Ding-dong-dang-dong—
As the lunch bell rang, Class 1-A instantly came alive, as if they had been waiting for this very moment. The tension of the stiff morning lessons dissolved, and the students buzzed with chatter as they prepared to head for the cafeteria.
"I wonder what’s on the menu today?"
"They say the A-Set is Katsu Curry!"
"Ohh! I’m definitely going for the A-Set!"
Tori Marumine ignored all the commotion, lying face-down on his desk. On his first day as Class Representative, his fatigue felt even worse than after yesterday’s battle training. He had no energy to get up and eat; his only wish was to stay in the classroom and sleep.
"Hey, Class Rep."
But the world wouldn’t let him be. A blunt voice cut through the air above him—it was Jiro Kyoka.
"Aren’t you going to eat? Planning to starve yourself?"
"Leave me alone… I can live off photosynthesis…" he mumbled, still lying down.
"Stop with the nonsense and get up. The Vice-Rep has been frantic without you. Apparently, she needs to discuss the materials for this afternoon’s class. It won’t do for the Class Rep to slack off while the Vice-Rep works."
Reluctantly, Tori dragged his heavy body to his feet, his eyes filled with resentment and annoyance. Stepping into the hallway, he found Yaoyorozu waiting with a kind smile and a thick file clutched in her hands.
"Class Rep Marumine! You’re just in time. We need to review the briefing for the afternoon rescue training at USJ and discuss our class’s role assignments…" she began.
"Yeah… got it, I got it…" Tori mumbled, letting her enthusiastic briefing wash in one ear and out the other, as he followed her to the cafeteria like a zombie. The path was already a sea of chattering students.
U.A.’s cafeteria was alive with the delicious aroma of food and the sound of joyful laughter. Tori weaved through the crowd and settled into the far corner.
"So, Group A will handle search, Group B rescue, and Group C…" continued Yaoyorozu, her voice filled with energy.
Meanwhile, Tori absentmindedly counted rice grains with his fork. His mind had long since floated away, imagining the warm sunlight on the rooftop.
Then it happened.
WREEEEEEE—!!! WREEEEEEE—!!!
An ear-piercing alarm blared throughout the cafeteria. At the same moment, a cold, mechanical female voice announced over the speakers:
[Warning. Security Level 3 has been breached. All students, please evacuate indoors immediately. Repeating: Security Level 3 has been…]
In an instant, every sound in the cafeteria stopped. Students froze mid-action, their expressions filled with bewilderment as they stared at one another.
"Security Level 3?"
"What’s that?"
"Villains… A villain invasion!"
With someone’s shout, the peaceful cafeteria descended into chaos. Screams erupted as students dashed for the exits. Chairs tipped over, trays were flung, and food was scattered across the floor. A tidal wave of panic consumed everything.
"Aaaaack!"
"Move! Get out of the way!"
"Don’t push!"
As hundreds of students converged in the narrow hallway, the situation worsened. A horrible chain reaction ensued: those in front fell, and others trampled over them. Under the crushing pressure, the windows in the corridor began to crack ominously.
"Calm down, everyone! We must maintain order!"
Iida Tenya shouted desperately, but his voice was lost amid the terror of the fleeing students.
Similarly, Tori’s ears registered the chaos, yet his heart remained unmoved.
Despite his eyes and ears processing the pandemonium, nothing compared to the cold reality of being Class Rep.
In truth, nothing mattered more.
"?"
Suddenly, in the overwhelming surge of bodies, someone’s back slammed into Tori’s chest. The impact sent his tray flipping through the air before it crashed to the floor.
Splat.
His precious lunch—A-Set Katsu Curry—lay ruined on the cold tiles. Rice was scattered everywhere, and the crispy pork cutlet was crumpled and smothered in curry sauce.
"…"
At that moment, something inside Tori snapped.
It wasn’t just the sorrow of losing his lunch.
It was the breaking point of his patience.
Being forced into U.A. against his will.
Enduring humiliating physical exams and insults.
A battle training he had hoped to quietly lose, only to win in a flashy manner.
And now, the world’s most annoying shackle: being Class Rep.
