Author: Hi guys. It's been a while, isn't it? I have been awfully quiet because I simply got burnt out with publishing this book on Webnovel and noertaP and else, so... skipped a year. But I haven't stop writing, no, quite the contrary: I have 5 volumes of TPOPH now and I have some new books to present as well. And I decided to try again to publish all of that. So... help me out, please, if it sounds interesting. Let's go.
The girls managed not to destroy anything.
The Support Department managed not to blow up before my arrival.
Toga was promised her costume would be ready in a week; I was promised mine would be returned the next day; and Setsuna simply got hers back in hand.
Everything was calm.
And the morning of Monday came. The second week of studies started very... Iida-like.
"I've made a decision!" — Iida suddenly shouted, jumping forward as soon as I entered the classroom. Was he waiting behind the door in ambush? — "I am asking you, Niren-senpai, to become my senpai! Please, look after me!"
With his hands pressed to his sides, Tenya bowed ceremoniously at a full ninety degrees, almost smashing his forehead on a desk. With a head as hard as his, he'd probably handle my quirk better than I could, huh? I raised an eyebrow and glanced at Yui. Look, another samurai. Is this one your brother?
Alright, but what's he on about?
The classmates who had already arrived — Kirishima, Sero, Tsuyu, Momo, Mina — were curiously watching us. And I had hated being the center of attention ever since elementary school. Maybe the habit of arriving early wasn't such a good one? But then again… heroes are often in the spotlight, giving interviews, making public appearances… that's also a kind of training. Time to get used to it. Right now, it seems like they're asking for my advice. I need to help.
I sighed, letting the girls pass to their seats, and leaned against the wall by the entrance:
"What do you mean? How can I be your senior if we're the same age?"
I tried to take him seriously; he wasn't joking, after all.
Iida straightened up, adjusted his glasses, and spoke more calmly:
"I've made several mistakes in judgment. First, Midoriya understood something during the exam that only became clear to me at the end… and I chose not to help him. Or you. Then I intervened in the conflict between Yaoyorozu and Toga, and you stopped me. Later… I knew I was attending the best hero school in the country, but I was confident that my training and abilities would make me the best. That I would quickly build a reputation... and make friends, and that people would listen when I reminded them of the rules."
He lifted his eyes from the floor and met my gaze. Surprisingly firmly:
"In my sense of belonging to the elite, I lost myself. I wasn't thinking rationally."
"How brave!" exclaimed Eijiro.
Mina poked him in the side and whispered loudly:
"Don't interrupt them!"
"Alright, I get it," I nodded. I understood more than well. Drawing painful conclusions, especially related to pride, is always tough. Well done, Iida Tenya, you have my respect. "The ability to admit your mistakes, especially so quickly, is what makes a man."
Kirishima literally teared up. Probably from the overwhelming amount of manliness in the air.
"Or a woman," I added, making Setsuna laugh and Yui roll her eyes.
"But why me? In our class," I gestured toward the curious 1-A crowd, "there are many who could offer just as much… or even more than I can. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to avoid your request. I just want to understand what you expect?"
"I was there when you explained to Todoroki and Kirishima what their mistakes were. We all saw how you defeated them — but after that, you calmly and even willingly explained where they went wrong! I wanted to do the same, but… it didn't work out. You took first place in the entrance exam. People have been gathering around you since day one. You help everyone and explain where they're wrong, but people don't brush you off, they listen! I… I want to be like that! Obviously, you're the best role model!"
Iida took a deep breath and blurted out:
"So I want to ask if I can spend time in your company and gain experience, which will positively impact my reputation as a future pro-hero! And occasionally get advice from you on how to better meet those expectations!"
Tenya shot his arm out toward me and "fired" his glasses, reflecting a gleam of light off them.
I blinked in confusion. I honestly thought stuff like that only happened in anime.
Did he practice or something?
"Well… okay, sure," not that I could stop you anyway, dude…
"Excellent! Thank you! I promise to listen to every word and not let you down!" He gave me another deep bow.
"And… and I also apologize for my behavior, which was unworthy of a UA student!" Iida bowed once more to the classmates present.
Man, he's so loud… and he still makes me feel a little uneasy. Does he have a second quirk — 'Spanish Shame'?
