My gaze drifted to Bakugo, who was glaring at me with his usual murderous intensity.
'Honestly, I'm surprised even he voted for me. Need to be careful, he might shift his love and attention from Midoriya to me. Damn, What a terrifying thought.'
I suppressed a shudder at the thought. 'Yeah, no thanks. One explosion boy rivalry is enough for this timeline.'
After the vote was finalized, Momo and I stood at the front of the class as the official representatives. I'd already given my "speech"—if you could call my sarcastic acceptance a speech—and assured everyone it would be fine.
Momo turned to me with that elegant smile of hers, the one that made her look like she belonged in a prestigious tea ceremony rather than a hero academy. "Congratulations on being the class rep, Kaminari-san."
I sighed while scratching the back of my head. "Honestly, I thought you were going to be class rep. I even voted for you and everything."
A faint blush dusted her cheeks, barely visible but definitely there. "Thanks..."
'Oh, she's getting flustered,' I noted with amusement. 'Cute.'
She seemed too embarrassed to continue, so I picked up the slack. "Actually, I wasn't just surprised that people voted for me. I was surprised I got that many votes. Seventeen out of twenty? That's crazy."
Asui—no, Tsuyu—chose that moment to chime in from her seat, her finger pressed thoughtfully to her chin. "We all saw what you did in the cafeteria, ribbit. It takes a lot of courage and calm thinking to do that. You also showed you're good at leadership."
She paused, and a slight blush crept onto her face too. "Plus... when you were saying all that stuff, you kind of looked like All Might."
'Wait, what?' I blinked. 'I looked like All Might? Me? The guy who makes Flash jokes and has a villain laugh?'
'Oh, come on,' I thought while fighting the urge to laugh. 'Don't do this to me.'
Kirishima pumped his fist enthusiastically, his shark-toothed grin splitting his face. "YEAH! That was so cool back then, Denki! You had an awesome moment, just like that time in middle school when you—"
"Okay, okay," I cut him off quickly, waving my hands. "Let's not relive all my greatest hits right now."
Iida stood rigidly, his hand chopping through the air in that way of his. "Kaminari-kun's actions were indeed exemplary! A true display of heroic responsibility!"
Others murmured their agreement, and I felt a weird warmth in my chest that had nothing to do with my quirk.
'Huh. That's... actually nice.'
I cleared my throat. "Alright, alright. Enough of the praise. Let's get back to class before Aizawa-sensei thinks we're wasting time and dumps us all in sleeping bags."
That got a few laughs, and we settled back into our seats as the afternoon classes resumed.
Later that day, after most lessons had wrapped up, Kirishima and I headed toward the restroom. School was almost over, and the hallways had that lazy, end-of-day energy where everyone was just waiting for the bell.
As we walked, Kirishima glanced at me sideways, his expression unusually hesitant. "Hey, Denki... can I ask you something?"
"Sure, what's up?"
"Why'd you suddenly start calling Yaoyorozu by her first name? Like, without honorifics and everything? I wanted to ask earlier, but we didn't get a chance to be alone."
I raised an eyebrow. "Why ask in private?"
He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well... I thought you might be interested in her. You know, like, interested interested. And I figured it'd be awkward to ask in front of everyone."
I snorted. "And?"
"And the whole class is thinking the same thing," he admitted. "Including Yaoyorozu herself."
I smiled and stopped walking. "Really?"
"Dude, yeah." Kirishima stopped too, turning to face me fully. "You suddenly calling another girl by her first name without honorifics is a big deal. Your close friends can literally be counted on one hand."
"Ouch." I said, though we both knew it was true.
"But true, right?"
I sighed. "Fair enough."
We started walking again, and I considered how much to share. Kirishima was solid—he wouldn't gossip or make it weird.
"Look," I said slowly, "up until now, I've been thinking about getting stronger, making money, and all that other stuff. But after some thought, I decided to relax a bit and actually enjoy my time here. Everyone only gets to be a high schooler once, right? I don't want to waste it."
'Plus, I got this second chance,' I thought internally. 'Might as well enjoy school life while saving the world. I mean, what kind of lunatic sacrifices everything for heroics without getting something out of it? I'm definitely not that kind of hero.'
