It's been a month since then.
…I wake up from my bed, staring at the ceiling for a few seconds longer than necessary.
For once—no alarms, no vestige shouting immediately in my head.
I'm… quite happy with my life now.
Mom is happy.
Really happy.
She smiles more these days—like a weight she carried for years finally loosened. Dad changed… or at least, he's trying to. He's on his so-called redemption phase in Tartarus, and somehow—even All Might seems to trust him now.
That part still surprises me.
All Might… trusting him…
I never thought I'd see that day.
I guess their bad blood runs deep… deeper than I can imagine. And yet—All Might chose to believe. On the bright side…
…I got my quirk back.
Though—
The vestiges have been awfully nice to me.
Too nice.
Especially Nana-san.
She's become way more talkative than before. She used to nag me a lot, sure—but now?
Now she won't even let me sleep in peace.
"Izuku, honestly, your taste in women is concerning."
"Do you have some kind of magnet for dangerous girls?"
"Normal boys do NOT attract women like that."
"Fuyumi isn't like that," I mutter defensively while brushing my teeth.
"Hmm… I'll give you that," Nana-san says. "But Mellisia?"
"…She's just a little violent."
"A little?"
"…Okay, maybe more than a little."
And Toru… well… she's good. I think. Probably.
And then there's Kurohane.
That woman has been toying with me for a year now.
I've honestly lost count of how many times I've held her—by accident, by circumstance, by pure misfortune.
Forget it. I'll be careful from now on.
Even saying words like she's my lover makes my chest twist.
…I'm pathetic.
The vestiges even let me use their quirks now.
All of them.
Though—wow, they're difficult.
I'm decent with Blackwhip, Float, and Danger Sense.
Fa Jin… I've used it once. Just once.
Gearshift?
No idea.
I should probably ask Kudo-san to teach me properly.
And Smokescreen… what am I even supposed to do with that?
"Blind myself?" I mutter. "Cool strategy, Izuku."
Anyway—
One major change in my life is that the Hero Association now officially knows I'm the son of All For One.
That… was a mess.
But thanks to All Might, Endeavor, Mirko, Airboy—and a few other pro heroes backing me up—they ruled that my heroism has surpassed the evil deeds of my father.
I got out without any charges.
Some of my close friends know.
The girls know too.
I head to UA today—surprisingly lively.
Way more energetic than usual.
I walk alongside Toru.
"Wow, it's noisy today," she says cheerfully.
"Feels like a festival already."
"Yeah…" I reply.
Our homeroom teacher this year is Midnight-sensei.
She's… well…
She's one of a kind.
"All right, kids!" she claps her hands. "Since you've already got internships at hero agencies, you'll be graduating this year. I expect every one of you to become great heroes!"
…Whoa.
I didn't expect that kind of speech from her.
"And if you don't find any agency," she adds with a grin, "my door is always open—especially for young boys."
The room explodes into reactions.
"And you too, Midoriya," she says, turning to me and winking.
"If you get bored of Endeavor, you can visit my agency anytime."
"Hehe… I don't think so, sensei," I reply politely.
"…So cold," she sighs dramatically. "That's part of your charm, I guess."
Then her tone shifts.
"Well, kids—this year's Sports Festival will be different."
The room goes quiet.
"This time, the Hero Internal Council decided to conduct it with other countries. Japan is one of the approved participants."
She hands out forms—rules and regulations stacked thick.
"Brace yourselves, youngins."
The rules are…meh.
But—
We might fight against our friends.
Be ready, Kacchan. I'll defeat you this time.
A week passes.
The International Sports Festival begins.
Ten days.
Ten whole days.
I finally reach 80% of One For All.
With this… I can ace it.
This year's festival takes place on a water arena near America—a massive structure surrounded entirely by water. We fly to America, then travel another two days before finally reaching the site.
Students from other countries too.
This feels more like a political stunt—countries showing off their youth.
I don't care.
We'll be fighting students anyway.
The participating countries:
Japan.
Russia.
America.
India.
Korea.
China.
Germany.
We're given translator ear-plugs to communicate.
Only 10 individuals per country.
From UA:
Me.
Kacchan.
Shoto.
Monoma.
Tokoyami.
Iida.
From Shiketsu:
Inasa Yoarashi.
From Seiai High:
Saiko Intelli.
From Tetsubetsu Academy:
Yo Hondo.
Itoshi Rin.. He's not from any of prestigious hero schools..
