On the second day, after a hellish training session, both classes dragged themselves back. Burdened with sore muscles, creaking joints, and extreme exhaustion.
Unlike previous training sessions, the main objective wasn't to teach them the proper way to use their abilities—it was a direct method to improve their Quirks, and of course, it was far more exhausting than normal training.
Mina complained out loud.
"I don't want to cook!"
Momo sighed. "Don't say that, we're all in the same boat."
Deku scratched his cheek. "If we don't cook for ourselves, we won't eat..."
"Damn it... Can't we order fast food?" Jiro lowered her head in disappointment.
Setsuna mocked her. "We're in the middle of a forest in a 'secret' location—good luck ordering a pizza~"
"I'm thirsty..." Kaminari panted, sticking out his tongue.
"Hey, what's with that lack of spirit?!" Iida shouted, somehow still energized as he led the group. "It's only the second day!"
"That's the Spirit, Class 1-A!"
....?
The class stopped when they saw someone standing where they were supposed to cook. This mysterious person wore a large chef's hat, a white apron, a smug curled mustache…
"Welcome!" said the mysterious chef, who was definitely not Allen.
"Huh?" Itsuka looked at Allen in disbelief.
"What are you doing?" Todoroki asked with a tired expression.
"Allen-chan?"
Even Tsuyu, who had a better ability to accept strange situations than most, had a drop of sweat on her cheek.
"I don't know who you're talking about. I am Chef Monsieur..."
Like hell!
Everyone stared in disbelief at such a terrible disguise. Allen could literally create Quirks—how the hell was he so bad at disguising himself? Even the mustache was crooked.
The members of the Pussycats, who had arrived behind the students, also froze in place.
"This is Allen Walker?" Mandalay asked as she stiffly turned toward the U.A. teachers.
Vlad started whistling while looking away, as if this had nothing to do with him.
Aizawa covered his face with his bandages. "Yes, unfortunately..."
As for Nemuri, it was the complete opposite. She crossed her arms while puffing out her chest, stars in her eyes, and an expression full of pride. "That's my adorable Allen! Isn't he charming?!"
Pixie-Bob opened her mouth, paused, then looked at Allen once more. "Well, the face is still the same. That apron gives him a homely touch, the chef hat looks cute on him, and that mustache adds a hint of purity to such an attractive young man… he's edible!"
Pixie-Bob and Midnight shook hands as if they had just met a kindred spirit.
"Not bad—you're able to see Allen's charm at all times!" Nemuri said.
"Thank you, no wonder you're such a formidable opponent!" Pixie-Bob replied.
The rest stayed silent, not knowing what to say in the face of these two women.
Ragdoll, on the other hand, watched Allen guide the girls and help them sit down like a gentleman while teasing the boys.
"Nahaha, as expected, this is very entertaining," Ragdoll said.
Tiger watched Ragdoll silently before sighing and smiling. "I'll only approve depending on how delicious the food is."
"Hmph," Kota said nothing, but there was a trace of admiration in his gaze. "He really made food for everyone… as expected, he's arrogant, but definitely capable."
Kota's words made the teachers look again, only to see the students—equally incredulous—sitting at outdoor tables with mountains of food in front of them.
"Huh?" Mandalay opened her eyes in surprise. "He really cooked for everyone?!"
Allen had received a punishment for his actions. Of course, no one expected him to cook for both classes, so it was meant to be more of a symbolic punishment.
Unexpectedly, he had disappeared earlier, making it seem like he had run away—but instead, he had gone ahead and prepared the food.
"Of course~" Nemuri said, as if cooking for fifty people was something simple.
"What are you waiting for? Eat." Allen smirked arrogantly.
Several students accepted gladly, while Bakugo and Monoma ate just so they could tell him to his face that it tasted awful… but…
....
Ochako leaned against the table, still holding a fork in her hand. Her eyes were unfocused, her cheeks flushed, as if she had been affected by some kind of aphrodisiac.
