"Ryusuke, you haven’t forgotten anything, have you?"
"No, I’ve already checked five times."
"Still... it’s your first day of school. You need to make absolutely sure."
Mom was especially high-strung today.
Because today was my first day at U.A. High School.
‘I can’t believe our child got into U.A.!!!’
‘And he came in second!!! Well done, Ryusuke!!! Your mother and father believed in you!!!’
When we nervously checked U.A.’s acceptance notice together in the living room, my parents had been even more overjoyed than I was.
Well, from their perspective, the very notion that Quirkless me could get into U.A. must have seemed absurd.
And yet, they had let their son take that dangerous practical exam... I could only feel sorry for putting them through such worry.
I had scored 32 Villain Points and 40 Rescue Points, for a total of 72 points.
‘Bakugo, who came in first, had 77 points, right?’
Of course, in my case, due to paperwork issues, I had first needed to meet with the principal and the homeroom teachers of Classes A and B before my enrollment could be finalized.
‘Having Mr. Aizawa there with [Erasure] actually made it easier to convince them...’
Hamon had long surpassed the realm of what ordinary people could call a mere technique, so convincing them that it was not a Quirk but a skill anyone could learn had been fairly difficult.
But right now, making sure I was not late on my very first day of school was more important than any of that.
Leaving my parents behind as they tried to check everything over and over again, I finally managed to escape the house.
"This is going to be close..."
I immediately ran toward school, using the textbook running form I had learned from Iida.
Come to think of it, U.A. only implemented its dormitory system after a series of incidents—including repeated Villain invasions—made it necessary to ensure the students’ safety.
In other words, unless some lunatic capable of replacing All For One suddenly showed up and kept targeting U.A., I would have to continue commuting like this.
"Ghh... I have complicated feelings about that..."
"What is it?"
"Gah!!!"
A familiar voice sounded beside me as I ran along, muttering to myself.
I whipped my head around in surprise and saw Iida running beside me while maintaining a bizarre pose that was hard to describe as anything else.
"No, it’s just... I guess I’m really becoming a U.A. student now."
"I never expected to hear that from the runner-up in the practical exam. You got me there."
"Haha... Anyway, if we keep talking, we’ll be late. Let’s hurry."
Of course, if Iida had ignored me and simply passed me by from the start, that would not have been an issue. Fortunately, we managed to arrive just in time before class began.
I had been assigned to Class 1-B.
Compared to Class A, not much information about Class B had been revealed in the story, and part of me had hoped to be assigned to Class A. Separately from that, though, I felt relieved that I would not be in the same class as those monsters from Class A.
‘At least we won’t have to compete with each other until the U.A. Sports Festival...’
Slide...
When I entered, I found the students seated in a neat, orderly fashion, unlike noisy Class A.
Looking at the teacher’s desk, I figured it was probably because their homeroom teacher, Blood King, was already there.
The moment I came through the door, all nineteen other students turned to look at me. For a second, I nearly chickened out.
"Um... am I late?"
"No, you are not. Homeroom will begin shortly, so take an empty seat."
Despite arriving on time, I somehow felt the guilt of having been late.
I quickly found an empty desk and took my seat.
"Now all twenty students are here."
"..."
I had wanted to at least exchange greetings with the students around me, but the teacher gave us no chance and got straight to the point.
He did not say it aloud, but perhaps this teacher, like Mr. Aizawa, was someone who valued rational thinking?
That was what I thought.
"All right, then... we will now begin introductions."
"What?!"
"Oh? Shouting in unison as though you planned it. Excellent teamwork."
The teacher’s unexpected instruction caught us off guard.
I had been sure we would be doing a Quirk Apprehension Test or something.
At his words, the tense atmosphere instantly eased, as though the other students had been startled as well.
"Dieeeee!!!"
Boom!!!!
At the same time, an ominous battle cry completely unsuited to a Hero, followed by an explosion, rang out from outside.
It seemed Class A had already begun their Quirk Apprehension Test.
Yet Blood King simply ignored the noise completely and continued speaking.
"The most important thing for a Hero is neither strength nor skill, but teamwork! But how can you work together if you do not even know your classmates’ names?!"
"That’s true, but..."
An introduction was, quite literally, an act of making a powerful first impression on the people around you.
First impressions were so important to people that one could say they were the most crucial factor in recognizing what kind of person someone was.
