"Two of the best applicants, and they both end up here."
Recovery Girl's voice was as dry as the paper she was signing. She didn't look up from her desk, where a pile of reports awaited her attention. The pen scratched at the silence of the infirmary.
"Breaking their bones as if they were toys. They really make me work too hard."
On one of the beds, Melissa stared at the monotonous white ceiling. A tired smile formed on her face. "I'm sorry, Chiyo-san. It was necessary."
"It's always 'necessary'," the old woman muttered, moving to the next sheet. "If necessity paid my bills, I'd be a millionaire. How's the arm?"
"Much better. Almost like new, thanks to you." Melissa flexed the fingers of her right hand, watching the movement without a hint of pain. It was almost a miracle. "I still find it hard to believe how your Quirk works."
"It works by draining your own life energy to accelerate healing. That's why you feel like you've run a marathon. It's not magic, young lady, it's accelerated biology. And you need to rest."
From the other side of the room, a low, guttural growl broke the calm. Bakugo was sitting up in his bed, arms crossed so tightly his knuckles were white. His scowl looked like a permanent fixture.
"And you, young man," Recovery Girl said, her tone turning steely without raising her voice. "Stop growling. You're not a caged animal. You're here for severe exhaustion and because a girl with vines for hair left you hanging like a side of ham. A little humility would do you wonders."
"Shut up, old hag!" he snapped, his red eyes glaring at her. "I was about to blow her to bits!"
"Of course you were," she replied with sarcasm that could cut steel. "And I was about to win the Miss Japan pageant. Now sit still and let your body recover before you have an aneurysm from sheer stubbornness."
Bakugo let out another choked sound, a mix of rage and indignation, but he didn't talk back. He just stared at the wall with a silent fury that seemed to make the air around him vibrate.
Melissa watched him for a moment. "Is he always this… intense?" she asked in a low voice.
"I have no idea," Recovery Girl sighed, finally putting down her pen. "He has the power of a top-tier hero, but the temperament of a child who's had his candy taken away. A dangerous combination." She turned in her chair, looking at Melissa with tired but kind eyes. "You, on the other hand, are different. You threw yourself at that giant robot without a second thought, but it was to save someone. There's a fundamental difference there."
"I don't know," Melissa admitted. "I just reacted. Seeing that boy trapped… I couldn't just stand by and watch."
"That's the right instinct."
The infirmary door opened with a soft pneumatic hiss, interrupting the conversation. Two figures entered. One was a muscular man in an oversized suit, whose gaunt face lit up with fatherly concern. The other was a young man with messy green hair, whose calm presence seemed out of place amidst the tension.
"Young Melissa! Your father has been calling nonstop! He was so worried!" Toshinori Yagi hurried to Melissa's bed, his voice a hoarse whisper filled with relief.
"I'm fine, Uncle Might," she said, a genuine smile lighting up her tired face. "Just exhausted. My arm is as good as new thanks to Chiyo-san."
"Thank God," he sighed, slumping into a chair beside her bed. "When I told David what you did… He was proud, of course, but also terrified."
While Toshinori was speaking, Bakugo froze. His gaze had locked onto the other newcomer. His red eyes narrowed into thin slits of pure hatred.
"Deku?"
The word was a low, dangerous hiss, loaded with years of contempt.
Izuku, who had remained a step behind All Might, turned slowly. His expression was serene, almost neutral. There was no surprise, no fear. Just a quiet acknowledgment.
"Hello, Bakugo. It's been a while."
Bakugo's jaw tensed. "What the hell are you doing here? Does the entrance exam have a janitorial section now? Did you come to mop the floors?"
Izuku didn't respond to the provocation. Instead, he took a step toward Melissa's bed, his attention deliberately turned away from the erupting volcano. "I came to see how a friend was doing," he said, his voice calm and firm.
