It's been two months since the USJ incident… and the world is already diverging from the anime I know. A new character appeared—someone who shouldn't exist. Shigaraki Rin.
He looks disturbingly similar to the original Shigaraki… same decay quirk… except his hair is jet-black. Another anomaly. Another variable.
And then there's Tenko Shimura, now a pro hero going by Airboy. The fastest hero in Japan—fast enough to push Hawks down to second place in pure speed. But Hawks still retains the No.3 spot in overall ranking through versatility and overall combat ability.
I wonder how much more this world will change…
I asked All Might and Gran Torino to teach me how to fight. They seemed surprised—apparently I'm doing well in their eyes. Managing One For All better, hitting 25% without support items… not exactly something most people can do. Still, I'm not satisfied.
So they started teaching me their combat styles. And I asked Aizawa-sensei to train me in hand-to-hand and basic martial arts.
Even the vestiges have been unusually supportive. They're proud of my progress—Kudo-san especially has become more talkative. They did warn me, though:
No using their quirks unless I manifest them naturally,
Only then will they will train me in using their quirks..I need to manifest OFA completely..unlike canon izuku..i don't have tactics that'll let me without power..
Even so… I hope the story doesn't deviate too much. I don't want to deal with chaos I can't predict.
As I walk to U.A., Nana floats beside me in her pixie form.
"Hey… when are you going to meet Tenko again? I want to see Kotaro too," she says, her voice soft with longing.
"I just met him last week… If I show up too often he'll think I'm some crazy fan stalking him," I said.
"But I want to see Kotaro… and my granddaughter too…" Nana murmured.
I understood her. She sacrificed everything for her son's safety… only for fate to twist things.
Okay, Nana-san. We'll visit Tenko-san again next week. I'll try to get closer to him so you can see your family too.
"Thank you, Izuku-kun! Here, a thank you kiss—"
She blew one at me.
I dodged immediately.
She's teasing me again…
When I reached U.A., I headed straight to the Support Department.
"Ah! Midoriya-kun! You're here for the gauntlets, right? My babies are just getting their final touches!" Hatsume beamed.
…Can these things even handle One For All?
"Hatsume-san… can these actually handle my power?" I asked.
"Huh? You doubting my babies!? They can handle the weight of Mt. Lady. You think they can't handle your tiny little quirk strength!?" she huffed.
I'm not doubting you… but my quirk is too strong…
"If you don't believe me, test them yourself," Hatsume said proudly.
"Um… how do I use them…?" I asked.
She froze. "You literally used the gauntlets I gave you three months ago. Why are you clueless again!?"
Those weren't this advanced…
She strapped the new pair onto me and explained the mechanisms.
"Thank you," I said.
She smirked confidently—then her smirk froze.
CRACK.
The gauntlets shattered.
"H-Hah!? My babies—!?"
"Hatsume-san, these are amazing. They held 40% of my power."
"…That wasn't your fulll power? Just how much power do you have?" she asked quietly.
She noticed…?
Nana crossed her arms. "Looks like she's sharp."
"Y-Yeah. My quirk enhances my whole body—strength, speed… probably similar to All Might, but I'm not sure," I said.
Hatsume let out a long breath. "Well… sorry, Midoriya-kun. I underestimated you. Even with All Might's recommendation, I didn't really get it. But now I see why he supports you. You two really do have similar quirks…"
She slammed her fist into her palm.
"Give me one week! I'll build you the perfect gauntlets!"
A week later
"Here, Midoriya-kun! My babies can withstand anything now!" Hatsume declared proudly.
I slipped them on.
"These… are good." I nodded.
"YES!!" Hatsume and the other support students yelled in triumph.
They can handle almost 65%… but I shouldn't break their hearts.
"Thank you, Hatsume-san. I'll put them to good use."
Suddenly—tap tap—someone poked my back.
"H-Hagakure!? You startled me… when did you get here?" I asked.
"I've been here for a while, Midoriya-kun~"
"O-Oh. I see…"
"…That girl from the support department… are you close to her?" Hagakure asked.
"Eh? Who? Hatsume-san?"
"So that's her name…."
Did she just click her tongue…?
"Midoriya-kun, do you like her?"
"Eh!? N-No!? Why—?"
"Nothing," she said, her tone oddly sharp.
Should I act oblivious? I might be a teenager physically, but mentally I'm in my late 20 when I died.If I accept her feelings… does that make me weird?
"Kid," Shimura Shinimori's vestige spoke suddenly. "Be careful of her."
"Eh? Shinimori-san?"
"I sense something. Not danger sense—my own intuition."
"I… I'll remember that."
Hagakure tilted her invisible head.
"Midoriya-kun, want to have lunch together?"
"Ah… sure."
And then she locked her arm with mine.
She's becoming very proactive… Should I keep my distance? Or should I try to enjoy my high-school life while it lasts…?
A memory surfaced.
From my past life.
"Eh? You want to break up? Why?"
"…Because I can't stand you."
"I don't understand… weren't we doing fine?"
"Because I feel like I'm not part of your world anymore…"
"Kana, wait—"
But she left the restaurant before I could say anything.
The ring I hid stayed in my pocket… owner never received it.
I never saw her again.
Since then, I couldn't connect with anyone romantically.
Maybe I was still stuck on her.
Hagakure… Fuyumi… I never expected anyone in this world to like me. Kana was my first love… and my last love.
But maybe… in this world… I can live differently.