Cooking was one thing.
School was another.
No matter what happened, Kurose Kuro still had to wake up the next day and go to class.
His application form caused a stir in the teachers' office.
"You're applying to U.A.?" his homeroom teacher asked, frowning as he looked over the list. "Kuro, even without U.A., the other schools you picked are all highly competitive. Shouldn't you include something safer as a backup?"
Aside from U.A., every school Kuro had listed was a top-tier medical program.
All of them had high admission standards.
"…Yeah," Kuro replied quietly, staring at the floor.
"Did you discuss this with your guardian?"
Of course he hadn't shown it to Granny Neko.
But he still answered, "They agreed."
The teacher took that at face value and simply reminded him to focus on studying.
After Kuro left, the office grew noisy.
"He rarely uses his quirk," one teacher remarked. "He keeps to himself, barely speaks, and suddenly he's applying to schools like these… competing on a national level won't be easy."
"This year we've got three students applying to U.A.," another added. "If even one gets in, that's a big achievement."
"A quirkless student like Midoriya Izuku… a genius like Bakugo Katsuki… and then Kuro."
"I'd still bet on Bakugo," someone said. "His quirk is clearly combat-oriented. Kuro's harder to judge."
Curious, one teacher pulled up Kuro's student file.
"…Wait. He's from the Kurose family?"
That changed everything.
The room fell silent—
Then erupted into discussion.
A hero family.
Right under their noses.
The news spread quickly.
By the time Kuro noticed something was wrong, the entire school knew.
"Kuro, is it true?" someone asked, slamming a hand on his desk. "You're the survivor of that Kita Bay City incident from ten years ago?"
"They said your quirk burned out. Is that real?"
"Come on, if that were true, you wouldn't be applying to U.A."
"Maybe he's just that strong."
Laughter followed.
Kuro stood up slowly.
Before he could respond, someone else added—
"Well, he is from a hero family. Too bad they all died early."
The words hung in the air.
A few hands landed on his shoulders.
"Hey, future hero, don't forget us when you make it big."
"Yeah, give us an autograph now while you're still cheap."
They shoved paper and pens toward him, smiling like it was all a joke.
Kuro stepped back, avoiding their hands.
"…What are you doing?"
"Nothing. Just getting to know our future pro."
"After all, you'll be a U.A. graduate soon, right?"
The classroom door slid open.
The teacher stepped in.
The group dispersed immediately, muttering under their breath.
From that moment on, things changed.
His textbooks started disappearing.
They'd turn up later in the trash—or somewhere worse.
His stationery was taken apart.
Someone wrote "Early Death" across his desk in chalk.
Everywhere he went, he felt eyes on him.
Not hidden.
Open.
Curious.
Judging.
Like he was something on display.
No one said anything outright.
But their stares said enough.
Midoriya Izuku approached him once, asking about the rumors spreading through the grade—that Kuro had secured a recommendation to U.A.
Kuro almost laughed.
He didn't understand how things had gotten this far.
One afternoon, his mask went missing.
He had no idea who took it.
Without it, his scarred face was exposed.
The reaction was immediate.
Gasps.
Whispers.
Students crowded outside the classroom windows.
"So it's real…"
"He looks awful."
"That's terrifying…"
"It's worse than a horror movie."
Kuro lowered his head.
He covered his face with his hands and didn't look up again.
Not once.
The rest of the day passed in silence.
The student beside him moved away, claiming they couldn't see the board properly.
By the end of the afternoon, Kuro sat alone in the back corner by the window.
For the first time, that empty space felt like the only place he could breathe.
After school, he left last.
The campus was quiet.
Only fallen leaves and fading sunlight remained.
The wind brushed against his neck, cool and dry.
Something slipped down his collar.
At first, he thought it was a cherry blossom petal—
But when he reached up, it was just a withered leaf.
Autumn was coming.
He began to hate school.
Even studying felt easier than facing the stares.
If he could, he would have applied for leave already.
But the school didn't allow it.
Attendance affected exam eligibility.
So he endured.
At least his condition had stabilized.
No new injuries.
No strange reactions.
Life at Nekohoshi Orphanage remained unchanged.
Sometimes, in the evenings, he passed by the waterfront park.
Midoriya Izuku was still there.
Dragging trash.
Training.
Every day.
Sometimes Kuro wondered what drove him.
Other times, he felt something closer to envy.
Midoriya had a goal.
A direction.
Something to chase.
Kuro didn't.
Occasionally, All Might appeared.
He would encourage Midoriya, watching over his training.
Whenever he noticed Kuro, he treated him like a fan—signing notebooks, clothes, anything Kuro happened to be holding.
At some point, Kuro started bringing a notebook on purpose.
Now he had over thirty signatures.
Fujita Emi joked that he could sell them for a good price.
All Might, meanwhile, seemed convinced Kuro was one of his biggest supporters.
Kuro never corrected him.
Eventually, to avoid further attention, Kuro started finding quieter places to watch from.
Just yesterday, he had found one.
Today, he headed there again.
"You're from a hero family, right?"
The voice was sharp.
Explosive.
"Then you must be strong."
Kuro stopped.
Ahead of him stood Bakugo Katsuki.
The top student in their year.
The one expected to enter U.A.'s hero course through sheer ability.
He stared at Kuro with open hostility.
"…Guess that makes you worth taking down."