We turned the corner, and I felt it immediately—four distinct bioelectrical signatures clustered just around the bend. Momo's was familiar by now, along with Mina, Toru, and... was that Jiro?
'Oh, you sneaky little brats.'
I stopped abruptly, and Kirishima followed suit, looking confused.
"What's up?" he asked.
I gave him a flat look. "Really, bro? You set this up?"
His guilty expression told me everything.
'So Kirishima and the girls planned this,' I thought in amusement. 'Very clever, my friend. Too bad you forgot I can sense people.'
"Nice try," I continued, lowering my voice just enough that the girls around the corner could still hear. "But you forgot I can sense bioelectricity. Only you, Edna, Megumi-nee, and my mom know about that, and I plan to keep it that way. People should know enough about me, but not everything."
Kirishima winced. "Uh... sorry?"
I shook my head but smiled. "It's fine. But since we have an audience..." I raised my voice slightly, making sure it carried. "Yeah, I'm interested in Momo."
A muffled squeak came from around the corner, followed by hasty shushing.
I smirked, leaned against the wall casually and kept going. "After getting to know her these past two days, I'm curious about her. She's intelligent, strong, independent... I've always had a thing for mature, smart girls. You know me."
Kirishima nodded slowly, clearly invested now. "So you're going after her?"
"I'm interested," I clarified. "That's why I took the straightforward approach with her first name—to see if she was interested too. If she wasn't, she would've said something. But she didn't, which means she at least doesn't mind."
More whispering from the corner. Definitely giggling this time.
"She's into you too," Kirishima finished with his grin widening.
From around the corner, I heard muffled giggles and whispers.
'Yep. Totally listening.'
He asked curiously. "So... are you gonna ask her out?"
I paused thoughtfully. "Maybe. If we both stay interested like this, the possibility's there."
I turned on my heel, and Kirishima followed. Behind us, the sound of giggles echoed down the hallway.
'Teenagers are so predictable,' I thought with amusement. 'But everything I said is true. I find her attractive—personality, brains, body, the whole package. Dating her isn't off the table.'
The only thing that made me hesitate was the age gap. Not physically—we were both sixteen. But mentally? I was over thirty inside this teenage body, and that made things complicated.
'I need to test whether I can actually like someone her age without it feeling wrong. I'm not about to break some girl's heart because I couldn't commit properly. That's why I'm taking it slow.'
As for Todoroki potentially ending up with Momo in the original timeline? 'Please. That's just a small butterfly effect of me existing here. Yeah, butterfly effect, buddy. Sorry, I'm not sorry.'
"Hey," Kirishima said suddenly, breaking me from my thoughts. "When are you gonna release the second part of Black Clover?"
I blinked at the abrupt topic change. "What, now?"
"I'm just saying! Fairy Tail was already a hit—like, a solid hit. It got adapted into manga, and there's even talk of an anime now. But Black Clover is blowing up way faster."
I chuckled. "Yeah, I didn't expect it to do that well."
Thanks to my speed and my experience as a writer with Fairy Tail, I wrote Black Clover, which also had a magic system similar to Quirks.
Black Clover—the novel I'd written based on the anime from my previous life—had been released about a month ago. It wasn't a perfect replica of the original since I didn't remember every single plot point, but it was close enough. The concept of magic functioning like quirks had resonated hard with readers here.
Fairy Tail had been my first project, and it did well enough to get noticed. But Black Clover? That thing was trending. Black Clover beat Fairy Tail in both sales and popularity. Not an industry-shattering hit, but it was climbing the ranks. Top twenty, maybe higher.
Kirishima and Mina had interrogated me relentlessly after the release since I hadn't mentioned I was writing another series.
"You're such a troll, dude," Kirishima said while shaking his head. "You just dropped it without warning."
"Surprise releases keep people interested," I replied smugly.
We talked a bit more as we made our way back to class, the conversation drifting to lighter topics. The day wound down without much fanfare after that.
Well, except for Momo blushing every time she looked at me.
And the girls giving me smug looks and giggles whenever they thought I wasn't paying attention.
'Yeah, very funny, guys.'
But there was one thing that caught my attention—Emma Akane.
She'd been watching me throughout the day, and at first, I chalked it up to normal curiosity. I was strong, ranked number one in academics, and—let's be honest—not exactly hard to look at.