Many others were in similar states. Even the strongest couldn't say a single negative word about the food. It was like a dream—many couldn't even remember what it tasted like. It was as if God had descended, turned happiness into food, and fed it directly to their souls.
It was a complete defeat for everyone...
"Ahem!" Allen cleared his throat.
From their seats, everyone thanked him in unison.
"Thank you for the meal, Master!"
Allen removed his mustache and apron, pausing briefly as moonlight covered him.
"You're welcome—come again!"
While this was happening, someone hidden in a tree watched with envy, unable to reveal themselves, forced to imagine what that food must taste like.
'I should've joined them normally...'
Just as the person was about to take out a plain bread roll from their bag, they noticed a plate of food beside them with a note.
"Thank you, ****-sensei"
"That kid..."
The person laughed before eating—something they immediately regretted, nearly falling out of the tree after tasting food made by the gods.
....
Thanks to Allen's cooking, all the pain and fatigue disappeared from the students, allowing them to sleep like logs.
The third day of training was more of the same—exhausting and draining—but the students began to adapt.
By the fourth day, while Classes 1-A and 1-B trained, Allen decided to play board games with the Pussycats.
From time to time, he would do things with Kota, like making spiders appear in Bakugo's pants, making Monoma go bald, or having that pervert Mineta caught trying to sneak into the women's restroom, only to get beaten up.
At night, Allen patrolled the perimeter. There were still no signs of trouble. On U.A.'s side, everything was calm as well—just the usual minor villains getting beaten by heroes. Even on the underground side, Koichi and Knuckleduster reported that nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
At that calm, steady pace, the fifth day arrived...
Allen stopped midair, frowning.
"It's too quiet..."
Gwen – Even if All For One didn't know where you are, he should know about this.
MJ – Could it be that the whole traitor thing is fake?
Yoruichi – No, there's definitely one~
Nanao – If Captain Shihoin of the Second Division says so, it must be true.
Yoruichi – Haha, Soifon would get mad if she heard that~
"Hmm, I don't know. Strangely, they haven't tried anything… while it's true that from All For One's perspective this could be a trap, it's also a great opportunity to act, knowing I won't leave this place..."
Makima – If it were me, I'd kill All Might during this opportunity.
Esdeath – I'd attack the prison to free my subordinates…
Wednesday – He could also attack U.A.—not as the main goal, but it would force Allen to move.
"Thank goodness you're not my enemies—you girls are scary... haha"
....
Allen landed at the Pussycats' complex after finishing his patrol. To his surprise, he found Mandalay, dressed in casual clothes.
"Hello," the woman said with a smile.
"Good evening, Mandalay?"
"You can call me by my name. I'm off duty right now," she said with a laugh.
Allen smiled slightly, his gaze sharp. "It seems you have something to tell me, Shino."
"You're very perceptive..." Shino opened her eyes slightly, then smiled again. "If you have a bit of time."
She invited him into the kitchen, where two cups of coffee were waiting.
They both sat down, the aroma of coffee and the warmth of the cups creating a relaxing atmosphere. It didn't take long before Shino began to speak, a bit slowly.
"Being a hero is complicated. Most of us prefer not to have families because of that..."
There are indeed heroes like Endeavor who have families, but in his case, it was for a specific purpose. Most heroes in this world don't usually have partners—at least not at the start of their careers.
The clearest example is All Might. He chose to remain single, even now that he's more than old enough to be Deku's father.
"I think it's because of fear… of dying," Shino said with a sad smile.
"When my brother died, I didn't know what to do with Kota. I was aware that being close to heroes wouldn't be the best for him… no, I'm being naive. He definitely didn't like us."
"Also, earning people praise for your parents' "heroic" death must be unpleasant even repulsive... as if it were okay that they died"
Allen gave a half-smile, "Don't worry, that brat isn't as fragile as he looks."
