"I just hate being called that, which is why I changed the way I refer to myself," Tenya Iida said hurriedly as he shoveled a few more bites of food into his mouth.
"Ah—yes, that's right. My family is a hero family. I'm the second son. You've probably heard of the Turbo Hero: Ingenium, haven't you?"
"Of course I have! He has an agency in Tokyo, with sixty-five staff members, and he's incredibly popular! Don't tell me—" Izuku Midoriya said excitedly.
"That's my older brother!" Iida lifted his head proudly and adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose, a confident smile spreading across his face.
He doesn't hide it at all… That's amazing.
"My brother values rules, guides people forward, and is loved by the public. I admire him deeply—that's why I decided to become a hero."
"But when it comes to leading people, I'm still far from ready. That's why I recommended Midoriya to stand on the podium."
"There's no way I could do it," Izuku said with a sheepish laugh, scratching his head.
"How can you know without trying?" Iida looked straight at him.
"No, really, it's fine," Izuku replied, continuing to refuse with a gentle smile.
Just as Iida was about to persuade him further to take on the role of class president, a sharp, urgent alarm suddenly blared throughout the cafeteria.
"Attention all personnel! Level Three Alert! Level Three Alert! All students, please evacuate to a safe location immediately! All students, evacuate immediately!!"
"What's going on?!"
"Did a villain infiltrate the school?!"
"Don't think about that—just evacuate!" Panic instantly spread through the cafeteria as students rushed toward the exits.
"What's happening? Uraraka, lift us into the air first. Iida, use your speed and check the windows to see what's going on. Yaoyorozu, create a megaphone."
"Got it!"
The four of them slowly floated upward. Iida activated his Quirk, spun in a full three-hundred-and-sixty-degree arc, and smack—latched onto the window.
"What? It's just those stubborn reporters from this morning. But how did they get in here?" He frowned briefly. "Whatever. The priority is calming everyone down. Midoriya!"
"Got it!" Izuku tossed the megaphone over.
Catching it, Iida shouted loudly, "Everyone! There's no major incident!"
The students who had been desperately rushing toward the evacuation routes stopped and looked up at Iida hovering in midair.
"It's just reporters! This is U.A. High! Act like students of the top hero academy!!"
Half an hour later, the reporters were escorted away by the police, and the situation gradually settled.
When Izuku and the others returned to the classroom, they immediately heard classmates discussing what had just happened.
"Iida was so cool just now!"
"Yeah, he had such commanding presence."
"See? Choosing him as class president was definitely the right call!"
Izuku sat back down at his seat, watching Iida receive praise from everyone around him. Meanwhile, it felt like he himself hadn't done anything at all—left off to the side, unnoticed.
That feeling… it was painfully familiar.
Just like back in kindergarten, when Bakugo Katsuki had first awakened his Quirk, and everyone showered him with praise.
Why would I still feel like this?I've inherited the strongest Quirk now.
But that Quirk was never yours to begin with. If it disappears, you'll still just be a Quirkless loser!!
Izuku shook his head.
I was Quirkless to begin with. Being able to attend U.A. is already my greatest stroke of luck.
Haven't you forgotten that you're aiming to become the greatest HERO?
Of course I haven't…
While Izuku was lost in thought, Iida suddenly walked over.
"The reason I was able to help everyone today was because of Midoriya's idea."
"That's not true," Izuku said as he stood up. "I just suggested the plan. It all worked because of your speed and your loud voice, Iida."
"I'm going to the restroom."
...
Inside the restroom, Izuku splashed water onto his face and stared at his reflection in the mirror. He looked awful.
"Maybe I've been training too hard lately… It's probably affecting my mental state. Maybe I should rest for a couple of days."
As he spoke, Izuku lifted his shirt and knocked lightly on his solid abs.
"Not bad. Looks like training really can't stop."
He removed his shirt and then began unstrapping the sandbags he'd been carrying on his back. Rolling his shoulders, his arms and shoulder blades let out a series of crack crack sounds.
"Wearing all this stuff before was seriously miserable."
He continued removing the sandbags from his upper body. As each one came off, his inverted triangle physique gradually appeared in the mirror.
"Whew… much lighter now."
He rotated his upper body, joints popping all over with crack crack sounds.
"But I still need to put them back on," Izuku muttered. "Otherwise I'll get in other people's way."
After finishing his stretches, he put the sandbags and clothes back on and walked out of the restroom.
At that exact moment, a phone camera flashed, capturing a photo of Izuku's back as he exited.
"So handsome!"
That voice echoed in the empty restroom.
But who was it?
Night fell. While Izuku jogged back and worked on his homework, his phone kept buzzing nonstop.
"What's going on? Did someone get stuck on their homework again?" he wondered, picking up his phone and opening the rapidly updating group chat.
Uraraka Ochaco: WAHHH Midoriya is WAY too handsome!! Hagakure, send more!!
Hagakure Toru: Then I'll keep going—Midoriya shirtless.JPG
Ashido Mina: This one's super hot too!!!!
Izuku stared at the photos of himself removing sandbags in the restroom, his face instantly turning red.
What was going on?! There was clearly no one in the restroom when he did that!
Hagakure Toru: Midoriya lifting his shirt and punching his abs.JPGHagakure Toru: Midoriya removing sandbags.JPG
Izuku Midoriya: Hagakure, did you sneak into the boys' restroom?!
Hagakure Toru: Oops, the main character showed up~ I'm out! DM me if you want the pics!
Izuku Midoriya: Don't run—explain yourself!!!
Uraraka Ochaco: Forget it, Midoriya. Hagakure already posted the photos online.
Tenya Iida: Ahem. While I won't comment on whether Hagakure's actions were ethical, I would like to ask—Midoriya, where did those muscles come from?
Mineta Minoru: If I had Hagakure's Quirk, I could go into the girls' bathroom with zero obstacles!
System Message: Mineta Minoru has been muted by administrator Tenya Iida for one hour.
Izuku Midoriya: I don't really mind the photos being online… but could you at least tell me before posting them?
Hagakure Toru: Watching silently.JPG Midoriya, are you not mad anymore?
Izuku Midoriya: I wasn't mad to begin with.
Tenya Iida: Stay on topic. I want to know how you trained your muscle density, Midoriya. Warning: muting!
Izuku Midoriya: Muscle density? I didn't train at all.
Tenya Iida: Then why are your muscles so solid?
Izuku Midoriya: I got them from being beaten up by Kacchan since childhood.
Hagakure Toru: ...…Uraraka Ochaco: ...…Kaminari Denki: ...…Jiro Kyoka: ...…
Tenya Iida: ...…
Yaoyorozu Momo: Wait—aren't you and Bakugo childhood friends? You should be really close, right?
Izuku Midoriya: We've never been close, okay?
Bakugo Katsuki: ...… Are you saying I hit you for no reason, you damn extra?
Izuku Midoriya: nods That's because before elementary school, I realized Bakugo hitting me helped train my muscle durability. Every beating was a workout.
Kaminari Denki: Why do I suddenly feel bad for kid Midoriya?
Yaoyorozu Momo: Same… +1
Tenya Iida: That's bullying!! Why didn't you go to the police?! Or tell your mother?!
Izuku Midoriya: It's fine. That's all in the past now. Anyway, does anyone still have math problems they can't solve? If not, I'm logging off.
Kaminari Denki: I do! Third question from the bottom!
Meanwhile, Bakugo Katsuki stared at the photos of Izuku Midoriya without his sandbags, his eyes flickering with unreadable emotion.