"…You know that's silly, right?"
Aoyama responded to Minette's last remark without missing a beat.
"Why would you assume I'm leading them on?"
He slowed his pace slightly to match hers, casually glancing down at her.
"Can't a guy just be friends with people without it turning romantic~?"
Minette stared up at him with one eyebrow raised high enough to disappear beneath her bangs.
Then she pointed ahead toward Ochaco.
"Yeah, right. Because hand-holding is totally platonic."
Aoyama laughed lightly.
"It can be."
"I'm giving up on trying to talk sense into you."
She crossed her arms before another thought suddenly hit her.
"Wait."
A mischievous grin slowly spread across her face.
"How exactly are you planning to explain this if that girl up ahead realizes you're using your Quirk to walk with two different girls at the same time?"
She covered her mouth dramatically.
"You know, I could just laugh really loudly right now and she'd turn around immediately."
Aoyama crossed his arms thoughtfully and touched his chin as if genuinely considering it.
"Hmm…"
He glanced ahead toward Ochaco.
"I honestly don't know how she'd react."
Then he looked back at Minette with a mischievous smile.
"But first—"
He pointed at her lazily.
"If you suddenly started laughing by yourself in the middle of the street, she'd probably question you before me."
Minette paused.
"...What?"
The moment the word left her mouth—
Aoyama's body suddenly collapsed into a stream of silver light.
SWISH—
The clone dissolved instantly.
Minette stared blankly as the silver particles shot forward and merged seamlessly into the Aoyama walking beside Ochaco.
Leaving her completely alone on the sidewalk.
"...I can't believe that guy!?"
She clenched her school bag in outrage while stomping forward.
Fine.
If that was how he wanted to play this—
then she wasn't going to make it easy for him.
Minette inhaled deeply.
"HEY! Aoyama-kun! Is that you?!"
Ochaco jumped slightly at the sudden shout.
Her grip loosened around Aoyama's hand as she turned around in surprise.
A petite girl hurried toward them while waving energetically.
"Do you mind if I walk with you guys?"
Before either of them could answer, Minette looked toward Ochaco with exaggerated curiosity.
"Ohhh? And who's this girl beside you?"
She smiled innocently.
"I didn't know you were popular enough to walk to school with such a pretty girl on the first day~"
Ochaco's face immediately began heating up again.
"W-Wha—?!"
Beside her, Aoyama simply smiled like he already knew this was going to become a problem.
—
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of Musutafu…
Izumi Midoriya walked through the massive front gates of U.A. High beside Aoyama, her eyes wide with disbelief.
Students filled the enormous campus grounds.
Conversations echoed through the air while groups of newly accepted students nervously made their way toward the main building.
Everything felt unreal.
U.A. High.
The number one hero academy in Japan.
Every year, thousands of students applied for a chance to enter.
And only a tiny fraction succeeded.
Izumi tightened her grip on the straps of her backpack as she looked around.
"...Every year, less than one in three hundred people make it into U.A…"
Her voice came out quieter than expected.
Aoyama glanced sideways at her as they walked.
Her green eyes trembled slightly while staring at the towering school building ahead.
"Only thirty-six people passed this year's practical exam…"
Two classes.
That was it.
Out of everyone who dreamed of becoming a hero—
only thirty-six students had been chosen.
And somehow…
somehow…
"I made it."
The words left her mouth softly.
Almost disbelievingly.
Aoyama looked at her for a moment before smiling lightly.
"Yeah."
He reached over and flicked her forehead gently.
"Try not to short-circuit before homeroom starts."
"Agh—!"
Izumi puffed out her cheeks while rubbing her forehead.
"T-That hurt!"
"Should I kiss it to make it better?"
"You know we can't do anything like that at school."
She reprimanded him immediately.
"Yeah, yeah. I just love teasing you, that's all."
He shoved his hands into his pockets lazily as they continued toward the entrance.
"...Wow."
Izumi stared ahead in amazement.
They had finally reached Class 1-A, and as they stood before its enormous doorway, she couldn't help but wonder what kind of Quirk users were waiting on the other side.
"This door is huge…"
She spoke with a sparkle in her eyes.
"I guess everything here is built to be inclusive."
Aoyama mused while looking at the massive entrance.
"I wonder if the staff would give me a second desk or two if I explained that my clones help me absorb information faster."
"I don't think that's possible."
He shrugged at Izumi's response.
"Well, I'll ask after school once I figure out how strict the faculty is."
The two of them pushed open the massive door.
Before they even made it halfway inside, they were met with the sound of a heated argument already taking place.
"Don't put your feet on the desk."
"Huh?"
Katsumi Bakugo rested one foot lazily on top of her table.
"What's your problem with where I put my feet?"
"Don't you think it's disrespectful to the people who made that desk?"