Shino blinked, then laughed softly before leaning on the table, looking at Allen with slightly dilated pupils.
"I really don't know what to say. You achieved in one afternoon what I couldn't in a year~" Shino smiled beautifully. "Thank you, for being his hero… our hero~"
"You're welcome," Allen chuckled, but immediately his eyes narrowed slightly.
The two looked at each other in an atmosphere that grew increasingly ambiguous.
....
The next day, Shino opened her eyes exhausted and sore. It was strange, as if she had been doing intense exercise all night. However, it was a pleasant kind of soreness, with a slight numbness in her lower body.
'I don't want to get up today... I'll ask Tiger to handle training...'
Smiling, Shino curled up to sleep a little longer against her large, high-quality, and firm pillow.
'...?!'
Shino's eyes snapped open in disbelief and she quickly sat up. Her face turned pale, and a cold sweat broke out. Someone was sleeping beside her—no matter how she looked at it, there was definitely someone there.
'Impossible...' Shino gasped.
She didn't want to look, because as long as she didn't, she could still deny reality. However, her sudden movements had already woken the person next to her.
"Is something wrong?" Allen sat up as well, yawning.
Shino turned to look at him and noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt. From his chest down to his abdomen—chiseled as if sculpted by God Himself—was completely visible. For a moment, the woman forgot everything else and stared, hypnotized. She even swallowed, her face heating up.
"I don't mind, but there's no need to just stare. You only have to ask, like last night."
"Ah!" Shino shouted, but quickly covered her own mouth. No one could find out that Allen Walker was in her room.
Despite her initial shock, Shino wasn't a teenage girl. She was a woman who had been a hero for twelve years. She had faced death countless times, so this alone wouldn't drive her insane.
With a determined look, Shino stared at Allen. "This is one of those comedic situations where everything is just a misunderstanding and nothing actually happened, right?"
Allen blinked, looking at the desperation in the eyes of Shino—better known as Mandalay—who was silently begging for everything to be a misunderstanding.
Like a true gentleman, Allen smiled politely. "That's right, it's all a misunderstanding. Absolutely nothing happened between us last night."
Shino let out a sigh of relief—but it ended faster than it began.
"I definitely didn't kiss you, you didn't kiss me, I didn't carry you to your room while you were tearing my shirt apart, we didn't fall onto the bed, I didn't take off your clothes in a possessive way, I didn't kiss you all over your body, there definitely won't be marks on your skin, I didn't devour you and make you scream my name, you didn't ask for more and more until you passed out twice, and we are definitely not naked in your bed the next day... It's all an illusion."
After finishing, with all the sarcasm of a complete bastard, Allen laughed, while Shino had gone completely pale, her eyes lifeless.
"Maybe I went a bit too far..."
Artoria – At this rate, this woman is going to be traumatized. Stop messing with her.
Allen scratched his head and pulled Shino into his arms, snapping her out of her daze.
"Wai—"
She tried to protest, but Allen kissed her, even slipping his tongue into her mouth. Shino resisted for a moment, but then gave in and melted. Even the sheet fell from her body, revealing her as she had come into the world.
When Allen let her go, her face looked completely dazed as she gasped for air.
"No matter what happened, it's something we both wanted. There's no reason to torture yourself over it."
"But I... I think I did something wrong..." Mandalay wasn't like Pixie-Bob or Midnight, who had no problem showing both physical and emotional interest in Allen.
From her perspective, she had made a mistake.
Allen shrugged and let her go. Then he got out of bed, snapped his fingers, and his torn clothes fixed themselves and returned to his body. He also fixed Shino's clothes and walked toward the door, stopping just before leaving.
"If I'm being completely honest, I don't usually do things like this. I prefer relationships that start with love. I know you don't love me, and I don't love you either. So if you really don't like me, you can just close the door and forget this ever happened. But if you don't ask to forget it and manage to accept it, we can always try to see where this goes." Allen left the room, leaving the sound of his charming voice lingering in the air.
