We got an hour long lunch break between classes.
The cafeteria was huge, with sunlight pouring through the tall windows. Rows of booths broke up the space, trimmed with greenery, and filled with students from every department.
The line moved fast, manned by staff who'd clearly done this thousands of times. I grabbed my tray—just a simple crispy chicken katsudon over hot white rice. It looked and smelled better than most takeout joints, and it only cost 750 yen.
I spotted Kirishima and Mina already at a booth near the middle of the room and made my way over, sliding into the seat next to him. Mina was already halfway through a plate of fried shrimp, and Kirishima's tray looked like it was mostly beef with a little rice for decoration.
"God, how is this so good?" Mina mumbled through a bite, half-moan. "I'd pay actual money for this. Like, real money."
"You did pay money," I pointed out, sitting across from her.
"Yeah, but like only 1000 yen!" she said, pointing at her tray. "Food this good would cost triple that anywhere else."
"Man, Lunch Rush is a legend," Kirishima said, shoveling a massive bite into his mouth. "This is the real reason I came to U.A."
"I thought you were gonna be a manly hero?" I asked with a smirk.
"That too," he said, around a mouthful of beef. "But like, a shredded hero with good food standards."
Momo arrived last, tray neat and organized—grilled salmon, steamed vegetables, a small serving of rice, and a cut fruit.
She set her tray down carefully across from me, folded her napkin, then picked up her chopsticks with practiced grace.
"I'm surprised the food here is so good," she admitted. "I wasn't sure what to expect from a school cafeteria."
"It's got to be a quirk," Mina said, popping another shrimp. "Lunch Rush's. He's literally a cooking speedster."
Momo patted her lips with a napkin. "It wouldn't surprise me. Everything in UA has been more efficient than I expected, even English class from earlier."
She glanced at me. "I thought Present Mic would be harder to follow, but he was surprisingly methodical."
"You did pretty well," I said. "I noticed a lot of students were struggling in that class."
She gave me a small smile. "I studied abroad briefly when I was younger. And one of my tutors was American."
That made sense.
"Kyūta was nuts, though," Mina chimed in. "You sounded like a full-on native speaker."
"Guess I'm just good with languages," I replied casually.
Momo tilted her head, intrigued. "Did you grow up overseas?"
I shook my head. "Nah. Just... picked it up early."
"Wish I picked up anything early," Mina said, pointing her chopsticks at me. "I was sitting there losing a fight to a worksheet while you looked like you could've taught the class."
Kirishima laughed. "Well, now we know who to bother when we need help cramming."
Once our trays were mostly empty and the initial energy had mellowed, Kirishima leaned forward a bit, elbow propped on the table.
"You know, I'm hyped for what Aizawa-sensei's got planned for us next," he said. "The guy's intense—but he definitely knows what he's doing."
Momo nodded. "Our schedule lists today's afternoon class as Foundational Hero Studies."
"Sounds serious," Mina said. "Is that, like… the real hero stuff?"
"Hard to say," I replied. "Could be training. But it could also be lectures."
"Anyone know who's teaching it?" Kirishima asked, glancing around.
Momo shook her head. "The schedule didn't specify."
"Think it could be Eraserhead again?" Mina asked.
Momo shook her head slightly. "That seems unlikely. The syllabus mentioned an unnamed instructor for that subject, so it's probably not Aizawa-sensei."
"Well, whoever it is, I hope it's someone badass," Kirishima exclaimed while raising a fist in the air.
I looked at the time. Another 30 minutes before our afternoon class.
"I'm gonna go for a short walk," I said to the group, standing and grabbing my tray. "Need to stretch a bit before the next round of whatever insanity Aizawa's cooked up."
"Don't get lost," Mina said, flashing a grin.
"You don't want to miss the surprise teacher reveal," Kirishima added.
"No worries, I'll be back in time," I promised, tossing my tray and heading out into the hallway.
The corridors outside the cafeteria were quieter. Most students stuck around the food court or relaxed in lounges near their departments. I drifted past a few, heading in no particular direction.
Foundational Hero Studies…
That should be All Might's class. If I'm right, then today's the day we do our battle training.
Probably the 2v2s from the anime. One team plays the villains, guarding a fake bomb. The other team acts as heroes trying to stop them.
I'd already run through the scenario a dozen times in my head.
Wouldn't be a problem.
I think I've got the edge on everyone in the class. If I had to pick a tough matchup, it'd probably be Todoroki. His long-range ice spam means I'd have to get creative to close the distance—and even then, he could keep me pinned if I didn't counter fast enough. I'd still win, it's just that he'd make me earn it.
As I walked, I realized I'd ended up in the Support Department wing. Everything here had a more industrial look with rooms that had reinforced doors.
Then I heard it.
An explosion.
