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Leaving aside the mutated One For All for the moment, Ren could at least use it smoothly enough for now.
Life had been comfortable lately.
No one at school dared call him useless anymore.
Even Katsuki Bakugo, who normally stormed around like he owned the world, had stopped looking for trouble.
Time flew by.
Ten months passed in the blink of an eye.
February 26.
The day of the U.A.
High School Entrance Exam arrived.
Maybe even the sky knew how important the day was, because the weather was bright and clear from the morning on.
U.A.
High School was one of the strongest hero schools in the world of My Hero Academia.
Its teachers were Pro Heroes, and graduating from its Hero Course was widely recognized as one of the best paths toward becoming a great hero.
Each year was divided across multiple departments: the Hero Course, General Education, Support Course, and Management Course.
The Hero Course was the most popular by far, with only forty students total, including recommendation students.
U.A.’s culture was famously free.
Unlike ordinary schools, it cared far less about ceremonial entrances and campus tours than practical hero training.
For Izuku Midoriya, who had only recently received One For All from All Might, the goal was the Hero Course.
Midoriya arrived early at the U.A.
entrance and looked around nervously.
“Huh?
That’s strange.
Where is Ren?” he murmured.
Since Ren was not there, he avoided calling him senior in public.
“Is he not taking the U.A.
exam?”
Then he sighed.
“No, that makes sense.
Someone like him would get a special admission seat even if he did not want one. This story is hosted at novelping.com.
All Might would make sure of it.”
Because he was distracted, he tripped over a stone someone had left on the ground.
Just as he was about to fall flat, his body seemed to lose gravity.
He hung half-floating in place.
“I’m sorry,” a cheerful girl’s voice said behind him.
“I used my Quirk on you without asking.”
Midoriya felt someone steady him.
Then his body regained its weight.
“Today’s important, right?
I figured you wouldn’t want to trip first thing in the morning.
That would feel like bad luck.”
The girl wore a dark brown coat and a pink checked scarf.
Her short hair framed a bright smile, and Midoriya noticed its rare warm brown shade, almost as unusual as his own green hair.
Ren would probably say he felt the universe’s personal malice every time he looked at Midoriya’s hair.
“You must be nervous too.
Let’s both do our best.
See you!”
With that, the girl walked away, leaving Midoriya teary-eyed and deeply moved that he had finally managed to talk to a girl.
“Move it, Deku.”
“Kacchan!”
Midoriya’s expression instantly flipped to terror.
Ren would have thought the kid had mastered a professional face-change act.
Katsuki Bakugo walked over with both hands in his pockets, his face sour.
“Do not block my way,” Bakugo snapped.
“Or I’ll kill you.”
“G-Good morning.
Good luck today.
Let’s both…”
Midoriya waved his arms frantically, talking himself into a mess, but Bakugo only brushed past him.
At the top floor of U.A.’s office building, Ren stood in front of a floor-to-ceiling window and watched the scene below.
“Her Quirk is Zero Gravity.
She cancels the gravity of anything she touches with her fingers.
Overuse causes dizziness, and using it on herself makes her nauseous.”
He looked at Midoriya and sighed.
“He gets that excited over one sentence with a girl?
My junior still has a long way to go.”
As Midoriya’s childhood shadow, Bakugo was both the darkness holding him back and the goal he chased.
Of course, Ren did not know yet that he himself had also become someone Midoriya admired and tried to catch up with.
Behind Ren, Principal Nezu held a cup of tea.
He wore clothes like any U.A.
staff member, with a scar cutting across the right side of his face.
After taking a sip, he looked at the black-coated boy deliberately posing by the window.
“Is this the boy you mentioned?”
“Yes, Principal.” All Might nodded, then looked toward Ren, who was still observing something outside.
“But we can discuss that later.
Young Mikage, let’s go to the monitoring room and cheer Young Midoriya on.”
“Whether we go or not, the result has already been decided.”
Ren muttered under his breath, reluctant, but he still followed All Might toward the door.
At the last moment, he glanced back at Nezu, who was quietly enjoying his tea.
Ren’s gaze sharpened.
The thought that came to mind was entirely inappropriate.
After their footsteps faded, Nezu lowered his teacup.
A strange smile touched his mouth.
“A very interesting boy indeed.
Now…
how should I test him?”
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Stick around, because there’s still a lot waiting just ahead.