Morning sunlight poured through the dorm windows at U.A. High School.
I was in the kitchen again.
Which, according to Kaito, was becoming a dangerous habit.
"Ren," he said while leaning against the counter, "if you keep cooking like this, the whole school's gonna start expecting five-star meals."
I flipped the omelet in the pan.
"That sounds like a you problem."
Behind us, Denki Kaminari was inhaling toast like he hadn't eaten in three days.
"This is the best breakfast ever," he said with his mouth full.
"Denki," Eijiro Kirishima laughed, "you say that about everything Ren cooks."
"Because everything he cooks IS the best."
I smiled a little.
Normal morning.
Normal friends.
Normal life.
Which is probably why I didn't notice the shadow standing outside the dorm building.
Later That Afternoon
Training ended earlier than usual.
Which meant free time.
Kaito and I decided to take a walk around the outer campus.
The wind felt nice.
Quiet.
Peaceful.
Almost too peaceful.
Then I felt it.
That weird feeling again.
Like someone was watching me.
I stopped walking.
Kaito noticed.
"…Ren?"
"You ever get the feeling someone's staring at you?"
"Yeah," he said immediately. "When Mina wants something."
I almost laughed.
Almost.
But the feeling didn't go away.
Then a voice spoke behind us.
"Subject located."
Kaito and I both turned.
A man stood at the end of the path.
Tall.
Lab coat.
Messy gray hair.
And eyes that looked like they hadn't slept in years.
He smiled.
But it wasn't a normal smile.
It was the kind scientists get when they're looking at something they built.
"…Remarkable," he said quietly.
Kaito stepped forward a little.
"Uh… can we help you?"
The man ignored him.
His eyes stayed locked on me.
"Seventeen years," he murmured.
"Seventeen years of searching."
A chill ran down my spine.
"…Searching for what?"
The man tilted his head slightly.
"For you, of course."
The Attack
I didn't even see him move.
One second he was twenty feet away.
The next—
Kaito was launched across the pavement.
He slammed into a fence with a loud crash.
"Kaito!" I shouted.
My hand ignited instantly.
Fire burst across my palm.
"Back off!"
The scientist looked mildly curious.
"Combustion quirk still active," he muttered.
Then he raised one finger.
The ground beneath me cracked.
A shockwave exploded outward.
I barely had time to jump before the pavement shattered where I had been standing.
"What the—?!"
He moved again.
Faster than anything I had ever seen.
I tried to swing a flame toward him.
He walked straight through it.
Like it was nothing.
"…Pathetic," he sighed.
Bloodlock
I gritted my teeth.
Fine.
If fire didn't work…
I bit my finger hard enough to draw blood.
A drop fell.
I flicked it toward him.
"Freeze."
The blood touched his skin.
My quirk activated.
Normally people would lock up instantly.
Their muscles would stop responding.
Their bodies would freeze.
But this time…
Nothing happened.
The scientist looked down at the blood on his hand.
"…Hemoglobin control," he murmured.
Then he casually wiped it away.
"Expected."
My stomach dropped.
He knew.
He knew exactly what my quirk was.
The Truth
The man stepped closer.
Every step made my instincts scream.
"You've grown well," he said calmly.
"Your combustion output is stable."
"Your hemoglobin reaction is functional."
"Your neural field appears dormant."
My brain struggled to process what he was saying.
"…My what?"
The scientist smiled wider.
"Oh."
"You don't know yet."
Overwhelmed
I attacked again.
Fire.
Blood.
Everything I had.
It didn't matter.
Every move I made, he countered instantly.
Like he had already studied me.
Like he had been waiting for this moment for years.
Within seconds I was on the ground.
My chest hurt.
My vision blurred.
The scientist knelt beside me.
"…Disappointing."
He grabbed my collar and lifted me slightly.
"You were supposed to be the pinnacle of quirk integration."
His voice lowered.
"Instead, you became a student."
Kaito tried to stand in the background.
"…Leave him alone…"
The scientist flicked his hand.
Kaito collapsed again.
Unconscious.
Final Words
The man turned back to me.
Then he raised a small metal device.
Covered in blinking lights and wires.
Something about it looked… wrong.
"Don't worry," he said calmly.
"This will correct the problem."
My head spun.
"What… problem?"
The scientist smiled.
Then he began speaking in rapid, complicated scientific language.
Words I barely understood.
"Initiating forced quirk synchronization."
"Calden Subject Neural Override Sequence."
"Commencing multi-factor quirk resonance alignment."
The device began to glow.
Energy built inside it.
My body felt like it was about to tear apart.
The scientist's final words echoed in my ears.
"Let's see if the Calden Project can finally produce its intended result."
The device activated.
And everything went white.