The room inside the principal's office at U.A. High School was completely silent.
Everyone was still staring at the sticky note stuck to the window.
The handwriting was messy.
Hearts dotted the page.
At the bottom was the name.
Himiko.
Across the room, Mina Ashido slowly backed away from the glass.
"…That is so creepy."
Ren slumped deeper into the couch.
"I didn't even open the window…"
Kaito groaned.
"She's getting better at this."
Denki Kaminari looked between them.
"HOW IS SHE GETTING BETTER AT THIS?!"
Meanwhile, standing at the front of the room, Shota Aizawa looked less concerned about the note…
…and more concerned about the screen.
He stared at the corrupted document.
Project: REN
Aizawa rubbed his eyes.
"This just keeps getting worse."
Beside him, Nezu quietly clicked the remote again.
More files appeared.
Some were photographs.
Some were broken data fragments.
Most were labeled RESTRICTED.
The students leaned closer.
Ren blinked.
"…Why are we still looking?"
Nezu spoke gently.
"Because I believe the scientist who attacked you may be connected to this."
That sentence made the entire room freeze.
Kaito stood up immediately.
"You mean that psycho from yesterday?!"
Aizawa nodded slowly.
"We recovered what little data we could from the man's equipment."
The screen changed again.
Now a photograph appeared.
The room instantly went quiet.
It was a lab.
Old.
Dark.
Metal tables.
Glass tanks.
Cables everywhere.
And in the center of the room…
A hospital bed.
Kirishima whispered.
"…That looks like a villain lab."
Aizawa didn't answer.
Nezu changed the slide.
The next image appeared.
Several people in white coats stood around a table.
Their faces were blurred.
But something on the table made everyone's stomach drop.
A child.
Connected to machines.
Covered in wires.
Mina gasped.
"Oh my god…"
Denki looked like he might throw up.
"…Is that…"
Ren stared at the screen.
Something in his chest tightened.
But the picture was too damaged to clearly see the face.
Nezu spoke quietly.
"This image was dated approximately seventeen years ago."
Aizawa folded his arms.
"That matches Ren's estimated age."
Ren slowly looked away from the screen.
"…I don't like this."
Kaito stepped closer to him.
"You don't have to watch."
But Nezu changed the slide again.
And the next image made the entire room freeze.
It showed the same laboratory.
But this time…
Something had gone wrong.
Machines were shattered.
Glass tanks broken.
The floor covered in dark stains.
And across the wall…
Burn marks.
Huge ones.
Aizawa narrowed his eyes.
"…Fire."
Then another image appeared.
The metal floor was cracked.
Almost like the earth itself had exploded upward.
Kirishima whispered.
"…Earth?"
Another picture.
The room filled with strange shadows across the walls.
Denki spoke slowly.
"…That's… not normal lighting…"
Nezu nodded.
"These photographs show multiple destructive forces occurring simultaneously."
He looked at Ren.
"Fire."
"Earth."
"Darkness."
"Energy."
Ren looked extremely uncomfortable now.
"…Why are all those things familiar…"
Aizawa spoke next.
"The scientist who attacked you yesterday."
The screen changed again.
This time showing a photo of the man's broken equipment recovered after the fight.
One of the devices had a symbol printed on it.
Nezu zoomed in.
The same words appeared again.
PROJECT: REN
The room went silent.
Aizawa sighed.
"So yeah."
He looked at Ren.
"I'm starting to think that guy wasn't random."
Kaito clenched his fists.
"You think he helped make Ren?"
Nezu answered quietly.
"Yes."
Ren sat there, staring at the screen.
"…Make me?"
Nezu nodded gently.
"It is possible that you were the result of an experiment."
Denki whispered.
"Bro… that's insane…"
Kirishima shook his head.
"That's not who Ren is."
Mina crossed her arms.
"Yeah. He's still Ren."
Across the room, Katsuki Bakugo scoffed.
"Doesn't matter where he came from."
Everyone looked at him.
Bakugo continued.
"If he's strong, he's strong."
Ren blinked.
"…That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."
"SHUT UP."
Nezu cleared his throat.
"There is one more thing."
The room turned back toward the screen.
Nezu opened a final file.
A single photograph appeared.
And this one made everyone feel cold.
It was the same laboratory.
But this time…
Written across a metal door in large letters was a warning.
SUBJECT STABILITY DECLINING
IF CONTAINMENT FAILS — TERMINATE
Ren stared at the screen.
"…Terminate?"
Aizawa looked at him seriously.
"If that lab lost control of whatever they created…"
He paused.
"…someone may still be trying to finish the job."
The entire class went silent.
And at that exact moment—
A faint sound came from the hallway outside.
A soft giggle.
High.
Familiar.
Several students slowly turned toward the door.
Ren sighed.
"…I know that giggle."
Kaito groaned.
"Of course you do."
Because somewhere outside the office…
Himiko Toga was listening.
And she sounded very happy.