Shino remained sitting on the bed in silence.
'This is the best outcome. We'll treat this as a mistake and forget it. That's how it should be... not just because I'm ten years older... It's not right... It's not... then why does my chest feel so empty?'
....
It was early, and a beautiful blonde with blue eyes stepped out of her room—it was Pixie-Bob. She was wearing a sleep shirt and yawning. She decided to head to the bathroom first, but as she turned the corner, she crashed into someone and fell.
"Ah!"
"Déjà vu..." said a familiar voice.
When she opened her eyes and saw Allen, she immediately blushed, her eyes turning into hearts. "Ara, if it isn't the handsome boy. Are you here to kidnap me? ❤️"
Allen laughed. Pixie-Bob gave off the impression of being easy, but she wasn't looking to sleep with a handsome guy—she was looking for a man willing to commit, which meant her defenses were even higher than Mandalay's or Ragdoll's.
"That doesn't sound bad, but I have a policy of only picking up one girl per night."
Allen let go of Pixie-Bob and started walking away.
The woman watched his back before sighing. "If I were just ten years younger, I could be like those UA girls and try to win him over."
Pixie-Bob shook her head. Allen was young, handsome, strong, and with his achievements, money clearly wasn't a problem. It was only natural he'd want to have fun with pretty girls—not look for commitment with a thirty-year-old woman.
Pixie took two steps before stopping.
"Wait... what was he doing here at five in the morning?!"
Pixie-Bob had a very sharp instinct for romance, flings, and couples. She immediately ran to Mandalay's room and burst the door open—only to freeze.
Her friend was putting on her underwear, but more importantly, there were kiss marks all over her body, as if someone had marked her as their territory.
"This isn't what it looks like!" Shino shouted—but it was already too late.
Pixie-Bob threw herself at her. "You hypocrite! How dare you lecture me when you're worse than me!"
"It's a misunderstanding!"
Their screams woke everyone in the building. By then, Allen was already in the onsen, where Esdeath and 2B were washing him.
'This is a lively place.'
Both women rolled their eyes, because the one responsible for everything was Allen, and no one else.
....
(Near nightfall)
Once today's training was over, there was going to be a relaxing activity. Supposedly, it was a classic game called "Test of Courage." It was something Allen recognized immediately—it was a cliché.
"Listen up, you'll form pairs and enter the forest following a set route..."
"How stupid," Bakugo growled.
"Don't say that! This is the perfect chance for a date!" Mina exclaimed, but quickly regretted it. The girls who initially didn't seem interested suddenly realized this was a golden opportunity to do couple-like things with Allen.
Allen smiled, feeling the intense gazes from Momo, Itsuka, Ochako, Mina, Toru, and Setsuna. On the other hand, Ibara, Jiro, Tsuyu, and Reiko also glanced at him, though more subtly.
Kaminari dropped to his knees and muttered, "Hey girls, you know there are more guys in the world than just Allen, right?"
Kirishima placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "Don't worry, you can go with me!~"
"That's not helping!" Kaminari snapped, grabbing Kirishima by the collar.
Seeing the chaos, Aizawa was about to say that the pairs had already been decided, but Nemuri pushed him aside.
"Alright, since everyone wants to go with Allen, how about this!"
Nemuri's eyes sparkled, as she had subtly included herself on the list.
From a bit farther away, the Pussycats watched in silence. However, there was a bitter look in Mandalay's eyes.
....
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
"It's time to begin..." said a man whose face was burned. In his hand was a blue flame.
"Ahgskkv," said another person beside him. This one wore a black straitjacket that only disturbingly revealed his teeth.
"I know, Moonfish... now do your job."
Moonfish staggered off in another direction, radiating bloodlust. Meanwhile, the burned man looked into the distance.
"I wonder what my little brother is doing... are you still Dad's pride, Shoto?"
====
A/N: Poor Midnight—even a thieving cat beat her to it, lol 🗿