Returning with a flawless victory, Kirishima was naturally chosen as the standout performer.
It was only fitting—every moment of the match had been his stage.
He had shone so brightly that even the winning team’s Sero was barely noticeable in comparison.
Leaning toward Sero, Kirishima murmured an apology.
"Sorry. I ended up hogging all the spotlight."
"No way. You just did what you do best. If I have a strong teammate, I should make the most of that strength too," replied Sero with an easy smile.
The gentle warmth in Sero’s grin made Kirishima’s heart contract with gratitude.
If it had been Bakugo, he would have been furious.
It was a stark reminder that Kirishima hadn’t spent nearly enough time around “regular” people.
The rest of the training session passed in a blur.
The students each pushed themselves to their limits, and Kirishima managed to observe sides of them that no simple Quirk assessment test could ever reveal.
Finally, as the training wrapped up and the students gathered together, All Might declared the session concluded.
"Great work, everyone! Aside from Midoriya, there were no major injuries! And you all fought with true determination! For a first training session, you were all nothing short of perfect!"
"After a proper class with Aizawa, I guess it really helps to relax a bit…," someone commented.
Encouraged by All Might’s thumbs-up, Tsuyu broke the silence that had been shared by everyone else.
The rest of the class nodded in agreement.
"A normal class is freedom too! Now, I need to head off and give Midoriya his evaluation. Change quickly and head back to class!"
With that, he disappeared in a flash—eliciting awe from some and puzzlement from others.
"All Might is amazing!"
"Why is he always in such a rush...?"
"So cool."
As All Might moved further away from the group, he glanced back at a head-down Bakugo and mused silently,
"Bakugo... such a bundle of ego. The more inflated he is, the more fragile he becomes. As a teacher, I must counsel him properly. But for now..."
Feeling the smoke of his transformation starting to dissipate as it unraveled, he resolved to postpone that thought for another time.
At the same moment, his mind recalled Kirishima’s overwhelming performance earlier.
"Kirishima—truly astonishing. Even the last time I saw him, it was hard to believe he was still a teenager. Now, he's grown even stronger, and mentally he shows no real weakness."
All Might regarded Kirishima as an impressive young man: the same age as Midoriya, yet always looking out like an older brother.
His physical strength was remarkable, but what set him apart was the unwavering mental fortitude he possessed at such a young age.
Usually, someone with such superlative power might be intoxicated by superiority. However, Kirishima was different.
He always kept his gaze steady, pushing himself to rise higher and move forward without hesitation.
And he never lost sight of those around him; he was always ready to lend a hand and pull others up as he surged ahead.
Perhaps, All Might mused while dashing through the corridor, Kirishima would be the one to guide a headstrong Bakugo.
Thanks to his swift exit, All Might barely managed to suppress the collapse of his transformation as the door slammed behind him.
"When you're teaching a class, time is always so tight... SHIT!"
Muttering under his breath, he headed toward the infirmary where Midoriya and Recovery Girl were waiting.
He had a sinking feeling that a stern scolding was inevitable, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Meanwhile, Kirishima rejoined the classroom with the other students.
Since Hero Basic Training was the final class of the day, after Aizawa’s succinct dismissal the school day was over.
The students, having experienced Quirk-based training for the first time, were so exhilarated they practically clamored for a debrief session.
Bakugo, however, paid no heed. He hoisted his bag and strode toward the door.
Iida called after him,
"Bakugo, wouldn’t you be better off joining the discussion too?"
"Yeah. Come talk with us, Bakugo," another chimed in.
Ashido even added her voice, but Bakugo remained silent. With a stiff expression, he continued on to the classroom door.
Rising to his feet, Kirishima followed him and draped an arm over Bakugo’s shoulder.
"I won’t say anything right now. I know all too well how it feels to have someone grab you by the nape when you’re being chased. But this mood ends today—you haven’t lost sight of the top, have you?"
"Hmph," came the curt reply.
With a slight upturn of his lips, Bakugo snorted at Kirishima’s words.
Then, brushing Kirishima’s arm aside, he left the room.