What the hell?
I didn't remember anything major that was supposed to happen today. At least, nothing that involved actual detonations.
I turned the corner and saw it—smoke billowing from a set of thick, gray double doors. Solid steel, almost completely shut, yet smoke was still curling out from the edges.
Sprinting to the double doors, I gripped the handle. The moment I pulled them open, a flood of hot, acrid smoke spilled out.
Someone inside started coughing, a shadowy figure moving through the haze.
Then, slowly, it cleared.
She stepped out through the smoke like it was part of her entrance.
Salmon-pink hair, styled into thick dreadlocks that fanned outward, goggles pushed up over her forehead. She wore a black tank top that clung to a mature frame, and a pair of dark gray coveralls tied around her waist, utility belt filled with tools.
Mei Hatsume.
Her face was flushed from heat, sweat beading on her brow. She wiped it off with the back of her wrist like it was nothing.
The girl blinked at me through the haze, still recovering her breath.
"Whew," she muttered. "Bit more power than I expected…"
Then she looked up at me, grinning like she hadn't almost just blown herself up.
"Hey, who are you? I've never seen you in Class 1-H."
"Kyūta Henshin," I said. "Hero Course."
Her grin widened instantly. "Oh! You're the one who put in the request for the absorption belt and compacted metal! Finally get to meet the guy I've been building for!"
That caught me slightly off guard. "You're working on my support gear?"
"Duh! Power Loader assigned me your file yesterday—I begged him for anything better to work on," she said, already walking ahead. "There was already a prototype finished, but it was super lame. Clunky, big, totally not worthy of the Hero Course."
She waved for me to follow, eyes practically glowing. "And I thought 'wait a minute, isn't that the top scorer. No better way to show off what my babies can do.' If you wear one of my babies, people are gonna notice. So I stayed late, scrapped the whole compression method, and rebuilt it overnight. Got everything ultra-compacted without losing integrity."
I followed her into the workshop, where the air still carried the sharp scent of scorched metal and a faint haze clung near the ceiling. The room looked like a wreck—half a disassembled drone smoldering in the corner, a stool knocked over, and a scorched testing dummy crumpled and blackened against the wall. Mei stepped through it all like it was completely normal.
She ducked under a cluttered table, rummaged for a second, then popped back up with a thick, reinforced belt in hand.
"Here it is!" she beamed. "Each segment is loaded with a different material—rubber, steel, copper, tungsten—all compressed for max density and optimized absorption rate. Figured someone with a quirk like yours needs quick-switch options."
I took the belt from her. It was heavier than it looked—solid build, tightly compressed materials, clearly segmented for rapid access.
"Oh, and Power Loader let me help fabricate the ultra-dense metal you requested too. It's on the bench over there. That stuff's packed tight—way better than any other metal you can get."
"You built this fast," I said, looping the belt around my waist. "Didn't realize the support gear would be ready so soon."
"I don't waste time when I'm hyped," she said, matter-of-fact. "Besides, I needed a break from babysitting the engineers in my own class. Those scrubs want to do things slow and steady, that's so boring!"
She leaned in—way too close. "So? Wanna help me stress test my babies?"
"Hatsume!"
A voice barked from a distance. Heavy boots clanked against the tile floor, followed by the screech of the door swinging wider.
Power Loader stepped into the room, dust-covered and visibly annoyed. "Is everything ready? Class 1-A needs their gear for training—you're not still tweaking things, are you?"
He froze mid-step when he spotted me standing there, half-geared up with the belt already strapped across my waist.
"You. You're from Class 1-A," he said, pointing a gloved finger. "What are you doing in here?"
"I heard an explosion while I was taking a walk," I replied, keeping it simple. "Thought I'd check it out, just in case someone needed help."
Power Loader grunted, rubbing the bridge of his nose beneath the edge of his helmet. "I told her to work carefully in here. We've got support gear stacked everywhere—one miscalculation and half the department's backlog goes up in smoke."
"I mostly avoided the sensitive stuff!" Mei called out cheerfully from behind me. "Besides, only one dummy caught fire this time!"
He sighed. Then turned back to me. "Regardless, you've got your own schedule to worry about. Foundational Hero Studies starts soon, right? You should get there, it'll be an interesting class."
"Yeah," I said, giving a slight nod. "I'm heading there now."
"Good. Don't be late." He looked down at the belt on my waist. "And don't go testing anything without supervision, Hatsume. I don't want to give Recovery Girl an emergency call."
Mei just grinned and waved a wrench. "No promises!"
I handed the belt back to Mei and took that as my cue to leave.
As I turned toward the exit, she gave me a thumbs-up, already halfway back under the workbench. "Catch you later, Henshin! Don't break my baby without me!"
"Not planning to," I said, stepping out and letting the door close behind me.