We're assigned rooms.
All Might and Aizawa-sensei are here too, along with other pro heroes.
The attention is insane.
My room is next to Itoshi Rin's.
"Go talk to him," Nana-san says. "Won't he feel left out?"
"…Yeah. I plan to."
I knock.
"Who's it?"
"It's Izuku Midoriya from UA," I say honestly. "Just wanted to talk… you seemed to be alone."
"Come in. It's open."
The moment I step inside—
I'm hugged by a familiar warmth.
"…Get off me," I say flatly.
"Ah, so cold," Kurohane purrs. "I even got your father's approval."
I barely manage to pull free.
She's wearing casual clothes—just like that day.
A sky-blue dress.
It suits her way too well.
I glance at Nana-san.
She looks away.
"…Why isn't Danger Sense working?"
"It only activates when there's intent to harm," Shinomori says.
"She harmed me before."
"That was love," he replies calmly. "Pure intentions."
"…How does that even work?"
"I don't know."
"Just how—? How are you here, Rin?" I blurted out before I could stop myself.
"And them too… how did you even breach through security?"
Behind him stood familiar faces.
Toga.
Kurohane.
Twice.
All of them just… standing there. Casually. Like this was a coffee meetup and not a place crawling with heroes.
"We all got fake identities," Twice said cheerfully.
"And money!"
"Lots of money!"
"We're loaded thanks to master—so we're here!"
"…That doesn't make me feel any better," I muttered.
I looked back at Rin again—really looked at him.
"Seriously… are you even the same person?" I said.
"Just the other day you looked like you were on the verge of death. Pale. Half-dead. And now—"
I squinted.
"…How come you're all handsome now? I didn't even realize it was you until now."
Rin chuckled quietly.
"Heh. Guess you did your work, Kurohane," he said, smirking.
"Even Izuku wasn't able to recognize me."
"…God damn it," I snapped.
"Don't act like you know me."
I turned to leave.
Big mistake.
A hand wrapped around mine before I could take even one step.
"Ah~ Izuku," Kurohane said sweetly, her fingers tightening just enough to be annoying.
"It's been a while since we last saw each other. How about spending some time with us?"
She leaned closer, smiling.
"Your dad told us to get along. I promise I don't have any ulterior motives."
Of course.
Every word of that sentence was a lie.
She had so many ulterior motives, it was honestly impressive she could say that with a straight face.
"Izuku," Nana-san said sharply.
"Do. Not. Sit."
I glanced at Kurohane.
She smiled.
I looked down.
…Somehow, I was already sitting.
"Izuku."
"…Yes, Nana-san?"
"Stand up."
"…In a minute."
"…What am I going to do with you?" Nana-san sighed.
"…I can explain."
"No, you can't."
Yeah.
I wasn't going anywhere.
---
I ended up spending the next three hours with them.
Three.
Hours.
Rin used to pester me nonstop about joining the League—but now? He was… different.
Calmer. Less sharp around the edges.
Guess dad changing really did affect everyone.
We played Uno.
I came in last.
Again.
For the ninth time.
"Wow, Izuku! You're amazing!" Twice laughed.
"At losing!"
"Consistently!"
"…Thanks," I said flatly.
They were… nice.
Uncomfortably so.
Circumstances—those are what made them villains. I know Twice's story. Toga's too.
But Kurohane and Rin…
They're still a mystery to me.
I'll find out eventually.
Kurohane, for some reason, never used power cards on me.
Every time she drew one, she'd glance at me, smile softly… and discard it.
Why is she doing that?
…Why do I even notice things like that?
She leaned closer at one point, resting her chin on her hand.
"You're bad at cards, Izuku," she teased.
"But you look cute when you're trying so hard."
What the hell are you thinking, Izuku?
I realized I'd been staring.
My ears felt hot.
Red.
I quickly looked away, forcing my expression back into something neutral—something resembling a poker face.
Barely.
Eventually, I stood up.
"Well… I should go," I said.
"See you later, guys."
I looked at Rin.
"And you—don't cause any trouble. This place is full of heroes."
He smirked.
"I'll behave."
Kurohane leaned forward.
"Izuku," she said playfully,
"Leave your door open tonight. I'll sneak in."
"…Don't you dare," I shot back, already walking away.
I returned to my room and immediately locked the door.
Then checked it.
Twice.
I leaned against it, exhaling.
"…I'm definitely not leaving it open."
Right…?