Chapter 3: The Payment
Time flew by, and after the fourth period, Modern Literature, Yoshikage Kira was the first to stand up from his seat and dash out of the classroom.
"Where is Kira-kun going in such a hurry?" Toru Hagakure asked, tugging on Momo Yaoyorozu's sleeve as she watched him leave.
"Maybe to the cafeteria to eat?" Momo wasn't sure. She took out her prepared bento box from her desk and smiled at Hagakure. "Are we having lunch together today?"
"I'd love to... but my family didn't pack me one today. I'm going to the cafeteria too!" With that, Hagakure zipped out of the classroom.
"Looks like I'm on my own today..." Momo sighed wistfully. She opened her own rather large lunchbox, and a fragrant aroma instantly filled the entire room.
Kyoka Jiro was also eating in the classroom today. As she took out her lunchbox, she inadvertently glanced at Momo's bento and her face instantly went pale. "Is that a normal portion size for one person!?" she groaned internally.
Fried shrimp, salmon, and numerous colorful pieces of sushi were stacked in layers, completely filling Momo's lunchbox, which was twice the size of Jiro's. Momo's lavish meal immediately attracted the attention of another girl. Ochaco Uraraka followed the scent over, her initial gasp of amazement followed by concern.
"Yaoyorozu-san, your lunch is so amazing! But can you really finish all of it?"
"Oh, don't worry," Momo said with a smile. "My Quirk requires a large amount of lipids to function. All the proteins and fats from this food will go right where they need to go."
Kyoka Jiro stared at Momo's chest and suddenly said in a flat, cold tone, "Camel."
"Eh? Jiro-san, what does that mean?" Uraraka asked, a little confused, clasping her hands with a smile.
Noticing that Uraraka's own figure, while not as pronounced, still had a definite curve, Jiro didn't answer her question. She silently stood up, took her bento, and walked out of the classroom.
Staring down at her own boundless, flat chest, Jiro let out a deep sigh. She could truly feel the creator's malice. Why wasn't she born with a camel-like structure for storing fatty energy...?
Meanwhile, Yoshikage Kira had arrived at the doorway of the Hero Course Class 1-B's classroom. Their homeroom teacher, Vlad King, seemed to have been teaching the last period. After class, he had gone on an impromptu tangent, only emerging from the room two minutes after the bell, looking refreshed and invigorated.
"Yo, it's Kira from Class 1-A! Just passing by our classroom?" Vlad King had just been discussing him with his colleagues yesterday, so running into him today, he couldn't help but stop and say hello.
"Ah, Mr. Vlad King." Kira stood up straight. He'd heard this teacher was a big fan of passionate, hot-blooded students, so he declared loudly, "I'm here to see a student from Class 1-B!"
"Excellent." Vlad King was very pleased with his spirited demeanor, nodding as he let out a hearty laugh. "What a shame! If only you were a student in my class!"
"It would be a true honor, sir!"
After a few simple pleasantries, Vlad King asked enthusiastically, "Who are you looking for?"
"I'm looking for Ibara Shiozaki. It's okay, I can just call for her, you don't need to help..."
Before Kira could finish, Vlad King's booming voice echoed through the room: "SHIOZAKI! KIRA FROM CLASS 1-A IS HERE FOR YOU!"
Class 1-B, who had been packing up to rush to the cafeteria after their teacher held them late, froze and turned in unison to look at the door. A green-haired girl, prompted by a classmate, looked up in a daze and saw her homeroom teacher gesturing emphatically at her.
"Ibara Shiozaki, could you come out for a moment?" Kira asked helplessly, spurred on by Vlad King's encouraging gaze. "I'm here to fulfill our promise."
Hearing those words, the students in the classroom started giving Kira strange looks. Since when did their class's beautiful maiden have a "promise" with someone from Class 1-A?
Under the watchful eyes of her classmates, Ibara Shiozaki slowly walked over. Seeing this, Vlad King nodded in satisfaction, tucked his textbook under his arm, and left.
Ibara was wearing the gray-green U.A. uniform, her lower half clad in black thigh-high stockings that made the exposed skin of her thighs seem exceptionally pale. There wasn't a hint of excess flesh where the stockings met her thighs. As the boys of Class 1-B watched her, she tilted her head and spoke. "Are you here to give me the money?"
Kira nodded. "You were the one who grabbed me yesterday and wouldn't let go. You looked like you were about to start a fight."
"Welshing on a debt is an unvirtuous habit," Ibara said earnestly. "I simply wished to correct such erroneous thinking on your part."
"Right, right..." And I'd have to be a fool to believe you, Kira thought. He glanced at the students behind her who were pretending to chat and asked, "Should I give you the money right here?"
"Yes... here is fine."
Seeing the expectant look in her otherwise calm eyes, Kira sighed. He began pulling bills from his wallet. "Alright, but don't blame me for what other people might think, okay?"
As Yoshikage Kira placed several tens of thousands of yen into Ibara Shiozaki's hands, the Class 1-B students who were watching this unusual event immediately exploded.
"Did I see that right!? That guy just gave Shiozaki a huge wad of cash! What's that all about!?"
"You don't think... it's for that, do you?" one student asked uncertainly.
"Hey, hey... don't joke around, no way! That's Shiozaki we're talking about..." His suggestion was instantly shot down. One boy even got behind him and wrapped an arm around his neck, a terrifying smile on his face. "You're just kidding, right? Because if that were true, I'd have to kill you, you know?"
The student immediately began nodding frantically. "I was just saying!"
Suddenly, a boy from the group straightened his clothes and stepped forward with an elegant smile. "If one wishes to know what is happening, then one must, of course, go and confirm it personally."
"Monoma, what are you...!"
The boy didn't look back. He walked towards Yoshikage Kira, stood behind Ibara Shiozaki, and flashed a grin of pearly white teeth. "Hello. I am Neito Monoma of Class 1-B. If I am not mistaken, you just gave our dear Shiozaki-san a sum of money, did you not?"
Before Kira could speak, Monoma's expression twisted into a mocking sneer. He began to laugh, speaking in a rapid-fire cadence. "Feeling the pressure now that the Sports Festival is about to start? So you're trying to bribe a member of our class to throw a match? Don't even dream of it! You Class 1-A students are destined to be nothing more than stepping stones for us in Class 1-B!"
Is this guy insane? Kira thought. What does giving her money have to do with the Sports Festival?
"Monoma," Ibara interrupted him coldly. "This is a matter between him and me. You would do well not to meddle."
In Ibara's mind, she and Yoshikage Kira had already agreed to keep their arrangement confidential. She had a strong sense of contractual honor and would not reveal their business to anyone.
Ibara tugged lightly on Yoshikage Kira's sleeve, her action implying a clear message:
See how tight-lipped I am? Surely that's worth a bonus, right?