Iida pointed dramatically between her and the table.
"Nope."
Katsumi smirked.
"If anything, the people who made it should feel honored. They get to brag that the future number one heroine used their glorified footstool."
Iida visibly twitched in irritation.
"If you aim to become the number one heroine, then you should behave more professionally and less like a delinquent."
That only made Katsumi double down as she casually propped her second foot onto the desk.
"I don't know what kind of school you came from, but if putting my feet up counts as delinquent behavior, then you definitely don't want to know my actual standards."
She lifted one hand lazily before tiny explosions crackled across her fingertips.
Iida immediately stepped back.
"H-Hey! Setting off explosions inside the classroom is dangerous!"
A blue dome-shaped barrier suddenly sealed off the sparks before they could spread.
!!?
Katsumi's eyes snapped toward the doorway.
Standing there was a green-haired girl beside two identical-looking boys.
One stood next to Izumi.
The other had one arm partially transformed into shimmering clone-light, which shaped itself into a glowing hand maintaining the barrier.
"Who the hell are you?"
Katsumi slammed her explosion-covered palm against the barrier—
SHATTER!!
Blue mana shards scattered through the air.
"Us?"
Aoyama spoke as more silver light split from his body.
The light separated into five silver silhouettes before solidifying into perfect clones.
Together, they spread their hands dramatically.
"We're Aoyama. Aoyama Hikaru."
"And we'd appreciate it if the school didn't burn down on the first day~"
Katsumi slowly lowered her feet from the desk.
Not because she felt intimidated.
If anything—
she looked amused.
She stood up with a grin and stared directly at the Aoyama leaning casually against the doorway with his hands in his pockets.
"What? Am I supposed to be the villain here?"
She scoffed.
"I was minding my own business until this background character started annoying me, and now you're sending clones to gang up on me like this is some low-budget adult drama."
Before things could escalate any further, another voice cut through the tension inside the classroom.
"That's enough."
The room quieted slightly as a tall girl with long black hair stepped forward from near the windows.
She carried herself with calm elegance and quiet authority that immediately made her stand out from the rest of the class.
Momo Yaoyorozu brushed a strand of hair behind her ear before looking between Katsumi, Iida, and the growing number of Aoyamas crowding the doorway.
"All of you need to calm down."
Katsumi clicked her tongue.
"Hah? Why are you acting like class rep already?"
Momo ignored the jab entirely.
"Because this is a terrible first impression."
She gestured around the classroom.
"We've barely arrived and people are already arguing, threatening each other, and using their Quirks indoors."
Her eyes briefly landed on Katsumi's smoking hand before shifting toward the clone army by the entrance.
"And multiplying yourselves for dramatic entrances isn't helping either."
One of the Aoyama clones placed a hand over his chest dramatically.
"You wound me."
"You'll survive."
A few nearby students snorted quietly at that.
Momo crossed her arms lightly.
"Think about this logically."
She looked around the room.
"Our homeroom teacher could walk in at any moment and see the entire class fighting on the very first day."
Iida immediately straightened his posture.
"...That would indeed reflect poorly on us."
"Exactly."
Momo nodded once.
"U.A. only accepted thirty-six students this year."
Her tone sharpened slightly.
"Do you really want Class 1-A's credibility ruined before lessons even begin?"
That finally caused the atmosphere to cool.
Even Katsumi stopped crackling sparks from her palms.
Though barely.
"Tch."
She dropped back into her seat and rested her chin against her hand.
"Fine."
A blonde tomboy leaned toward a red-haired girl nearby.
"Hey, do you know who that is? She's really hot."
Eijira Kirishima blinked before glancing toward Momo.
"I dunno, but she's definitely—"
Denka Kaminari noticed Momo walking within earshot and immediately corrected herself.
"—definitely got future class representative energy."
Eijira nodded quickly.
"Yeah, I can totally see her becoming class rep."
Momo sighed tiredly.
"Please don't encourage that."
Meanwhile, Izumi stood frozen near the doorway while trying to process everything happening around her.
The arguments.
The personalities.
The overwhelming pressure radiating from the room itself.
Every student here had passed the same impossible exam she had.
Which meant every single person in this classroom was strong.
Really strong.
Her grip tightened slightly around her backpack straps.
"...This place is intense."
The Aoyama beside her leaned slightly closer.
"And that's before the teachers start trying to traumatize us."
Izumi's eyes widened instantly.
"W-What?!"
Aoyama grinned.
"I'm kidding."
A beat passed.
"...Mostly."
"T-THAT DOESN'T HELP!"
He laughed quietly at her reaction before dismissing the clones in flashes of silver light and finally heading toward his seat.
Little by little, the tension inside Class 1-A began settling into something closer to normal.
At least for now.