"One," he said.
For a split second, the word just hung there.
The room went utterly silent, like someone had hit a mute button on the class.
A few students blinked. Someone coughed. Even Midnight paused mid-smile.
Izuku didn't look fazed. He slipped his hands back into his pockets and continued calmly, as if he were explaining a grocery list instead of defining his future.
"I plan on being the number one hero," he said evenly. "So I figured One fits. It's simple. No symbolism, just… the goal."
He shrugged lightly. "That's all."
And then—
The room exploded.
"WHOA, THAT'S ACTUALLY SICK!" Mina shouted, slamming her hands on her desk.
"It's clean, confident, and memorable," Momo said, nodding approvingly. "Very… you."
"One…" Jirou repeated, tapping her pen against her desk. A smirk tugged at her lips. "Yeah. That tracks."
"Man really named himself like he already won," Kaminari muttered. "That's cold."
Even Aizawa, who had looked half-asleep for most of the exercise, raised an eyebrow. He studied Izuku for a long moment before giving a small huff.
"Hn. Not bad, problem child."
That alone earned a few gasps—Aizawa compliments were rarer than holidays.
From the back of the room, Katsuki clicked his tongue and let out a sharp laugh.
"Tch. Real funny," he said, leaning forward in his seat. "It'll be hilarious when I become number one and your name's just some ironic joke, Deku."
Izuku didn't even turn to look at him. He just smiled faintly, completely unbothered.
Midnight clasped her hands together, eyes sparkling. "Ohhh, I love it! Simple, bold, and incredibly marketable. Congratulations, One—because from today onward, that's the name the public will see on hero charts."
A ripple of excitement passed through the class as Midnight wrote it down with a flourish.
Izuku stepped back toward his desk, posture relaxed, expression calm.
Inside, though, his thoughts were dry and amused.
'Wow… they really glaze everything I do,' he thought. 'Guess it didn't matter what I picked— It could have been Jeffrey Epstein and it would be hyped up'
He sat down, folding his arms behind his head as the class continued buzzing around him, already talking about hero rankings, merch potential, and future headlines.
Hero Name: ONE.
Simple. Direct. And unmistakably him.
.....
When school finally let out, Izuku didn't head straight home like usual.
Instead, he met up with Mei.
Which, in hindsight, was kind of funny. He hadn't officially gone on a proper date with any of the girls in his class yet—but here he was, already hanging out with the pink-haired genius from the Support Course. He justified it easily enough in his head.
'They can later,' he told himself. 'This just… happened first.'
They went to the movies, and at Mei's insistence, they watched Interstellar—a movie she really liked. And by "liked," Izuku quickly realized she meant constantly pausing to excitedly whisper about physics, gravity, and time dilation.
"Okay, okay, see this part?" she whispered urgently, pointing at the screen. "That's actually kinda accurate, but they simplify it for the audience—oh, and don't even get me started on the black hole visuals—"
Izuku chuckled quietly, leaning back in his seat. "You're enjoying this more than the movie itself, aren't you?"
She grinned without shame. "Absolutely."
After the movie, they wandered through a nearby park, eventually settling on a bench beneath a row of softly glowing streetlights. What started as casual conversation stretched into hours—talking about inventions, hero society, dumb hypotheticals, and random things that popped into Mei's head at lightning speed.
Izuku didn't even notice how much time had passed until the sky shifted from orange to deep violet.
When the sun finally dipped below the horizon, Mei checked her phone and sighed dramatically. "Welp. I should probably head back before I accidentally stay out all night and build something illegal."
She called an Uber—she lived a bit far—and while they waited, she rocked back and forth on her heels.
"This was fun," she said plainly. "We should do it again."
Izuku smiled. "Yeah. I'd like that."
The car arrived shortly after. She waved enthusiastically from the back seat as it pulled away, and Izuku stood there for a moment longer, hands in his pockets, before finally turning toward home.
He walked with an uncharacteristically light step, excitement bubbling under his calm exterior.
'Internships are coming up soon,' he thought, eyes bright.
'I can't wait.'
Lost in that thought, he almost didn't notice the figure standing outside a café further down the street.
Almost.
She had long, flowing periwinkle-blue hair that curled softly at the ends, catching the glow of the shop lights. Her large blue eyes were focused on the display case inside the café window, expression thoughtful and bright all at once. There was something effortlessly elegant about her—gentle, curious, and lively all at the same time.
She seemed to be debating intensely with herself over the pastries.
Then she turned.
Her eyes widened the moment she spotted him.
"Oh! Hey!" she said brightly, immediately lighting up as she walked over.
"Hello," Izuku replied, smiling back.
"You're Midoriya, right?" she asked, tilting her head with open curiosity. "Wow, I never thought I'd see you here of all places. What's a first-year like you doing out so late? Were you on a date?"
Izuku blinked once, then answered calmly, smoothly, all in one breath.
"Yes, I'm Midoriya—Izuku Midoriya. You must be Nejire Hado. I've heard a lot about you. And… yeah, you could say that."
Inside, his thoughts were much less composed.
'Wow. She really does ask a lot of questions.'
Nejire's eyes sparkled. "Ooooh! Who's the lucky girl? Do I know her? Probably not—I'm not super caught up on first-years. Which makes sense, because I'm really busy. Oh! Speaking of busy—"
She suddenly turned and pointed at the café behind her.
"Hey, wanna go in there? I've always wanted to try it, but I never had anyone to go with."
Izuku barely had time to process the sentence before it was over.
'Bloody hell,' he thought dryly. 'Even a speedster would lose track of what she's saying.'
Still, he smiled.
"Sure."
Nejire beamed like he'd just agreed to something amazing. Without hesitation, she grabbed his hand and tugged him toward the café.
The bell above the door chimed softly as they stepped inside, warm light spilling over them.
And just like that—
His quiet walk home turned into something else entirely.
TO BE CONTINUED