The world's unfair.
Just when I thought I got lucky and could score with Izumi early—
A chubby, middle-aged woman called out, carrying a ton of groceries and waving directly at me.
Or more accurately—
At the little doe in the dark green uniform beside me.
"Izumi! Izumi, dear, wait up! …Who's this you're walking with?"
Inko Midoriya paused mid-step.
She blinked, staring at her blushing daughter, who froze as if she'd just been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to.
Which—
Considering what we were planning to do—
Wasn't far off.
I looked at Izumi's uniform.
She wore a sailor styled outfit with a few major alterations.
Her skirt barely covered her waist.
Her top wasn't any better, ending just below her ribline and leaving her stomach and navel fully exposed.
I still didn't know if this was her official school uniform or something she was forced to wear to the exam by Katsumi Bakugo before changing into her tracksuit.
Izumi shifted nervously and gestured toward me.
"T-this is Aoyama-kun… he's a friend I—I met at U.A.'s testing site."
Inko looked at her carefully.
Her nervous voice.
The beads of sweat instantly forming on her forehead.
"Aoyama-kun…" Inko repeated slowly.
"Why are you two walking together?"
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at me.
She hadn't paid much attention to me at first—
Until she caught a scent.
Izumi's perfume still lingered faintly on my shirt.
That alone was enough to set off every alarm in her head.
Her gaze snapped back to Izumi.
Izumi looked away.
Which did not help her case.
At all.
Then Inko looked back at me again.
It was like I was being measured.
"Is something the matter, Auntie?" I asked innocently, like a good Samaritan just walking a fellow examinee home.
"It's nothing," she said, though her tone suggested otherwise. "I was just wondering… is Aoyama your first name or your last, my dear?"
"Aoyama's my first name."
"If you want my last name—it's Hikaru."
She closed her eyes briefly, smiling.
"Aoyama Hikaru…"
"You must have made quite an impression on my daughter for her to call you by your first name."
I smiled lightly.
"I tend to leave a lasting impression on anyone I meet."
As I said that, two more versions of me split off at my sides—perfect copies, standing just as casually as I was.
Inko's eyes flickered between us.
"…I see."
Her grip on the grocery bags tightened slightly.
"Then tell me—why exactly are you two walking together? Do you live nearby?"
"Mom, stop interrogating him!" Izumi cut in quickly, stepping forward.
"He was just walking me home!"
Inko didn't look convinced.
Not even a little.
Instead, she adjusted the bags in her hands and stepped closer.
"Well, since I'm already here, I can walk you home myself."
Izumi hesitated.
Her eyes flicked with uncertainty toward me.
She didn't know what to do.
They had already planned—
What would happen once they got to her place.
His "favor."
And now—
Her mother was here.
Right in the middle of it.
"That's fine," I said easily, cutting through the tension.
"You can walk with your mom."
I slipped my hands into my pockets, completely unbothered.
"We'll hang out some other time… if you get into U.A."
I stepped back and gave a casual salute.
"I should be on my way home as well."
I glanced at Inko, then smiled.
"But before I go… it looks like your hands are full, Auntie."
I nodded toward the grocery bags.
"Why don't I lighten the load and have a few of my clones help you carry those?"
Inko Midoriya blinked, staring at the two identical versions of me standing at my sides.
"Oh—no, no, that won't be necessary," she said quickly. "I wouldn't want to burden you, dear."
"It's not a burden," I replied easily. "I've already made the clones, so they might as well be useful before they disappear."
She hesitated.
Her eyes moved between me… and them.
Then, slowly—
"…Alright," she said.
The clones stepped forward without another word, each taking a portion of the grocery bags from her hands.
"Ah—thank you," she added, still a bit unsure.
They fell into step beside her and Izumi, already walking ahead toward their house.
I gave a small wave.
"Take care."
Then I turned around—
And started walking in the opposite direction.
Ding.
A soft chime echoed in my head.
A translucent screen flickered into view.
MISSION UNLOCKED: Good Samaritan
Objective: Help 10 middle-aged women with groceries
Reward: +10 Reputation
I glanced at it once.
Then looked away.
"…Yeah, no."
I shoved my hands into my pockets and kept walking.
"If I'm ever desperate for reputation, I'll come back and grind this quest."
I walked on ahead while my clone bodies moved in the opposite direction along with the mother daughter pair.
"That was a nice boy, Izumi," Inko said, glancing back at the clones following behind them. "He even used his quirk to help us carry our groceries."
Izumi stayed quiet.
Too quiet.
Inko noticed immediately.
She slowed her steps slightly, eyes narrowing just a bit.
"…You were really just being walked home, right?" she asked carefully. "Or did I interrupt something?"
Izumi stiffened.
"N-no, it's nothing," she said quickly.
Inko raised a brow.
"You're usually not this quiet unless something's bothering you."
"I said I'm fine," Izumi insisted, then softened slightly. "It's not what you're thinking… Aoyama helped me get a point during the exam. I just wanted to thank him for it."
Inko hummed.
"Ahh… I see."
A small smile tugged at her lips.
"So that's why you were nervous when I showed up. You were planning to invite him over, weren't you? Maybe offer him some snacks and drinks?"
Izumi froze.
Her face flushed instantly.
"I-it wasn't like that—!"
Inko chuckled lightly.
"My, my… how bold my daughter's become."
Meanwhile—
I kept walking, hands still in my pockets.
Through my clones, I watched everything.
Every turn.
Every street.
Every crosswalk.
Mapping out a clean route to their apartment.
A one-way path.
Easy access.
Easy exit.
Perfect.
Ding!
A second system notification went off about fifteen minutes later.
A translucent screen flickered into view.
Congratulations on surviving your first day in the MHA universe without sustaining any long-lasting injuries—and altering the plot.
Rewards Granted:
+15 EXP
+7,400 Yen
+1 Skin Token
It has also been recorded that you have gained the affection of two (2) heroines.
This has granted you access to a secret reward pool.
Special Reward:
+2 Character Sheet Cartridges (CSC)
I stopped mid-step.
"Character Sheet Cartridge…?"
What the hell is that?
Ding!
Character Sheet Cartridge (CSC) is a system function that allows you to input a genetic, restricted, or spiritual ability from one body into another.
My eyes widened slightly.
"...Well, isn't this interesting~?"
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