A couple of days later, the results of the practical exam were released.
[1st Place: Takeda Ren]
Villain Points: 317
Rescue Points: 28
"Hm… not bad," Ren said casually. Being first was so obvious to him it felt like reading 2 + 2 = 4—mundane, expected.
His eyes drifted down the list until he found the name he wanted.
[8th Place: Izuku Midoriya]
Villain Points: 0
Rescue Points: 60
"Midoriya actually managed to come eighth…" Ren smiled faintly. "So he couldn't take down a single robot, huh? He still has a long way to go."
His gaze then moved to the student ranked just beneath him.
[2nd Place: Katsuki Bakugo]
Villain Points: 77
Rescue Points: 0
"This arrogant guy is also interesting," Ren murmured. "He's practically Midoriya's opposite… and they're childhood friends if I remember correctly. He's the perfect rival for him. That'll push him forward."
He stared at the rankings a bit longer.
"A rival, huh…? I wonder if I'll ever have one."
...
The next evening, Ren stood with All Might—in his weakened form —on the familiar stretch of coastal beach. The sky was dark, waves rolling lazily toward the shore as they waited for Midoriya to arrive.
"All right, Ren… what exactly happened during the exam?" All Might asked, brows furrowing.
"What do you mean?" Ren replied innocently.
"Your healing. You recovered faster than you ever have before. And that power output—Joint Reactor shouldn't be capable of generating that kind of energy."
Ren sighed. "Can't hide anything from you, huh?"
All Might's stare demanded an answer.
"During the exam, I saw someone with an interesting quirk—he could fuse organic and inorganic matter. I figured… if he can weld bodies together, maybe quirks can be welded too."
All Might stiffened. "Don't tell me—"
"I copied it." Ren shrugged. "Then I merged Muscle Fiber and Joint Reactor. The result was a quirk that generates kinetic energy passively from anyone of my movements and stores it inside my body for me to use however I like. I named it Surge. I also merged Healing Light and Soothing Touch to get faster healing."
All Might let out a long, long exhale. "You're too strong… you know that?"
"Yeah…" Ren looked out over the sea, almost wistfully.
Before either of them could say more—
"All MIGHT!" Midoriya's voice echoed across the sand as he sprinted toward them.
"ALL MIGHT?! Where?!" a nearby couple exclaimed, turning in circles in a panic.
"Ah—!" All Might coughed out a spray of blood.
Ren pinched the bridge of his nose. "Midoriya…"
All Might leaned forward. "Repeat after me: I was mistaken…"
"I WAS MISTAKEN!!" Midoriya yelled immediately.
"Oh, really?" the couple said, disappointed. "And here we were getting excited…" They slowly wandered off.
All Might sagged with relief.
"Congratulations on your admission," he said, raising a hand for a high-five.
"Thank you very much!" Midoriya responded, slapping his hand excitedly.
"Congrats, Midoriya." Ren added his own high-five, grinning slyly.
"Th-thank you, Ren—"
Ren suddenly wrapped an arm around his neck. "So that's how you use One For All, huh? To hit on girls you like?"
Midoriya nearly combusted. "N-No! That's not— I-I wasn't—!"
"You don't like her?" Ren asked, tone teasing.
"That's not what I—I mean—I—!!"
Ren and All Might burst out laughing.
Midoriya scratched the back of his head, face still bright red… but he was smiling too. Seeing Ren genuinely happy like this—it warmed him.
As for All Might… watching Ren laugh so freely for the first time in years made something inside him swell with quiet joy.
In all the time they'd lived together, he had never seen Ren look so alive.
...
The next morning, Ren adjusted the collar of his U.A. uniform as he walked. The blazer fit him perfectly—of course it did. Everything looked good on him, but this uniform in particular gave him the same clean, handsome look he had when he played Yoichi in Young Love.
And that was precisely the problem.
The moment he stepped outside, he was swarmed.
"Ren-kun! Can I have a selfie?"
"I loved you in Young Love! Please sign this!"
"Just one picture—please!"
Ren wasn't even sure he was breathing correctly anymore. He practically had to parkour across rooftops and slip through alleys just to reach the train station. By the time he approached the U.A. gates, he felt like he'd escaped a battlefield.
He exhaled deeply.
"Finally…"
He made his way through the campus, taking in the buildings, before stopping in front of the door labeled 1-A. Just as he reached it, he saw three familiar figures standing at the entrance.
Midoriya, red-faced and stuttering.
A tall guy with blue hair.
And the girl Midoriya liked, chatting energetically.
Ren walked up to them casually.
"Hey," he said to the girl. "Would you mind moving aside with your boyfriend? I'm trying to get to class."
The word boyfriend landed like a grenade.
"B-B-Boyfriend—!? R-Ren! Stop teasing me!" Midoriya yelped, turning a dangerous shade of crimson.
The girl giggled.
"Yes, stop teasing my boyfriend," she said playfully.
Midoriya's soul nearly left his body. He swayed, on the verge of collapse. The blue-haired guy hurriedly grabbed him by the shoulders to keep him upright.
"Midoriya-kun! Get a hold of yourself!"
But then—
"If you're going to make friends," a dull voice interrupted from behind them, "do it somewhere else."
All four turned around.
A man was half-laying inside a bright yellow sleeping bag like some kind of exhausted caterpillar. His long black hair spilled out messily, and deep, permanent dark circles framed his half-open eyes.
"This is the hero course… not a playground," he murmured.
"W-Who is this guy…?" Midoriya whispered.
The tall guy and the girl were equally stunned.
Ren was already claiming an empty seat, not even reacting.
"It took eight seconds to silence you," the man said, straightening suddenly and wriggling free from the sleeping bag. "Time is precious. You need to be more rational."
He stepped into the classroom without ceremony.
"I am Aizawa Shota. Your homeroom teacher."
The entire class stiffened.
This sleep-deprived, bag-wearing, dead-eyed man…
was supposed to be their teacher?
To be continued...
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How was this chapter? Liked it?
Also, I thought of Ren helping Midoriya getting together faster with Ochaco, do you like this idea?