From a few rows near the window, a girl with split-colored hair quietly observed Aoyama as he walked toward his seat.
One side of her hair was white.
The other, crimson red.
Cold gray eyes followed the last traces of silver light dissolving around him after his clones disappeared.
"..."
Shoko Todoroki rested her chin lightly against her hand.
A clone Quirk.
That much was obvious.
But the barrier from earlier—
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
That hadn't looked like part of a clone ability at all.
The structure had formed too quickly.
Too precisely.
Almost like condensed energy weaving itself into shape.
A second Quirk?
Her fingers tapped lightly against the desk.
Shoko knew better than most that possessing multiple abilities wasn't impossible.
After all, she herself wielded both fire and ice.
Still…
her gaze drifted back toward Aoyama as he casually pulled out his chair like nothing unusual had happened.
No one else in the room seemed focused on it.
Most of the class was still distracted by the earlier argument, the clone spectacle, or simply trying not to look nervous on their first day.
But two people had clearly noticed.
Iida adjusted his glasses thoughtfully while staring at the spot where the barrier had shattered earlier.
And beside him, Momo Yaoyorozu's eyes lingered on Aoyama with quiet analysis.
Not curiosity.
Calculation.
Like she was mentally replaying the sequence piece by piece.
Clone creation.
Energy manipulation.
Barrier construction.
Shoko noticed the subtle glance Momo exchanged with Iida.
They'd both realized it too.
Interesting.
Meanwhile, Aoyama seemed completely unbothered.
He dropped casually into his chair beside Izumi, stretched lazily, and rested his chin against his palm.
Like he hadn't just walked into class with an army of clones and stopped an explosion five minutes ago.
Shoko stared at him for another moment.
Then finally looked away.
"...He's strange."
Though it seemed the strangeness didn't end there.
Aoyama suddenly glanced down at his phone.
Then, without explanation, he stood up, grabbed his bag, and leaned toward Izumi to quietly say something before heading for the door.
Shoko's eyes narrowed slightly.
If he was just going to the bathroom—
why take his bag?
And why check his phone first?
Her gaze shifted toward Izumi.
The green-haired girl looked around awkwardly, clearly trying not to appear suspicious despite the fact several classmates were now staring directly at her.
What was on his phone?
A personal issue?
Or had he received some kind of summons from the school staff?
If that were the case, then why hadn't Katsumi been called too after nearly blowing up the classroom?
Shoko tapped her foot lightly against the floor while still watching Izumi.
It wasn't long before Katsumi herself approached the nervous girl, apparently realizing Izumi was the closest person to Aoyama in the room.
Shoko eventually looked away from them and turned toward the classroom windows instead.
Just in time to catch sight of Aoyama casually leaving the school grounds altogether.
"...?"
That only made things stranger.
For some reason, Shoko found herself continuing to stare out the window long after he'd disappeared from view.
She watched students steadily arrive through the front gates of U.A.
First years.
Second years.
Even third years.
Most of them looked excited.
Some nervous.
Others overly confident.
At one point, she recognized several students from their own class arriving before homeroom had officially started.
A pink-skinned girl energetically chatting while walking beside a boy with a long tail.
A friendly-looking girl with frog charms attached to her bag, pencil case, and even utensils. She introduced herself as Tsuyu Asui while speaking with Iida and Mina Ashido.
Then came a raven-headed boy alongside a girl with earphone jacks hanging from her earlobes.
Eventually, two final girls hurried into the classroom just before the bell rang.
One had short brown hair.
The other wore her purple hair in orb-shaped twin tails.
The moment they entered—
the classroom door slid open once again.
A yellow sleeping bag dragged itself inside.
The entire room went silent.
Then the zipper slowly lowered.
A tired-looking man with messy black hair emerged from inside the sleeping bag like he'd just crawled out of the grave itself.
"...It took eight seconds for all of you to quiet down."
His exhausted eyes scanned the room.
"That's not very rational."
The class froze.
The man stood up fully while rubbing the back of his neck.
"I'm Shota Aizawa."
He looked completely uninterested.
"Your homeroom teacher."
A heavy silence settled across the room.
Then Aizawa reached into the sleeping bag and casually pulled out a stack of gym uniforms.
"Put these on and meet me outside on the training field."
He tossed the uniforms onto the desk at the front of the class.
"We're doing a Quirk assessment."
Several students blinked.
"...Huh?"
Aizawa stared at them blankly.
"What? Did you expect an orientation speech or friendship exercises?"
The room stiffened instantly.
"This is the hero course."
A faint grin tugged at the corner of his tired expression.
"If you want freedom at U.A., then you'll have to earn it."
That immediately changed the atmosphere.
Excitement.
Nervousness.
Pressure.
Then—
the classroom door slid open again.
Aoyama walked back inside carrying his bag over one shoulder.
Every eye in the room immediately turned toward him.
Aizawa's tired gaze shifted slowly in his direction.
"...You're late."
Aoyama paused.
"Sorry about that."
Aizawa narrowed his eyes slightly.
"A hero's punctuality is important."
The classroom grew quieter.
"If you plan to stay in the hero course, don't make a habit of arriving late."
Aoyama held his teacher's gaze for a second before nodding once.
"It won't happen again."
Aizawa stared at him for another moment.
Then looked away dismissively.
"Good."
Like that was the end of it.
Though Shoko noticed several students still watching Aoyama curiously as he returned to his seat beside Izumi.
Especially after he'd apparently left school grounds entirely during the first ten minutes of class.
Strange.
Very strange.