Finally, I had become a third-year middle school student, and today stood as the crossroads of my life.
Looking at the TV, the massive villain with dreadlocks and a shark-like face crumpled to the ground.
This was the exact starting point I remembered from the original story.
In the secret notebook I had carefully maintained over the years, it was plainly recorded: today we would complete career aspiration surveys, and on the way home, the Sludge Villain would appear.
If I played it safe today, any connection with All Might would vanish—along with the perilous future where my limbs end up crushed to a pulp. Goodbye to all that.
Bakugo still acted as if I didn't exist and, backed by his outstanding grades, was gunning for U.A. High School's Hero Course.
I, too, was targeting U.A.—the General Education Course, naturally.
It made perfect sense. U.A. boasted excellent facilities: a vast campus, state-of-the-art equipment, and even famously tasty meals.
When factoring in reputation and prospects for university admission, U.A. was the clear rational choice.
You could argue that steering away from the stormeye was the safest, but no place is truly safe here. You could dodge a bullet only to end up on another's trajectory.
Whether because I had chosen General Education or because he had simply lost all interest in me, Bakugo never bullied me the way he did in the original, which, again, was a relief.
Since it was the first day of the school year, classes consisted only of the career survey and ended in the morning. Heading home, I passed beneath the usual overpass.
This was unquestionably the spot where the Sludge Villain and All Might were supposed to show up.
Avoiding the area would have been safest, but I wanted to see All Might with my own eyes at least once.
I had always loved his bold, distinctive style—unlike any other character in the manga—and that unbreakable sense of justice.
Clang... grrr...
A heavy, grating sound like scraping metal rang out as the Sludge Villain erupted from the manhole.
Perfect timing, as always.
Already mentally primed to run, I didn't wait to hear the rest and took off at full speed.
For my own safety, I had spent the last seven years rigorously training my body, forever prepared to flee danger.
My reaction time could rival a professional escape sprinter.
"Waaah!"
At the sight of me screaming and bolting away, the Sludge Villain seemed briefly stunned, pausing in confusion before lumbering after me.
"Huuuuh... wait just a moment."
That eerie, hissing noise—impossible to tell if it was laughter or a groan—sent chills down my spine and, to his misfortune, only fueled me to run even faster.
All Might would arrive any second now.
I had screamed partly in the hope that he would hear it and hurry over a little sooner.
Thud!
With a triumphant bang, the manhole cover flew open, and All Might burst onto the scene.
"Fear not, young man! For I am here!"
Hearing that iconic line—something I had only ever encountered in the manga—spoken right in front of me stirred genuine emotion.
After all, he was the mightiest figure in this world I now inhabited: the Symbol of Peace.
A powerful gust whipped through the air, and moments later, the Sludge Villain was securely bottled inside the plastic container All Might carried.
His enormous, chiseled muscles—plainly visible even through his T-shirt—radiated overwhelming power and left me in awe.
"Thankyouandgoodbye."
The moment was moving, sure, but safety came first.
I rattled off a quick thanks and turned to leave.
"...You're in quite a rush, young man."
Hurrying off like that probably made me look suspicious.
But lingering would only invite greater scrutiny, so I kept walking without glancing back.
Only when I heard the sharp whoosh of wind signaling All Might's departure did the tension finally ease from my shoulders.
"Phew."
It was a relief that his time limit had expired.
I exhaled deeply, comforted by the knowledge that I had cleared this obstacle.
Afterward, with no further complications, All Might hauled away the Sludge Villain, and Bakugo never ended up captured by it.
Thanks to this turn of events, All Might wouldn't be transferring One For All to anyone or pushing himself too hard, so his operational time wouldn't shorten anytime soon.
Later, I entered U.A.'s General Education Course without much trouble, while Bakugo—predictably—claimed the top spot in the Hero Course exam.
Personality aside, his talent was indisputable.
And so, my life was meant to proceed quietly as an ordinary citizen.
A true loner in both my past and present lives, I still failed to make any friends after starting high school—proving once and for all that Bakugo wasn't the reason.
I wound up eating alone yet again.
Damn it, it's definitely because I'm quirkless.
It's absolutely not because something's wrong with me.
Shinso, you jerk—stop shooting those wistful glances my way as you pass.
I didn't join the Hero Course because I lack a quirk—no, wait, I aimed for General Education from the very beginning.
I shared Class C with Shinsou Hitoshi, the brainwashing-quirk user who would later appear in the Sports Festival.
Ever since he found out I was quirkless, he would occasionally sneak pitying looks in my direction, which strangely irritated me.
Midoriya's vacant slot went to the next candidate in line—the original story's backup number one—and rumors quickly spread that he had bombed the first-day physical assessment and transferred to General Education.
The only one who truly benefited was Mineta, who narrowly avoided disqualification.
Beeeep!
A shrill alarm suddenly pierced my ears as the announcement kicked in.
[Security Level 3 has been breached. Security Level 3 has been breached. Please evacuate the building immediately.]
Hearing the blaring broadcast, I thought: here we go.
This alert had gone off because the League of Villains had forced entry to steal the Hero Course schedule, drawing a swarm of reporters and plunging everything into chaos.
Which meant I could safely continue eating my lunch.
Fortunately, I had a clear view of the entrance from my seat, so I would soon get to watch Iida rocket past to the emergency exit.
Come to think of it, with me in General Education, how did the class rep election turn out?
Well, not exactly my problem.
I was now Midoriya Izuku, a future civil servant in General Education!
A stable career and guaranteed retirement—that was my dream.
For someone pursuing a long, thin, steady life like me, what else could I possibly do but become a civil servant?
I calmly finished my meal while observing Iida streak by, and only after I was done did one of the cafeteria workers urge me to evacuate, at which point I finally left the dining hall.
Shinso, lingering at the rear of the evacuating group, noticed my belated arrival and shot me a look that screamed, "What kind of nerve do you have?"
Catching his eye, I merely shrugged once.