I’m the best because everyone else is worse than me.
Bakugo’s worldview had always been intensely self-centered, yet dependent on everyone else.
But now it had been shattered.
Not once, but three times.
[A monstrous transfer student.]
[The transfer student’s lackey.]
[And even Deku, the one he had never doubted would keep trailing at his feet even if he went down into the abyss.]
"No! I was off my game! There’s no way I could lose to Deku!!"
His own voice, ringing out like a verdict, showed no sign of stopping.
Bakugo denied it and hurled an object.
[You gave it everything you had, and you still got crushed.]
[You’re weaker than Deku. Deku didn’t get stronger.
You got weaker.]
"...I got weaker?"
At those words, Bakugo felt fear—and a strange sense of anticipation.
For a moment, he wondered if everything would go back to normal if he got stronger.
Everyone else, and Deku too.
"Yeah... Damn it. If I get stronger than that Deku bastard and crush him again in front of everyone, that’ll fix it."
[That won’t work.]
"What the hell do you mean, it won’t!?"
Bakugo spun around and shouted in anger. No one was there.
[Deku isn’t alone. You know that.
That transfer student definitely has backing. And now you’re the only one who’s alone, not me.]
"Damn it..."
If it had been the old Bakugo, he would have said that didn’t matter, that he’d just kill them all.
But even if he crushed Deku, that transfer student would probably just keep dragging Deku back into shape and sending him at him again.
"Damn it. What am I supposed to do?"
[Easy. Try using your Quirk against the wall. I’ll show you what "I" mean.]
Bakugo hesitated. Even for him, that was insane.
"Use my Quirk against a wall? The old hag would lose her mind."
[Then keep living as the loser who lost to Deku.]
"Shut up!!!"
Bakugo grit his teeth at those words and, in a fit of rage, used his Quirk.
KWAANG!!
A massive blaze, more yellow than orange, burst from Bakugo’s right hand.
The wall with the window vanished without a trace in the explosion.
Furniture in the room was reduced to ash. Everything was wiped out.
Dust and fragments sprayed everywhere, raking Bakugo’s skin.
Blood seeped from the red scratches.
His mother’s scream and his father’s frantic concern never reached him.
Even after the blast, the strange ringing in his ears kept going, and his head felt numb.
"If it’s this, then Deku... at least Deku..."
[You can win. You can blow him apart.]
[You’re Katsuki Bakugo, the protagonist.]
"Yeah. That’s right."
Bakugo twisted his lips into the same old sneer.
The disgusting feeling inside him quickly improved.
+++++
Several months later, safe house.
I had to make an endless number of preparations.
Midoriya was flooded with interview and broadcast offers.
For the plan, I had him write and memorize countless scripts.
That Midoriya bastard turned out to have a surprising talent for speaking, and every time he appeared, he delivered ad-libs that went well beyond expectations.
The public response became even more favorable. His supporters and fans grew in number and intensity.
Bakugo staying silent like a corpse after his suspension was also perfect.
Midoriya endured a murderous schedule through all of it and even prepared for special admission.
I kept Midoriya in the safe house at all times.
For his parents, he said it was a training camp for U.A.’s recommendation admission.
And I used Eri.
Whether it was injuries from training or fatigue from schoolwork and schedules, Eri’s [Rewind] erased it all.
It was more stable than my own [Overhaul], which came with pain, or my [Rewind], which more often caused unwanted side effects like making people younger.
With me there as insurance, it didn’t matter if Eri made a mistake.
It was a two-for-one deal, since Eri’s mastery of her Quirk was improving too.
At Hawks’ request, I treated and pressured the infected [Quirk singularity] cases, then collected the payment I’d squeezed out of them.
I even had to find a lawyer who could help with the legal side, so I arrived at the safe house later than usual.
A sound came from the slightly open door.
I listened as hushed voices drifted out.
"This one’s called Ringon. I’ll introduce you to Midoriya onii... I mean, Midoriya."
Eri smiled as she made her unicorn doll—one she had named herself—bow politely with her hand toward Midoriya, who was studying in the safe house.
"Wow! Thanks, Eri. Hello, Ringon too."
Midoriya also played along with Eri’s doll game, looking at her with obvious warmth.
"Looks like the kid really likes you.
She only talks casually to you, but she still calls me mister.
Or maybe you just look easy to tease. Ha ha!"
Rappa laughed loudly.
"R-really? Eri? I don’t mind, though.