All that built-up stress had reached a boiling point, and that ruined Katsu Curry was the final trigger.
"Aw, son of a bitch." The words escaped in a low murmur—so soft that in the chaos they might have been lost altogether.
But then…
Whirrr—
An invisible force swept through the cafeteria.
An uncanny magnetism drew every gaze toward Tori Marumine, just like iron filings drawn to a magnet.
Students rushing for the exit, those crying out on the floor, and even those locked in shoving matches—all came to a sudden halt as if hypnotized.
Every pair of eyes, every ear in the room, turned toward the source: a boy, unsteadily standing atop a cafeteria table.
This was the second function of his Quirk, Stage Magic.
If the first function allowed him to summon or hide designated items,
then the second function was akin to a stage spotlight, forcing every onlooker’s attention onto him.
This wasn’t mere attention—it was an instinctive, enforced focus. A form of interference that resonated with his essence as a magician.
Tori Marumine.
With his disheveled uniform, messy hair, and furrowed, furious brows, the entire cafeteria seemed to converge on him.
Silence returned—not from fear this time, but from the awe and bewilderment at the inexplicable stillness and singular focus.
Hundreds of eyes were fixed on him.
For most, the pressure would have been paralyzing, but Tori had no time to worry about trembling legs.
Any sense of responsibility to calm the situation?
No, he couldn’t care less about that now.
One thought consumed him.
‘My Katsu Curry.’
What erupted from his mouth wasn’t a call for heroic leadership or orders to regain control.
It was a purely personal, trivial, and almost childish roar of rage.
Empowered by the Spotlight effect of his Quirk, his voice thundered through the cafeteria without any need for a microphone.
"HEY, YOU PEOPLE!!!"
The booming shout struck every eardrum in the room.
"THE STUDENTS OF THE WORLD’S BEST HERO SCHOOL, U.A.!!! DON’T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT ASSESSING THE SITUATION! JUST BECAUSE SOME STUPID SECURITY ALARM WENT OFF, YOU ALL LOST YOUR MINDS!!!"
He drew a deep breath.
"AND KNOCK OVER MY TRAY!!!"
"…?"
"…Huh?"
"…Wha, wha—what?"
The confusion was visible on the students' faces.
Had he really just yelled about a tray? Even though an intruder had come in—maybe even villains—he was furious over a tray?
As the rush of cathartic anger subsided, Tori’s fury softened ever so slightly. Perhaps, he reasoned, this was an opportunity. He nodded almost imperceptibly, a faint satisfaction crossing his features.
Glancing at the window—which now bore cracks from the earlier pressure—he saw dozens of reporters swarming outside the U.A. gates. Camera flashes burst like lightning, and microphone-toting reporters were denouncing U.A.’s lax security.
In their attempt to force through the gates, the famed U.A. Barrier security system had malfunctioned and been temporarily taken down.
In short, it wasn’t a genuine villain incursion at all—it was nothing more than a media riot.
Was he about to share this debacle? No, not in the slightest.
Whatever chaos reigned outside paled in comparison to the calamity unfolding before his eyes.
In fact, he thought, this was perfectly timed.
He silently hoped that at least one of those reporters would catch his words and splatter a headline like, “U.A. Class Rep Goes on Lunch Rant During Emergency.”
He longed for the day when his incompetence would cost him his position, or better yet, his expulsion from U.A.
Just as he prepared to sit back down, the sight of his ruined tray caught his eye once again.
‘My money…’
‘My 500 yen…’
‘My precious lunch…’
Tori’s eyes widened as he scrambled with an absurd agility, leaping back onto the table and shouting,
"Oooooh, help me!!!"
He clutched his head with both hands, feigning a cry of despair.
"JUST BECAUSE SOME REPORTERS SHOWED UP!!! MY TRAY!!! MY MONEY!!! AAAAACK!!! EVERYBODY, LOOK AT THIS!!!"
He wailed, pointing an accusing finger at the curry stains on the floor.
"YOU U.A. STUDENTS!!! SCREAMING AT A FEW CAMERA FLASHES, TIPPING OVER A FRIEND’S PRECIOUS LUNCH, AND TRYING TO RUN OFF WITHOUT AN APOLOGY!!! IS THAT WHAT A HERO IS??!! WHAT IS THIS—"
"Mmph?!"