The classmates awkwardly responded with things like, "It's okay, Iida, don't worry."
A bored Toga, sitting on her desk with her legs pulled up, hugged her knees and loudly popped a bubble of pink chewing gum, naturally.
Iida tensed, stood at attention, ready…
"First piece of advice," I said quietly as I walked past and placed my backpack on the desk, "Relax. And choose your battles. Is this little thing worth a full-blown conflict? No, it's not. Especially since that's her desk."
Himiko let out an approving hum and handed me a stick of gum.
Tenya nodded slowly. Then he put his hand to his chin, thinking. Then reached for a pen and notebook…
I rolled my eyes:
"Relax, Iida, relax. No need for notebooks. Don't memorize things word for word. Just approach social interactions more naturally, that's all."
"Thank you, Shoda-san!"
"Sigh. Just Shoda… or better yet, just Niren."
"Thank you, Niren!"
"Oh, Midoriya's here!" Eijiro exclaimed, saving me from my unexpected student.
He rushed over to the boy who had just entered, one of his arms still in a sling.
"Dude, I don't know what you were saying, but you were on fire!"
"And almost held your own against Bakugo!" added Sero.
"You ran great!" Mina chimed in.
"It's hard to believe you and Kyoka won against him, considering he took second place in the exam! He and Uraraka, who was fourth!" Sero repeated.
"You ran great!"
"And that punch to the ceiling was scary, ribbit," said Tsuyu.
"It wasn't very elegant…" Aoyama sighed.
"Good job," I smiled.
"You ran great!!!"
Midoriya beamed…
***
For lunch — as always, we headed to the Speedy Lunch cafeteria on the first floor — and we ended up as a rather large and somewhat noisy group. So big, in fact, that one table for ten wasn't enough for us.
Joining me, Himiko, Setsuna, and Yui, were Midoriya and Iida — part of my "squad" — Mina and the invisible Toru with her Majesty Toothy Grin, and Kirishima, Sero, and Denki, who tagged along just for fun… And also with us were Uraraka and Tsuyu, who, on one hand, weren't particularly proactive and tended to stay out of the group's hustle and bustle, but on the other hand, clearly didn't want to completely detach from the rest of the class.
In the end, thirteen of our twenty classmates… no, even fifteen, counting Momo Yaoyorozu and Kyoka Jiro, who later joined us at the next table. Jiro gave me a shy smile before smacking Denki, who, for some reason, had reached into her plate, while Momo, avoiding eye contact with me, Himiko, and even Iida, clearly felt out of… plate. Haha, pun intended!
I found myself somewhat surprised to be at the center of this eclectic, but fun and positive, group. At the core of the group, which had formed around me, Yui, and Setsuna even before we started at U.A.
It didn't seem like it was supposed to be this way in the anime…
Right, I had promised myself to stop looking back at that questionable, untrustworthy source of knowledge. Enough. Let's live in the present. Is it good that almost all of my classmates are bonding by the second week? Absolutely.
So here we are.
We didn't all fit at one table — they were meant for ten people. So the noisy trio of guys sat at a neighboring table at the edge, which didn't stop them from joking around with Mina and Setsuna.
Everyone stood in the short line, even Himiko, and got what they wanted. You know what? I officially take back what I said — I love this cafeteria and the hero running it. Speedy Lunch cooks so well that even villains would lay down their weapons and pick up forks!
Tenya was the last to join us at the table. Seeing how much food he piled onto his tray, Setsuna commented with respect:
"A healthy body means a healthy mind!"
Iida radiated.
Iida…
I pondered aloud:
"So, you're really… Meshi-da?"
After a second of silence, Yui snorted, shaking her head and rolling her eyes, Setsuna snickered, Izuku quietly laughed into the table, and even Momo let out a small giggle as she turned away, while the slower members of the group caught up with the joke.
What's the joke about?
Okay, let me dive into the context of Japanese again. Apologies in advance…
Kanji, the characters used in the language of the Rising Sun, can be read in different ways. They can be read the Chinese way since most of the writing system originally came from there. This is called the On'yomi reading. They can also be read the Japanese way, which is Kun'yomi. It all makes sense… unless you consider that the same kanji can have multiple readings.