Kirishima watched him for a moment as he walked down the hall, then turned back and clapped his hands together.
"Alright. Who wants to go first?"
The classroom fell silent at his question.
Soon, however, every eye in the room fixed on one person.
Kirishima.
Pointing at himself, he asked, "Me? You want me to go first?"
"Yeah. Honestly, I’ve got so many questions," said the usually reticent Tokoyami.
"Hmm. What do you want to know?"
"Your Quirk. You don’t need to detail every single aspect, but give us an idea of what it can—and can’t—do."
Kirishima scratched his cheek, looking a bit troubled as he met Tokoyami’s earnest gaze.
There wasn’t much he couldn’t say—in fact, with team play in mind, it made sense to be open about it.
Yet somehow, the idea of showing off still made him uneasy.
It was Ashido who nudged him on.
"It’s fine, Eijiro. Besides, you haven’t even explained it properly to me before. Now’s a good time—everyone here will someday be teammates."
For a brief moment, the old self that cringed at self-promotion reared its head, but Kirishima decided against dampening the mood.
Instead, under the bright, expectant eyes of his classmates, he continued calmly,
"My Quirk is Hardening. Mina already knows that—basically, it toughens my body and enhances my physical abilities."
"Huh? So it’s an enhancement type?"
"Not exactly; officially, it’s classified as a transformation type."
"It’s not even enhancement, yet it does that?"
As astonishment spread across the room, Kirishima raised his hand for calm.
"It’s just how it’s registered. If I were to reclassify it now, who knows what it would be listed as? In the end, it doesn’t matter—whether it’s transformation or enhancement, it’s my Quirk, and I know how to use it well."
"Well... I guess that makes sense."
The students exchanged somewhat uncertain looks before nodding in tentative agreement.
Then Todoroki, with his bag slung casually over his shoulder, shot a sidelong glance at Kirishima.
Meeting his eyes for a brief moment, Kirishima said, "Heading out? Take care, Todoroki."
Todoroki looked momentarily dazed before replying in a quiet voice, "Yeah."
"See you tomorrow."
After Todoroki departed, a murmur of disappointment rippled through the room.
"Ah, he left. I was curious about him too."
"So, Kirishima, how far can this hardening and strengthening go?"
Meeting their curious stares, Kirishima answered earnestly,
"Based on my experience, it seems to bounce off most projectiles, even shells and rounds. It can block fire and electricity as well. And you saw how strong I got yesterday—that burst was as powerful as it gets in one go."
"But how did you figure out it can bounce off shells?"
"No comment."
As the students’ energy dwindled, Ashido shifted the conversation, asking, "So, Eijiro, do you have any weaknesses?"
"Well, one thing I haven’t mentioned is that my Hardening resists Quirks that directly target me. That means if I’ve activated it, even if Aizawa’s Erasure is used, it won’t shut off immediately. Of course, if I’m not using Hardening and I get hit by Erasure, then I won’t be able to activate it at all."
"Wow. That’s seriously overpowered..."
"I can definitely feel the gap in our Quirks."
"No, I don’t think it’s that extreme. If you knew just how weak it was when it first activated, you might think twice before exaggerating."
"C’mon, just how weak was it?"
When Tsuyu asked with wide, curious eyes, Kirishima tapped his forehead before answering,
"Back then, even a toy hammer could shatter it. It was absolutely ridiculous."
"Wait, seriously? It was that weak? Then how did it become so strong—did you eat radiation or something?"
"What are you, the Hulk? I pounded my body with all kinds of tools. My Quirk grows stronger the more it’s hammered."
"Huh? You got hit?"
"Yeah, in a nutshell, that’s what happened. And I trained hard too."
"What kind of training?"
"A bit of everything—physical conditioning, martial arts. With my Quirk, I have to fight up close."
"That explanation leaves something to be desired, but I think I get it."
"From the way it sounds, you’d think there’s no weakness at all. Don’t you agree, Kirishima?"