Eri closed her eyes, shook her head a few times, then opened them again.
"No. It’s because Rappa is a mister, and Midoriya is easy to get embarrassed, and unlike Tenma, his voice shakes a lot too. That’s why."
"...I-I see."
Midoriya drooped and lowered his head.
"That’s what easy to tease means, kid."
Eri muttered softly while looking at the doll.
"It’s not..."
Recently, Midoriya and Eri had grown close very quickly.
Because of that, Eri’s mistakes had also decreased.
There had been no losses so far, but I still needed to keep watching.
"What do you think of Tenma, kid?
I don’t have any complaints about him. The guy knows how to make a fight worth watching."
I listened more closely.
This was an important turning point in how I would manage Eri from here on out.
Eri thought for a long time.
"......The person who saved me."
"Someone who can do anything."
She smiled faintly at the last part.
"He’s like an older brother who peels apples."
Rappa slapped his knee and burst out laughing.
"Puhahaha! You made him sound lame all of a sudden! You said he could do anything, and now he’s an apple peeler?"
Eri hugged the doll and lowered her head.
Her voice was so small, but for some reason I could hear it clearly.
"I like apple peeling."
"It makes me think of Tenma, who sometimes does nice things even when he doesn’t have to."
"Like letting me name Ringon. Ringon will probably like it too."
Apple peeling.
I’d mentioned that without thinking.
I hadn’t said it for Eri’s sake. I’d only been stating common sense.
I’d long since forgotten I’d even said it.
But Eri remembered.
She seemed to treasure words like that.
It was a very strange feeling.
It was like I’d tossed a rope into a pit for amusement, and someone had grabbed it, climbed out, and thanked me for saving them.
My expression crumpled with complicated thoughts.
I forced my face back into place. Think simply, like a child.
If she felt “saved” even while I was using her, then I just had to keep using her.
I had used Eri, was using her, and would keep using her.
All I had to do was hide it well enough that she wouldn’t see too deeply.
That was... enough.
I looked away, because I didn’t need to feel stifled.
I opened the door on purpose so it would make a sound.
"Eri, go to your room. I need to talk to Midoriya."
Eri bowed along with her doll and greeted me.
"Welcome home."
She answered with a little more distance than usual.
"Yeah. Go on in."
As soon as Eri disappeared, the complicated feeling inside me vanished so quickly it only irritated me more.
To break that irritation, I tossed Hawks’ “payment” at Midoriya.
Midoriya caught the suddenly flying equipment with reflexes that were now familiar.
"What is this?"
"Open it yourself."
Midoriya tore the wrapping apart with a fierce grip.
When he saw what was inside, his shoulders trembled.
Inside were dark green gauntlets and boots, almost black in color.
"Support items? You’re giving these to me?"
"It’s an investment. This should be enough for the recommendation admission practical."
Midoriya looked up at my eyes, then lowered his gaze again.
"Can I really handle these well?"
"Then don’t doubt yourself and keep at it until you can."
I snatched back the gauntlets and boots. Lifting them, I pointed as I explained.
[Engine]-style kick boosters with cutter launchers.
[Fa Jin], which lets you momentarily overcharge energy for a burst of power.
[Danger Sense], which provides detection.
Wires and retractable twin blades similar to [Blackwhip].
[Smokescreen], which can release smoke and various gases.
And even a device that enables stationary flight with [Float].
It left a bad taste in my mouth to look at tools mixed together from the Quirks of the [One For All] inheritors.
Especially the function that imitated [Float], the Quirk of Shimura Nana, my disciple and mother.
It was like borrowing the power of someone I’d resented.
Even so, I had specifically requested that it be made this way.
The reason was simple: overwhelming performance.
In terms of combat, utility, rescue, marketing, and practicality, each individual piece was only so-so.
But if they were all brought together, there was nothing better.
After the explanation, I handed the gear to Midoriya. His hands were shaking badly as he took it.
"I-it’s not insanely expensive, is it? I don’t think I could ever pay you back no matter how much I worked. Thank you!!"
"I don’t need your gratitude. Prove it with results and achievements."
"If you can use it properly, it’ll be like using several Quirks even if you’re Quirkless.
In other words, you won’t have any excuses left."
I thought he’d tremble like usual.
But Midoriya broke my expectations, put on the gauntlets, and set his face with resolve.
"I won’t make excuses. I’ll make sure I don’t regret it."
His mindset was coming together nicely. Finally, I gave him the notice.