But the wonderfully twisted Japanese mind went a step further and created yet another non-standard reading — Nanori, which is used almost exclusively for names. Often, this is just an archaic reading preserved in names that have fallen out of common use... But I digress.
Many names here consist of common characters with standard pronunciations. Nothing special. However, some names can also contain rare characters that are only used in names. Or they might use non-standard readings of common characters. For example, the character 希, which means "hope" or "rarity," has the standard readings "ki" (キ), "ke" (ケ), and "mare" (まれ). However, as a feminine name, it can be read as "Nozomi," and this is a unique option reserved just for names.
So, what's the joke? In the same word, the principle of Nanori reading can be used in combination with other readings, like in Iida's surname (飯 田). Here, 飯, the character for "food," is usually read as "meshi" (めし) or "han" (ハン), but in the context of this name, the special Nanori reading "ii" (いい) is used instead. And the second kanji 田 is read with the standard Kun'yomi reading as "da" (だ).
And so. I've written this whole explanation to make a joke that's obvious to every educated Japanese person. The joke was simply that I made fun of the amount of food on Iida's tray by calling him Meshida — reading his fairly common surname entirely in Kun'yomi. Not the pinnacle of wit, honestly.
But Setsuna and I love puns ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
"Well… yes," the victim of my sense of humor replied with dignity after a pause. "Good, nutritious meals are important!"
We laughed again, more calmly this time, all together.
The sound of forks clinking and chopsticks tapping soon filled the air.
Then Midoriya noticed the several full glasses of orange juice on Tenya's tray, which he started downing one after another, like he was refueling a car… which wasn't far from the truth:
"You must really love citrus, Iida…"
"I do!" came the categorical response. "However, it's not just about my tastes or preferences, but about my daily work on self-improvement and preparation for any challenges the new day may bring! As they say within these walls, plus ultra!"
"What do you mean by 'preparation for challenges'?" asked Mina Ashido, curious. "Like, there's a lot of vitamin C in oranges, so you won't get sick?"
"No! Of course, health is important, but that's not all I'm thinking about! As you may have noticed," Tenya glanced around at everyone listening to him, clearly glad to be part of the group after spending the past week in a sort of social isolation, "My quirk, 'Engine,' allows me to run faster than…"
Here, he paused, remembering the all-too-fast me, sitting on his right.
"…than a car. But for that, just like a real machine, I need fuel. And my fuel is 100% orange juice!"
"Seriously?" Toru, the invisible girl in the school uniform, who was sitting right in front of me, asked in surprise.
Wait, wait, wait. He can't be serious, right?
Sure, this world is crazy, but not that crazy…
"And how do you know your quirk runs on orange juice?" Yui carefully asked, voicing my thoughts. "Did they tell you in a lab that it's the optimal fuel, or…?"
"My brother told me! I've been hearing his stories since childhood and watching news reports about him, and you've surely heard of him too. Tensei is one of the most successful heroes in modern Japan, the Turbo Hero: Ingenium!" the brunette proudly declared.
"Did he also tell you about the juice when you were a kid?" I asked, struggling to suppress a smile.
"Yes! I've been Ingenium's number one fan since childhood, and…"
Yui and I exchanged glances, while the others apparently thought differently. But some people were less tactful than us:
"You seriously believe that? - Setsuna burst out laughing. - Still? Ahahaha, I can't…"
Iida was deeply offended and nearly exploded, as his idol was being metaphorically accused of lying...
Somehow, we managed to calm things down.
I suggested that Tenya simply clarify this with his brother when they met. Maybe he had misunderstood something?
Also, it helped that I cracked a few more jokes.
I'm the life of the party, after all.
As I finished my tempura, I watched Aoyama sadly walk by, unable to find a seat nearby (though there was one) and pass our table.
It seemed like no one really cared about him… Sure, the guy was at fault for creating his own image of a flamboyant, glitter-obsessed diva… and he showed off too much. People like that are rarely popular. Even Mina made a point of ignoring or outright bothering him from time to time.
But still, it wouldn't hurt to make contact with him. His Quirk is pretty strong, after all.
