the class enthusiasm. "Some kids walked up to me and told me "Nice Try""
The class went silent.
"Nice try?"
"I know right!"
Kirishima laughed. "Well I had like five people ask me about my hardening quirk. Felt like a celebrity!"
"Ribbit. I got a few stares too," Tsuyu said. "Though I think ..."
The door slid open and the room fell silent.
"Morning class."
"Morning."
Shouta Aizawa walked in, his gait steady and most notably, his face free of the heavy bandages that had defined his appearance since the USJ.
"Ribbit. Mr. Aizawa, your bandages are gone," Tsuyu observed.
Aizawa scratched his cheek. "Yeah. The old lady went overboard with her treatment."
He walked to the front of the room and leaned against the desk, arms crossed.
"The Sports Festival is over. Some of you lived up to expectations." His eyes flicked toward Bakugo and Todoroki. "Others exceeded them." A glance at Midoriya and Mineta. The latter, who puffed up his chest with a smug grin. "And some of you were... underwhelming."
Aoyama, Toru, Koda, all looked away as he focused on them.
"If you want to be heroes, you can't wait for the spotlight to find you. You have to be capable enough to take it. Regardless though," Aizawa continued, "All of you made it to the second round and gained experience. Some of you will have internship offers waiting. Others won't. That's the reality of hero work. Performance matters."
He paused.
"Now. Today, you're getting a new classmate."
The room tensed.
Several students exchanged glances.
'I see. So he's in our class,' Todoroki thought, expression unchanging.
Bakugo's eyes cracked open slightly.
"Since U.A. typically uses a twenty-student-per-class ratio, I am sure you have all realized that this is the point where one of you gets transferred out to make room."
The tension spiked immediately.
Ashido's eyes went wide. "Wait, what?!"
"Transferred?!" Kaminari looked around nervously. "Who?!"
"Hmph. Well I made it to the final round. It's impossible for me to be chosen." Mineta uttered with slightly shaky hands.
Aizawa let the panic simmer for a few seconds.
"Fortunately, it's not happening to any of you."
The room exhaled collectively.
"What the hell, Mr. Aizawa?!" Kaminari slumped forward. "You scared us!"
"That's what I was going for." Aizawa replied nonchalantly. "I went to the principal and requested an expansion. Regardless of the performance of most, you all still have potential, and removing someone at this stage would be counterproductive. That's why there's an extra seat at the back."
Everyone spun around. In the back row, tucked neatly behind Sato and Todoroki, was a brand-new desk.
"When did that get there?!" Iida shouted.
"Weird. I totally didn't notice."
"Did they just... add a desk overnight?"
Aizawa looked toward the door. "You can come in now."
Yuta stepped into the room, his hands in his pockets, looking remarkably calm for someone entering a den of rivals.
"Ugh, why him?" Mineta grumbled, loud enough for those nearby to hear. "First he ruins the cheerleader plan, then he blocks my advancement .. .why couldn't he go to 1-B? They have a lot of weirdos over there."
Aizawa's eyes flicked to the purple-haired boy. "Mineta. If you had spent half as much time training as you did trying to trick the girls into wearing those outfits, you probably would have lasted a second longer in the ring."
The class erupted into snickers.
Aizawa gestured toward the front. "Introduce yourself."
Yuta walked to the front of the room and stopped beside the desk.
He saw Bakugo's simmering glare, Todoroki's intense attention, and Toru... well, he could feel her "looking" at him with a mix of curiosity and nervousness.
"Yuta Akutami," he said simply. "I was in General Studies. Now I'm here. Looking forward to working with you all."
"Take your seat."
Yuta walked to the back and dropped his bag beside the new desk, sitting down without fanfare.
The class stared for a moment longer, then turned back to face the front.
Aizawa pulled out a stack of papers.
"Now that the theatrics are over, we have actual work to do. Today, we're going to discuss the internship offers you received from the Sports Festival."
He held up the stack.
"These are the requests hero agencies submitted based on your performance. Some of you will have multiple offers. Others will have none."
He set the papers down on his desk. Then turned on the projector, displaying a tally of offers on the board.
__
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