But something about her focus felt off. Her bioelectricity had this weird familiarity to it, like I'd sensed it before but couldn't place where.
Sure, I had a photographic memory, but I still needed to go through the bioelectric auras of everyone I'd memorized to identify her—which wasn't something I felt like doing right now, since there was no immediate danger in her simply eyeing me.
'I'll think about that later,' I decided. 'Too much on my plate right now.'
After classes ended, I walked Kirishima and Mina to the train station before hopping on my own ride home. Checking my phone, I confirmed Megumi-nee wasn't anywhere near my house.
'Perfect. Avoiding her for a few more days is probably smart. My revenge might have left an impression.'
When I got home, I headed straight to the basement—my personal training ground slash workshop. Mom and Edna had helped me set it up, and it was stocked with everything I needed, weights, tech components I made and some brought, writing supplies, and open space for speed training.
I rolled my shoulders and activated Raijin Drive.
Yellow aura and electricity crackled around me, and the familiar surge of power flooded my muscles. My senses sharpened, the world slowing to a crawl as I moved.
I grabbed the water bowl with a fish still swimming peacefully inside and the training dummy, then blurred into motion.
This speed training wasn't just about running fast. Thanks to testing with Edna, we'd discovered that my body generates electromagnetic fields subconsciously when I move at high speeds. These fields protect me from the friction and G-forces that would normally tear a human apart.
The problem? I couldn't fully control them yet. That's where Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) came in.
QED is the quantum field theory that describes how light and matter interact via electromagnetic force. Essentially, it governs how charged particles—like electrons—interact with photons.
For me, understanding QED meant unlocking advanced applications of my quirk.
Right now, my body generates EM fields instinctively, but they're crude and unrefined. If I could master the principles of QED, I could Manipulate electromagnetic interactions at the quantum level, allowing me to control my fields with surgical precision.
Enhance or suppress electromagnetic forces around objects, letting me carry people or things at Mach speeds without them getting obliterated. Generate localized EM shields, effectively giving me Superman-level durability.
Control photon interactions, potentially letting me manipulate light itself—invisibility, laser projection, you name it.
The theoretical applications were insane. But theory and practice were two very different beasts.
For now, Raijin Drive acted as my training wheels. By channeling electricity through my entire body and focusing on those subconscious fields, I could extend them outward to protect anything I touched.
I moved through the basement in a blur while carrying the fish bowl and dummy without spilling a drop or damaging the doll. The electromagnetic field wrapped around them like invisible cushioning, negating the whiplash of my acceleration.
'Getting better,' I thought before setting them down gently after a few laps. 'Still not fully perfect, but progress is progress.'
After an hour of drilling, I moved to my next project—the AI.
I'd been building it from scratch for months now, coding everything myself without outside help. The hardware was ready; all that remained was fine-tuning the software.
'Almost there,' I thought while reviewing lines of code on my monitor. 'Who wouldn't want their own Jarvis?'
My phone buzzed. A message from my parents: they wouldn't be home tonight.
'Cool. Solo dinner it is.'
I cooked something quick, ate, and headed to bed earlier than usual. 'Tomorrow's gonna be exciting.'
.....
The Next Day...
The morning routine was the same, me, Mina, and Kirishima arriving at class together, socializing, joking around.
Everything felt normal but I knew better.
Aizawa trudged into the room right on time, looking as dead inside as ever. He stopped at the podium and surveyed us with his usual lack of enthusiasm. "You're too loud. Quiet down."
The class settled immediately.
"For today's Basic Hero Training," he began in his trademark monotone, "All Might, myself, and another hero will be supervising you as we prepare for disaster relief—fires, floods, that sort of thing."
He paused, then added, "It's rescue training."
Excited chatter broke out instantly. Midoriya started muttering at lightspeed, Uraraka bounced in her seat, and even Todoroki looked mildly interested.
"I'm not done yet," Aizawa said flatly.
He pressed a button, and a section of the wall slid open, revealing our hero costumes in individual compartments.
"You'll have the option to wear your uniform or your hero costume. For some of you, your costumes aren't suitable for this kind of training, but that's not my decision."
He gestured vaguely toward the door. "The facility is off-campus, so we'll be taking a bus. I'll take questions when we arrive."
And with that, he shuffled out of the room, leaving the class buzzing with excitement.