His tirade came to an abrupt halt.
Unable to bear his rampage any longer, Yaoyorozu hurriedly leaped up and clamped her hand over his mouth.
"Stop! Please, stop, Class Rep Marumine…" she pleaded, her face flushed a deep red with embarrassment.
She had already grasped the magnitude of the situation—both the reporters outside and Tori’s pathetic yet resonant outburst.
Even if Tori hadn’t intended it (or so he’d like to think), his outburst had struck a nerve with every student.
The faces of those who had scoffed at the fuss over a mere tray began to redden with shame.
They realized that in the midst of an 'unidentified intruder' alert, they’d lost all sense and trampled over each other in panic.
These were students of the world’s greatest hero school—so terrified that they couldn’t even protect a friend’s lunch tray.
Slowly, one by one, the students began to lower their heads, the chaos of panic washed away by a cold wave of shame.
Tori struggled against those holding him down. Alone, he might have calmed down, but with others restraining him, he felt utterly frustrated. (Not to mention, being squirmed in a girl’s embrace wasn’t exactly unpleasant.)
"I’ll buy you a new one, so please, just stop…" he groaned.
Using her Creation Quirk, Yaoyorozu quickly bound Tori’s mouth once more and then conjured a portable megaphone with a flash of light.
Shoving Tori behind her, she raised the megaphone to her lips and shouted,
"Everyone! Our Class Rep may have been a bit rough, but there’s truth in his words!"
Her clear voice echoed through the cafeteria.
"Look out the window! Our intruders aren’t villains—they’re just media reporters! Must we hurt each other and descend into chaos over a few reporters?"
Curious, students rushed to the windows, where they saw reporters with cameras being held back by security guards.
"What’s needed now isn’t panic—it’s order and a calm assessment of the situation! We can show everyone that we are better than this!"
Yaoyorozu clenched her fist and continued,
"Why? Because this is U.A.!"
At her words, the students’ looks of shame shifted into expressions of pride and responsibility.
"Everyone, help those who have fallen and check for injuries! Then, return to your classrooms in an orderly fashion! If you understand, shout back!"
The evacuation was soon completed with surprising ease.
Yaoyorozu finally lowered the megaphone and exhaled in relief.
It was clear that her own voice alone wouldn’t have sufficed.
Thanks to Tori’s inadvertent, yet attention-grabbing, outburst, the atmosphere had shifted, allowing her leadership to truly shine.
"Whew…" she murmured, wiping away cold sweat from her forehead.
When she turned back, there stood Tori Marumine again—mouth still bound and wearing a grumpy, resigned expression.
"Class Rep Marumine…" she said, releasing his mouth with a conflicted sigh.
"Oh, what? You’re gonna pay for my A-Set?" he replied.
"…"
Yaoyorozu let out a small chuckle.
"Yes. I’ll buy you a new one. The A-Set, right? And make it extra large."
"Oh, for real? As expected of a rich lady—you really know how to make an entrance," Tori said, his face lighting up.
"And… thank you," he added softly.
"Huh? For what?"
"Because, thanks to you, I managed to calm everyone down—even if your method was… a bit shocking."
"Nah, I just really missed my lunch…" Tori mumbled.
"Even so," Yaoyorozu replied, her eyes brimming with respect and trust. In her eyes, Tori was already being celebrated as the true leader who sacrificed everything—even his dignity—to save the day.
Tori thought to himself:
‘Man, this girl.’
‘We are so incompatible.’
In this entire incident, no definitive traces of his Quirk were detected.
Well, traces were found, but the manifestation was so subtle that it hardly registered.
Thus, while there’s no concrete evidence, Tori Marumine’s ability is generally considered a Quirk that leaves almost no trace.
The U.A. administration officially recognized this miraculous evacuation as the first confirmed use of Tori’s Quirk.
Furthermore, they have unofficially recorded this episode as the second instance of his Quirk in action.
Accordingly, U.A. now classifies [Stage Magic] as a hybrid Quirk combining Wide-range Interference with Sub-space Storage.
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