Just before turning completely to speak with Melissa, his eyes met Bakugo's for a fleeting instant. And in that moment, Izuku couldn't help it. A small, genuine, amused smile touched his lips as he remembered the image of the great Katsuki Bakugo, the prodigy, the future number one, hanging upside down from a lamppost, completely helpless.
It was just an instant. But it was enough.
The smile didn't say "I beat you." It said something much worse to Bakugo. It said "Things have changed."
A muscle throbbed in Bakugo's jaw. The grinding of his teeth was almost audible.
At that moment, a television hanging in a corner of the wall flickered to life. Present Mic's face filled the screen, his exaggerated smile and gravity defying blond hair on full display.
"AND NOW, THE RESULTS YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! WE'RE GOING TO REVEAL THE TOP TEN APPLICANTS FROM THIS YEAR'S ENTRANCE EXAM, LISTENERS!"
Bakugo's attention immediately snapped to the television. All his fury was channeled into an arrogant expectation. He sat up straighter in bed, his chin held high, waiting to hear his name at the very top.
"STARTING WITH NUMBER TEN! WITH 60 VILLAIN POINTS, TENYA IIDA!"
"AND IN NINTH PLACE, WITH 62 COMBINED POINTS, THE ENERGETIC MINA ASHIDO!"
Bakugo snorted. Extras. All of them.
"JUMPING TO SEVENTH PLACE, OCHAKO URARAKA WITH 65 POINTS!"
Bakugo's face remained impassive. Obviously, he would be in the top three. There was no other possibility.
"AND NOW, ENTERING THE ELITE! IN AN IMPRESSIVE THIRD PLACE, WITH A PERFECTLY BALANCED SCORE OF 60 VILLAIN POINTS AND 39 RESCUE POINTS, THE INCREDIBLY TALENTED SHOTO TODOROKI!"
Bakugo's expression tightened visibly. "Third? Who the hell is Todoroki?!"
Recovery Girl glared at him from her desk. "Silence in the infirmary or I'll sedate you."
"IN A SPECTACULAR SECOND PLACE," Present Mic continued, his voice rising in volume as if at a rock concert, "WITH A DISPLAY OF HEROISM THAT LEFT EVERYONE BREATHLESS AND A MASSIVE SCORE OF 75 RESCUE POINTS, THE BRILLIANT MELISSA SHIELD!"
Melissa's mouth fell slightly open. "Me? Second?"
Toshinori let out a proud, booming laugh. "I knew you could do it, YOUNG MELISSA! I knew it!"
Melissa blushed, a mix of genuine surprise and happiness washing over her. "I… I can't believe it."
"Believe it," Izuku said beside her, a sincere smile on his face. "You deserve it. What you did was truly heroic."
Bakugo whipped his head around, staring at the blonde girl in the other bed with a disbelief tinged with contempt. This extra? This girl he didn't even know? Above him? Impossible. Simply impossible. His mind refused to accept it. There had to be a mistake. He was number one. Always.
"AND IN AN ABSOLUTELY UNPRECEDENTED FIRST PLACE," Present Mic yelled, his voice reaching a deafening crescendo, "WITH 66 VILLAIN POINTS AND A NEVER BEFORE SEEN SPECIAL EVALUATION AWARDED FOR 'TACTICAL DOMINATION', THE INCREDIBLE IBARA SHIOZAKI!"
Silence.
The name echoed in the infirmary. Ibara Shiozaki. The plant girl.
Izuku's smile returned, wider this time. It wasn't a smile of joy, but of deep, quiet satisfaction. He didn't take his eyes off the screen, but his posture, his calm, everything about him was directed at the other bed. He looked directly at Bakugo, who was paralyzed, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly agape. The arrogance had evaporated, replaced by a confusion that was rapidly turning into a volcanic fury.
Izuku didn't say a single word. He didn't need to. His silence was a shout of victory. His presence was the proof of a new order.
The infirmary door opened again.
It was Ibara. She was wearing her previous school's uniform, her long, vine like green hair shining softly under the fluorescent lights. She entered with her usual serene calm, her hands clasped in front of her in a modest gesture.