I leaned back in my chair, 'Here we go. Time to beat some villain ass.'
We suited up and gathered outside, waiting for the bus. Most of the class was decked out in their costumes. Midoriya was still in his gym uniform since he'd trashed his suit during the Battle Trial.
I spotted Momo standing a bit away from the group, adjusting her costume. Her eyes flicked toward me, and I caught the faintest hint of a blush before she looked away.
I decided to have a quick chat with Momo while we waited.
Kirishima and Mina, ever the wingmen, slowly backed away with matching smug grins.
Kirishima and Mina were nearby, both wearing matching smug grins as they watched me approach Momo.
"Wipe those smug grins," I muttered under my breath.
They just grinned wider.
I walked over to Momo casually. "Hey."
"H-Hi, Kaminari-san," she stammered slightly, clearly still flustered from whatever the girls had said.
"Excited for rescue training?" I asked, keeping my tone light.
"Y-Yes. I think it'll be a valuable experience."
"Same. Plus, it beats sitting in a classroom all day."
She smiled at that, some of the tension easing from her shoulders. "True."
Before I could say more, Iida marched over, his hand already chopping through the air.
If I didn't know better, I would've thought he was a robot in human skin.
"Class Representative Kaminari! Shall we form a line based on our student numbers?"
I waved him off with a lazy smile. "No need, my friend. It's a city transport bus—seating isn't something that needs to be policed."
He froze mid-chop, then bowed deeply. "I understand! Thank you for informing me!"
"No problem, man."
I turned back to Momo, and we continued our conversation as the bus pulled up.
Then, out of nowhere, Aizawa's voice cut through the air like a scalpel.
"If you're done gawking at each other, it's time to get in and get moving."
I turned sharply. He was standing right there—like, right there—and I hadn't even sensed him. 'How the hell...?'
I cleared my throat. "Right, Aizawa-sensei."
I glanced back at Momo, who was blushing furiously now, and gave her a quick smile before gesturing to the others. "Bus is here, people. Let's move!"
Everyone piled in, and soon we were rolling toward our destination: the Unforeseen Simulation Joint.
Also known as the place where shit was about to hit the fan.
I ended up in a middle seat, surrounded by chatter. Asui was talking to Midoriya about quirks and other things, and Mina was gleefully recounting embarrassing stories about me.
"—and then he taught a dog how to breakdance!" she cackled.
I snickered despite myself. "That dog was a legend."
"Or the time you used all your electricity and went full derp mode!" Kirishima added.
"Okay, that one wasn't my fault," I protested. "I was testing my limits!"
Asui tilted her head thoughtfully. "Unexpectedly, Denki has some pretty lame childhood stories, ribbit."
"Ouch," I said while clutching my chest dramatically.
She ignored me and turned to Midoriya. "Midoriya-chan."
He looked up. "Yes, Asui?"
"Call me Tsuyu-chan."
"O-Okay, Tsuyu-chan!"
She nodded, then continued. "Your quirk is very similar to All Might's, ribbit."
Midoriya's face went pale. "Y-You think so? But... uh... I—"
'Dude, you suck at lying,' I thought while watching him panic.
Kirishima chimed in, raising his hardened arm. "You've got a cool Quirk, dude. You get stronger and it looks awesome with that green lightning—kind of like Denki when he uses his Quirk. It's nice having a simple augmenting quirk. You can do flashy stuff with it. My Hardening is strong, but it's not really cool-looking."
"I think it's awesome!" Midoriya said earnestly. "It's totally a pro-level quirk!"
"Pro-level, huh?" Kirishima mused. "You gotta think about popularity too, though."
Aoyama posed dramatically. "My Navel Laser is très magnifique in both flash and power!"
"Yeah, but doesn't it give you a stomachache?" Mina asked.
I tuned out the rest, turning my gaze toward the window. Trees blurred past as the bus picked up speed.
'The scenery's nice,' I thought while watching the trees roll by.
Bakugo shouted something about murder in the background.
'Yep. Totally normal day.'
Finally, Aizawa's voice cut through the noise. "We're here. Quiet down."
I sat up straighter, adrenaline already starting to hum through my veins. 'Here we go.'
The Unforeseen Simulation Joint loomed ahead.
And somewhere inside, villains were waiting.
'Finally, it's Showtime.'