Earlier, Bakugo had stormed past us - not that it surprised anyone. The guy had always treated everyone aggressively, even before Saturday's practice with All Might... But after losing to Midoriya's team, he completely lost it - from the morning, he'd been snapping at every little thing, staring at Todoroki, Midoriya, or... me, for long periods from under his brows. Mostly at Izuku. And he wasn't talking to anyone, brushing off Kirishima's friendly attempts several times, until Eijiro finally gave up. A couple of times, he even tried to scare people with explosions in class, targeting Todoroki in particular - but then I had Iida deal with him, and together we managed to sit the troublemaker down.
I also noticed the guilty look All Might's chosen one shot at the blond with sagging pants. Oh yeah, such a terrifying bully, bless his heart...
I just hope Izuku doesn't do anything stupid. I can't remember exactly, but I think in the anime, Katsuki was always hanging around him and might have been the only one who figured out the secret of One For All. Or maybe just the first one?..
Anyway, I'm counting on the green-haired boy's common sense. He's the protagonist, sure, but he's got a brain. That means, most likely, he won't do anything dumb like repeating All Might's signature "Detroit Smash" or spilling a state-level secret to the first school bully he meets.
You have to believe in the best in people!
Prince Todoroki passed by our table, glancing indifferently at Himi and me. I raised an eyebrow; Toga smiled at him.
Smile more—it's annoying!
Gray-haired Kyotaka also shuffled past, who looked like a cross between Todoroki and Bakugo, if only he didn't sleep so much in class. Seriously, I saw him most of the time with his forehead on the desk, snoring into his blazer sleeve. Sure, there's always one of these characters in every class, but… his face is almost as gray as his hair now. What's he so tired from? I've never seen him train outside of PE. Is he unloading trucks at night or something? The guy is a walking mystery.
Should I try to talk to him?
I had tried. I approached him a couple of times when there were fewer people in class—after all, Kyotaka was a dark horse who clearly knew something, and it seemed logical to try to connect with him.
But Shinya, for some reason, shut me down just like Bakugo did with Kirishima, and I had no leads on what kind of person he was. Unlike Shoto, Katsuki, and other disruptive elements, he didn't reveal anything—wasn't interested in anyone or anything (that one-time burst of curiosity toward Himi and me didn't count), and mostly just ate, slept, and occasionally listened to the teachers. Over the week, he'd only spoken a few times, and that was only when the teachers asked him something.
Yeah…
Lastly, Fumikage Tokoyami, the bird-headed goth, walked by, saying we were too loud. Well, can't argue with that, but…
I frowned. There's a pattern here.
Even leaving Aoyama out… actually, even including him, there's a clear pattern: independent loners have drifted from the group. Everyone, except Aoyama, has a strong personality, and all of them, including Aoyama, have strong, powerful, useful Quirks that will come in handy soon.
It's not necessary, of course, but it wouldn't hurt to bond us all more before the upcoming event.
And I personally wouldn't mind warming up, better understanding my classmates' abilities, seeing who can do what on the battlefield…
But how do I do that? Challenge Katsuki to a duel?
Sure, he'd take the bait, but what would that get me?
And is this even necessary? I don't think the fact that not everyone became friends in the first week of school is a big deal…
No.
No, I promised myself to do everything within my power. Not to let anyone die, at least on D-Day. If you want something, do everything you can to make it happen. That's a rule I've always tried to live by.
If Bakugo doesn't bond with anyone, he might not help anyone on the field. Could that happen? Definitely. You never know with people. From what I know, he's not exactly a model hero.
Besides, a joint combat training would be useful. For everyone.
So I need to break down this wall of isolation, but how?
Kami-sama, when did I become such a manipulator? Oh well, that's not the point.
Strong loners confident in their abilities… first candidates for death.
And really, I only need to bring back the strong guys. All the girls are already sitting here. So, something competitive? Hmm…
"Niren, you coming?" Setsuna asked cheerfully. "Class is about to start!"
Even Himi had scraped herself off her chair and was waiting for me… or rather, waiting for us, sitting on the table again and swinging her legs. Iida was standing nearby but kept his mouth shut. Good job, dude, you're making progress!
"I'm coming," I smiled back and stood up from the table.
Everything will be fine.
P.S. You can find 20 chapters more on my noertaP. Also, I'm working on delivering my new books there, so take a look - but only if you're interested, of course.