Kirishima paused at Yaoyorozu’s genteel inquiry, weighing his words before continuing,
"For one thing, Hardening only resists Quirks that act directly on me. In other words, it can fend off something that burns whatever I’m touching, but if a Quirk creates flames and projects them outward, I have to take that head-on. So if someone were to cover a wide area with, say, gas, that’d be pretty problematic. In our class, the ones who could really trouble me would be Yaoyorozu—or maybe Jiro."
"Huh? Me?"
Jiro blinked in surprise at her name being mentioned, but Kirishima continued evenly,
"Yeah. Your sound waves are a product of your Quirk, so there’s no way I can resist them. And once I’m in Hardening mode, my five senses are supercharged. A blast of deafening noise would hit me hard, wouldn’t it?"
"You seemed invincible, but I guess no Quirk really is."
"There’s no such thing as an invincible Quirk."
The class then began exchanging their own thoughts on the matter.
For a while, they discussed the day’s training and introduced their Quirks.
Midoriya arrived just as Ashido was about to speak again.
With a cast on his arm, he entered and immediately captured everyone’s attention.
"You’re back—great work, Midoriya."
"Huh? Thanks, Kirishima," he replied.
"You dodged really well, Midoriya."
"Pulling that move in the first battle really cost us extra energy!"
Flustered by the sudden barrage of comments, Midoriya listened as Kirishima briefly explained,
"We were just having a debrief on today’s training."
"Ah, I see."
"You were late yesterday too, so there are a lot of faces here you haven’t met yet. Why not take this chance to introduce yourself?"
"Oh, sure. I’m Midoriya Izuku, and my Quirk is One For All."
"I’m Asui Tsuyu—just call me Tsuyu," said the bubbly girl.
"I’m Sato Rikido!"
As the introductions continued, the classroom door opened and Uraraka and Kaminari walked in, each carrying a stack of books.
"Hey, Uraraka, want to grab a bite sometime? What do you like?"
"Mochi..."
Uraraka replied dreamily with just "mochi" in response to Kaminari’s question, but when she spotted Midoriya, she hurried over.
"Wait—Deku, didn’t you get your wounds treated?"
"N-no, it’s just my stamina acting up..."
As Midoriya awkwardly tried to explain, his eyes drifted toward Bakugo’s empty seat.
He cautiously asked Uraraka about Bakugo’s whereabouts,
"Um, excuse me, Uraraka, do you know where Bakugo went?"
After hearing the explanation from Uraraka and Kirishima, Midoriya mumbled a quick apology and dashed outside.
Watching him disappear into the distance, Kirishima let out a soft laugh.
"Youth... it must be nice."
"Eijiro, youth isn’t just for you, you know!"
"Well, me and those guys are in a league of our own," Kirishima replied with a teasing smirk, his eyes narrowing in playful challenge.
Though their relationship had been far from ideal, Kirishima remained unconcerned—they would sort things out in their own way.
Observing this, Ashido asked cautiously,
"Eijiro, are you sure you’re all right?"
"All right with what?"
"What if they end up fighting again?"
"That won’t happen. Midoriya isn’t the type to instigate conflict, and no matter how harsh Bakugo might seem, he’s never gone completely berserk."
"I guess if it were that bad, you wouldn’t have stepped in to help him."
"Right?"
Both Bakugo and Midoriya were poised to make significant leaps forward from today’s training.
As the old adage goes, you can learn a bit from victory, but there's nothing like defeat to teach you everything. Bakugo would surely gain invaluable insights from today’s loss to Midoriya—a young man he had long underestimated.
And Midoriya, who had always been overshadowed by Bakugo until finally surpassing him even once, would undoubtedly shed yet another chain that had been holding him back.
With those thoughts fading, Kirishima shifted his attention to the new friends he’d made that day.
His gaze grew steely and cold.
The long-promised day of conflict was drawing near.
On that day, Kirishima vowed to watch over his students as best he could, ensuring that no one would lose their life or be gravely injured.
In a quiet murmur, he recited a timeless adage,
"Si vis pacem, para bellum."
"Huh? Kirishima, what was that?"
"Nothing."
If you seek peace, prepare for war.
The eyes of a man, poised to wage war alone, burned quietly with determination.
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