"Shield-san," she said in her soft, melodic voice. "I'm glad to see you're well."
"Thank you, Shiozaki-san," Melissa replied, still a bit overwhelmed by the results. "You were incredible, too. Congratulations on first place. That was amazing."
"Victory is a blessing for which I am grateful," Ibara answered with a slight bow of her head.
Then, her eyes found Izuku.
Her face lit up. The serene, pious expression was replaced by a pure, radiant smile full of overwhelming gratitude. She approached him, completely ignoring the seething figure of rage in the other bed, as if he didn't exist.
She stopped in front of him and gave a small, respectful bow, a show of deference a student would give to a highly regarded teacher.
"Midoriya-sensei."
The word echoed in Bakugo's head like a cannon shot.
"Thank you again for your guidance," Ibara continued, her voice full of sincerity. "I could not have achieved this blessing without you."
It was a gesture of pure, sincere devotion. From student to teacher.
And for Bakugo, it was the final blow. It was the piece of the puzzle that didn't fit, the equation that had no solution. Seeing this. Seeing the plant girl, the one who had defeated him, the one who had taken the first place spot that belonged to him, treat the useless, worthless, pebble Deku with the respect and reverence of a 'sensei'… it was too much. His brain couldn't process it. His world, the carefully constructed world where he was the sun and Deku was a speck of dust in his orbit, shattered.
With a sharp movement, he jumped out of bed. He ripped the sensors Recovery Girl had stuck to his chest, the wires snapping off.
"YOU!"
The shout echoed through the infirmary, sudden and wild. All his anger, his existential confusion, and his crushing humiliation focused on a single person.
He took a heavy step toward Izuku, small, threatening explosions crackling in the palms of his hands.
"What kind of crappy trick are you pulling, Deku? How is a nobody like you here, acting like you're somebody?! Did you pay this plant freak to make you look important?"
"He's not a nobody!"
Melissa's voice was loud and clear. She had sat bolt upright in her bed, her blue eyes flashing with a protective indignation. She didn't know the history between them, but she knew Bakugo's aggression was out of line.
Ibara, without a moment's hesitation, stepped forward, physically placing herself between Bakugo and Izuku. It wasn't a fighting stance, but a quiet, firm barrier. Her vines shifted subtly, almost imperceptibly.
"Please," she said, her voice losing its usual softness and gaining a steel edge. "I ask you not to disrespect my trainer."
Bakugo stopped dead in his tracks. He looked at them. All three of them. The know-it-all blonde girl who had stolen second place. The crazy plant girl who had stolen first place. And in the center of it all, protected by them, Deku.
The Deku who should be groveling at his feet. The Deku who should be trembling in fear. The Deku who was looking at him with something that looked dangerously like pity.
A slow, terrifying, and completely unhinged smile spread across Bakugo's face.
"Fine," he hissed, his voice pure venom. "I don't care. I don't care what kind of game you're all playing."
His bloodshot red eyes locked on Izuku, ignoring the girls.
"I'll crush you. I'll crush all of you. You, the plant girl, and every other damn extra who gets in my way."
He leaned forward, his face inches from Izuku's.
"But I'll start with you, Deku. I'm going to remind you exactly what your place is."
Without another word, he spun around and stormed out of the infirmary, slamming the door so violently it made the medicine jars on the shelves tremble.
A tense silence filled the room.
Recovery Girl sighed deeply, rubbing her temples. "That boy doesn't need a hero. He needs a very, very large dose of therapy."
Toshinori, who had remained silent and visibly tense throughout the entire altercation, finally exhaled. "I'm afraid you're right, Chiyo."
Izuku, Melissa, and Ibara exchanged a look.
"Well," Melissa said, breaking the silence with an attempt at lightness. "I guess school life won't be boring."
Izuku let out a small, humorless laugh. "With Bakugo around," he said, "it never is."