The air shimmered.
Ren barely had time to react before the familiar twisting sensation of his Quirk pulled at reality around him. Space bent like glass under pressure, warping and folding inward.
"Wait—!"
A flash of violet light swallowed everything.
A Quiet Hill
When the world snapped back into place, Ren stumbled forward onto soft grass.
"Whoa—!"
He caught himself before falling, his shoes sliding slightly on the sloped ground.
For a moment he just stood there, breathing.
The air smelled different.
Salt.
Ocean salt.
Ren slowly lifted his head.
"…This is not U.A."
Behind him, Mina Ashido groaned as she pushed herself up from the ground.
"Ugh… Ren… where did you—"
She stopped mid-sentence.
Her eyes widened.
"Oh."
In front of them stretched a wide, peaceful beach, waves rolling gently against the shoreline below the hill. The sky was painted in shades of orange, pink, and deep purple as the sun began to set on the horizon.
The ocean reflected the colors like liquid fire.
A warm breeze moved through the grass.
For once…
Everything was quiet.
No villains.
No teachers yelling.
No classmates arguing.
Just the ocean and the sky.
Mina slowly sat down in the grass.
"…Okay," she said softly. "I'm not even mad."
Ren blinked.
"You're not?"
"Nope."
She leaned back on her hands, staring at the sunset.
"This is actually amazing."
Ren hesitated… then sat beside her.
Talking on the Hill
For a while neither of them spoke.
The sound of waves filled the silence.
Mina glanced at him.
"You teleport people a lot," she said. "But do you ever actually stop?"
Ren tilted his head.
"Stop… what?"
"Stop moving," she said. "Stop thinking about heroes, villains, portals, Toga chasing you with knives…"
She smirked slightly.
"You know. Normal stuff."
Ren stared at the ocean.
He didn't answer right away.
"I guess… I don't really think about it," he admitted.
Mina smiled gently.
"You should."
She plucked a blade of grass and twirled it between her fingers.
"You're always serious. Like you're carrying something."
Ren frowned slightly.
"Carrying something?"
"Yeah."
She looked at him.
"But right now you're just… Ren."
The breeze moved through his hair.
For the first time in a long while…
Ren felt calm.
He looked down at his hand.
Purple energy flickered faintly around his fingers.
"My portals…" he murmured.
Mina leaned closer.
"What about them?"
"They're unstable," Ren said. "I can open them… but controlling where they go is harder."
He looked at the horizon.
"But something feels different today."
Mina grinned.
"Maybe the sunset is giving you power."
Ren sighed.
"That's not how Quirks—"
He stopped.
The energy in his hand suddenly stabilized.
Not flickering.
Not shaking.
Perfectly smooth.
Ren's eyes widened.
"…Wait."
The Perfect Portal
He slowly stood up.
"Uh… Mina?"
"Yeah?"
"I think something just happened."
Mina raised an eyebrow.
"That sentence never ends well."
Ren lifted his hand.
Purple light expanded outward, forming a circular ring in the air.
But this time…
It didn't wobble.
It didn't crack.
The portal opened smoothly, like a perfectly cut hole in space.
Inside it was…
A hallway.
Mina blinked.
"Wait… that's—"
"U.A." Ren finished.
They stared.
The portal wasn't collapsing.
It wasn't shifting.
It was perfectly stable.
Mina's jaw dropped.
"REN."
"What?"
"YOU JUST DID IT."
Ren stared at his hand.
"…I did."
For the first time since discovering his Quirk…
He had complete control.
But then something else happened.
The portal expanded.
Another opening appeared beside it.
Dark mist swirled inside.
Ren froze.
"…That's not U.A."
Mina slowly leaned forward.
"That looks… villain-y."
Inside the second portal was a dimly lit room filled with shadows.
The League of Villains base.
Ren blinked.
"…Oops."
Confusion Across Two Worlds
At U.A., Aizawa stood in the teachers' lounge, drinking coffee.
Suddenly a perfect portal opened in the middle of the room.
He stared at it.
"…What."
At the League of Villains base, Shigaraki was scratching his neck while Dabi leaned against the wall.
Then a second portal opened beside them.
Shigaraki looked up.
"…Kurogiri?"
Kurogiri turned.
"I did not create that."
Dabi smirked.
"Well that's new."
Both portals showed the same scene.
A hill.
A sunset.
And sitting there…
Ren and Mina.
The First Visitors
Back on the hill, Mina tilted her head.
"…Why do I hear footsteps?"
Ren slowly turned.
Out of the U.A. portal, Aizawa stepped through.
Out of the League portal, Shigaraki stepped through at the exact same time.
They froze.
Aizawa looked left.
Shigaraki looked right.
Both of them slowly turned toward Ren.
"…You." they said at the same time.
Ren waved awkwardly.
"Hi."
Mina whispered.
"Ren."
"Yes?"
"You just accidentally connected U.A. and the League of Villains to the same beach."
Ren stared at the portals.
"…I might have over-perfected it."
Behind Aizawa, more Class 1-A students began stepping through the portal.
Behind Shigaraki, Dabi and Kurogiri emerged from the mist.
Everyone looked around at the sunset.
No one spoke.
Finally Dabi shrugged.
"…This is the weirdest battlefield I've ever seen."
Bakugo cracked his knuckles.
Shigaraki twitched his fingers.
Aizawa sighed.
And Mina whispered to Ren:
"…You realize this might start a war, right?"
Ren stared at the sky.
"…Yeah."
The portals hummed quietly.
Perfect.
Stable.
And connecting two enemies to the same peaceful hill.
Ren exhaled.
"Well…"
He reached for another chocolate bar in his pocket.
"…this escalated quickly."