"I’m transferring schools."
Midoriya’s expression instantly turned timid.
"Huh? W-why? Did something happen, Tenma?
Or are you disappointed in me...?"
"Don’t start imagining weird things. It’s for the plan. I’m aiming for special admission too."
"You are?"
The U.A. entrance exams, whether general or recommendation, couldn’t be taken for the same school at the same time.
If I wanted to actively interfere with the exam, this was the obvious choice.
Producing results was something I could do with my eyes closed, but the fake identity’s grades weren’t anything special, so I needed some kind of “achievement.”
There was also the problem of not wanting to split Midoriya’s spotlight too much.
"Nothing changes. Just follow my instructions. I’ll have Rappa with you."
"......Okay."
Midoriya looked like a lost child who’d been separated from his parents.
***
The transfer was quick.
Since I’d prepared the paperwork in advance, it didn’t take long.
There was only one annoying thing.
"Tenma! How do you do this? You’re good at studying, right? Show me!"
Because I was maintaining overwhelming grades for U.A.’s recommendation admission, unnecessary attention kept sticking to me.
I had to manage my image to a certain extent.
I answered with a polite smile.
"It’s easy if you do it like this."
The girl whose name I didn’t even remember shouted thanks noisily.
There wasn’t a single Quirk worth paying attention to among them.
It felt like a waste to spend time on useless people.
"Tenma’s preparing for U.A. too, right? Same as Jiro.
Why don’t the two of you get along?"
The girl with the long earlobes made a sour face. She was wary.
"Hey, why are you trying to set them up the second he gets here? The kid’s probably tired of it too, so let’s head out."
Jiro Kyoka. She was the only student whose Quirk interested me.
But she was too sharp.
She seemed to have already noticed that I found them annoying.
She was probably reading my heartbeat through those ears of hers.
Getting her hair was going to be difficult.
After school, I took the shortcut through the back alleys.
I hoped some Villain would show up so I could rack up some decent “results.”
Then a girl appeared in the narrow path.
She had blonde hair tied into buns and catlike eyes.
She was grinning at me in a way that made my skin crawl.
I ignored her and kept walking.
Whoosh.
The girl suddenly swung a kitchen knife at me with blinding speed.
I caught the blade in my hand.
Blood welled from my fingers and dripped down the edge.
The pain biting into me and the irritation it brought made me grimace.
On the other hand, the girl’s mouth stretched upward until it looked like it might split.
"...You really are amazing. You’ll be even more amazing if I tear you to pieces."
"If I suck your blood—"
I yanked the blade back. My fingers looked like they might be severed, hanging in tatters.
Ignoring it, I overpowered her and took the knife away.
"Huh?"
The girl’s eyes went wide.
I grabbed her wrist. Twisted my shoulder and raised my palm.
SLAP!!!
"Kyaaah!!"
The girl was smashed to the ground by the full-force backhand.
Blood streamed from her nose. She rubbed her cheek, now marked with a red handprint, and looked up at me.
I shook the blood from my hand and regenerated my fingers with [Super Regeneration].
The girl’s face turned dreamy, as if she’d just seen a miracle.
"Amazing... the blood keeps coming out."
I made an even more contemptuous expression.
"Crazy bitch."
No doubt she was some runaway brat who’d gotten high on her own Quirk and wanted to seem special.
As “results,” she was only barely passable. Bragging about catching some delinquent runaway would be embarrassing.
Her Quirk was fast enough when she swung the knife, but it wasn’t anything impressive.
Still, I used the status window to check whether she had any hidden value.
[Transform]
By consuming the target’s blood, you can transform into that person’s appearance.
......So her speed wasn’t the Quirk?
This was beyond lucky.
It was a windfall.
A Quirk that could [Transform], and a crazy girl who had that Quirk.
The irritation from before vanished without a trace.
I could only laugh.
I stepped toward the girl with the knife in hand.
Even as I approached her with the knife, the girl kept grinning.
"...Hehe. I don’t really like pain, but I’m happy to see someone like me."
"No, I’m different from you. And so is what I’m about to do."
When the girl heard that, she pouted in disappointment.
"Hmph. That’s disappointing... huh?"
Snikt.
I slashed my palm with the knife. A large red wound opened on my hand.
The girl’s attention was stolen by the sudden spill of blood.
I let it drip down like feeding scraps to a dog and said,
"I’ll give you my blood, so let’s make a contract."
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