But what if you made a mistake during that introduction, the moment meant to establish that first impression?
It would take a long time to change that impression.
Knowing that, none of the students could readily step forward at the teacher’s instruction. They merely flinched and watched one another warily.
"Then I shall begin. I am the Hero Blood King, your homeroom teacher! I have a real name, but during class, you will address me by my Hero Name!"
‘Whoa... this guy just started on his own...’
‘Forget homeroom—we’re already into first period...’
"My Quirk is Blood Manipulation! I can freely control my own blood! Now then, who will introduce themselves next?"
"M-Me!"
And so the sudden introduction relay began.
The student who came after Blood King was a timid-looking girl with brown hair covering her eyes.
"My name is Komori Kinoko!!! My Quirk is Mushroom, and I can scatter spores around me to grow mushrooms! My goal is to become a Hero idol and show everyone how wonderful mushrooms are!"
Contrary to her appearance, she gave a perfectly proper introduction.
Come to think of it, she had been a fairly mischievous character in the story too.
Still, it seemed she gave normal introductions.
"All right!!! I’m next!!!"
Perhaps inspired by Kinoko, the other students began eagerly introducing themselves, with proactive types like Tetsutetsu rushing to go first.
The introductions went around and around until, eventually, it was my turn.
Everyone except me had introduced themselves, so there was nowhere to run even if I wanted to ignore the activity. In the end, I let out a deep sigh and walked to the front of the classroom.
"He’s huge..."
"Those muscles are insane..."
My classmates whispered as I passed them.
When I stood before the teacher’s desk, dozens of expectant eyes turned toward me.
‘Damn it... Why did Monoma, Shiozaki, and Tsunotori have to be the three right before me...?’
Those three were particularly distinctive even among the eccentric students of Class B, and their introductions had raised everyone’s expectations far too high.
With no other choice, I picked up a piece of chalk to at least show them something.
"Kyo-o-o-o..."
Rather than being flustered by my sudden action, the students watched with fascination.
I crumbled the tip of the chalk into powder, then lightly sent Hamon flowing through the blackboard.
A marker would have made this easier, but it did not matter.
All that remained was the performance. Like printing letters with a copier, I scattered chalk dust infused with Hamon across the board instead of ink, and my name appeared on it all at once.
"Whoa!!!"
"My name is Ichijo Ryusuke. My Quirk is Hamon. It’s energy generated through breathing, and I can do all sorts of things with it."
The other students erupted in excitement at my sudden performance.
Feeling awkward at their reaction, I returned to my seat while also carefully watching Blood King, who had been sitting beside me.
He knew that my Hamon was not a Quirk.
In a society where falsely registering a Quirk was a crime, I had successfully registered Hamon as a Quirk with the teachers’ help. Still, it made me feel guilty for no reason.
But contrary to my worries, he merely gave me a faint smile.
Only then was I able to return to my seat at ease.
After that, it was just ordinary school classes.
Many students complained about having to study on the first day of the term, but somehow we made it through the day’s lessons.
"Whew... I’m exhausted..."
Because of my memories from my previous life, psychologically speaking, this was practically my second time attending high school.
Even though it was the Hero Course—or perhaps precisely because it was the Hero Course—I had to take classes one or two levels above those at the school I attended in my previous life, and I was completely drained.
As I trudged home,
I spotted the broad, angular back of someone unmistakably large ahead of me.
"Hey, Iida! Heading home now?"
"Hm!? Ah, Ichijo!"
Iida turned around at my call.
But the other two people beside him also turned to look at me.
A short girl who looked nearly thirty centimeters shorter than me, despite my being 190 centimeters tall, and a black-haired boy with a fairly ordinary appearance.
‘The girl is probably Uraraka... but who is the guy?’
"Um... who are these two?"
"These are Uraraka and Shimura, whom I have become acquainted with recently."
Could it be that One For All really did not exist? It seemed Midoriya Izuku, the original protagonist of My Hero Academia, had ultimately failed to enter the Hero Course.
In place of Midoriya stood a boy who introduced himself as Shimura Tenko.
I lightly shook his hand and introduced myself as well.
"My name is Ichijo Ryusuke. I went to the same middle school as Iida. Unfortunately, I’m in Class B... Huh?"
‘Wait... what did you say your name was?’
Big brother... why are you here?
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