Inside the room, the atmosphere was already extremely noisy.
Several students stood in clusters, speaking in slightly raised voices to cover their fear.
At this moment, Fuse stepped in calmly. His footsteps were steady, his red eyes sweeping across the room before he finally walked toward the metal locker where his cabinet was located.
When he stopped in front of his locker, he saw Kaminari standing beside him.
Kaminari had just been about to open his locker door, but his hand suddenly stopped in midair. He looked like he was swallowing hard, and the fingers touching the iron handle were trembling slightly.
Fuse let out a long sigh. "Nervous, grunt?" he asked, displaying a dismissive thin smile.
Kaminari was startled by the voice. He turned quickly, his eyes narrowing at Fuse with irritation. "Is there something wrong with that? Everyone in this room is obviously nervous, Fuse! The whole world is watching us right now through television screens!"
"Yes, of course that's wrong," Fuse answered with a very flat, cold tone. "Your attitude shows that you have no confidence in your own abilities. Even though, over the past two weeks, you've fought incredibly hard. You trained at the beach with me, pushing your body to its absolute limit, even to the point of passing out from exhaustion on the sand. But the most disrespectful thing about all your effort is that you still dare to feel afraid, even after spending valuable training time under my guidance."
Fuse leaned his back against the locker, folding both arms across his chest. "Your action is essentially the same as disrespecting me. You act as if the blood-soaked training time we spent at the beach was something meaningless and useless."
Kaminari lowered his head deeply. Fuse's words felt like they pierced straight into his heart. Slowly, he released his grip from the locker handle, letting his hands hang limp at his sides.
"I'm sorry," Kaminari said in a quiet voice.
However, the silence didn't last long. Kaminari suddenly clenched both fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He snapped his head up, staring straight ahead with eyes that once again radiated strong resolve. The fear that had cloaked his face was now gone, replaced by courage.
"You're right, Fuse. I should be more confident in my power. If I tremble here, then all the hard training we did yesterday will just become a humiliating joke," Kaminari turned, looking at Fuse with a calmer smile.
Fuse only sighed in resignation, trying to hide the satisfaction in his heart. He lifted both shoulders in a casual manner and smiled proudly. "You should indeed have that kind of attitude. You'll look far cooler if you have high self-confidence. Maintain that attitude when you're out on the field later."
Fuse then turned his body, facing his own locker door, refusing to give any more praise.
Kaminari scratched his neck, looking away because he felt slightly awkward. But he couldn't hold back his smile at Fuse's attitude. The anxiety in his chest was now truly gone without a trace.
"Thanks for making me calmer, even though your way of speaking is always annoying," Kaminari said.
"I only did it because I don't want to feel personally embarrassed. Imagine how humiliating it would be if the number one hero like me was seen leading a group of cowards in front of national television cameras," Fuse answered with a thin smile.
"Say whatever you want. I know you're actually a kind-hearted person, Fuse," Kaminari laughed softly, then he pulled his locker door wide open. "But, it's a shame we're not allowed to use our hero costumes in this festival," Kaminari complained, looking at the very ordinary blue U.A. P.E. uniform.
Fuse opened his own locker door with a slow hand movement, then took out his P.E. uniform. He fell silent for a moment, holding the fabric, then glanced at Kaminari from the corner of his eye.
"If you were allowed to wear your hero costume, what would you do with it, Kaminari? Besides, the design of your costume looks very ordinary,there's no artistic touch at all. It just looks like a motorcyclist's jacket that got lost on the highway," Fuse smiled mockingly, belittling his friend's fashion sense.
Fuse then closed his locker door, closing his eyes briefly as if imagining something beautiful in his head. "But... for this time, I'm forced to agree with your complaint."
"You're seriously saying that to me?" Hearing Fuse's mockery, Kaminari's forehead twitched with irritation. "If anyone else heard your arrogant words, their spirit would already be shattered! Can you think before you say something? Sometimes the words that come out of your mouth are far more painful than iron stabs."
Kaminari closed his locker door with excessive force, creating a rather loud metallic crash inside the changing room.
"Is there something wrong with what I said? I'm just stating an honest fact," Fuse tilted his head with a falsely innocent face.
Kaminari narrowed his eyes fiercely. "Yes! You're completely wrong because you're always annoying!" Kaminari looked away, letting out a long breath to calm his emotions, then began undressing to change into his P.E. uniform.
"I'm not joking," Fuse stared at Kaminari's movements seriously, then continued speaking. "Suppose the school rules allowed us to use costumes,I actually wanted to try something new in front of thousands of spectators."
Kaminari, who had finished adjusting his P.E. uniform, looked back at Fuse with suspicion. "You're truly an expert at ignoring people and suddenly changing the topic without any guilt. Absolutely no manners. So, what do you want to do with your white costume?"
"Fly," Fuse snapped his fingers into the air, creating a crisp clicking sound. "The mechanical iron wings I specially requested from my costume designer. Up to this second, I haven't had the opportunity to use them to their maximum potential to fly through the sky."
At that moment, heavy footsteps were heard approaching them. "Come to think of it, Fuse has a point. During yesterday's combat simulation, you only used those iron wings as... a floating long-range weapon, right?"
It was Kirishima, who had just walked over. He opened his own locker and began changing his clothes with manly movements. Kaminari and Fuse turned to look at him simultaneously.
"My iron wings can actually transform into a lethal long-barrel gun," Fuse explained with a voice full of pride in his own ingenuity. "Ordinary foolish people would definitely be fooled,they'd think the wing structure was made only for flying. In reality, the wings can be reassembled into a long-range weapon. Very suitable for delivering unexpected surprise attacks. Isn't that concept incredibly great and cool?" Fuse lifted his shoulders, praising himself.
Kirishima closed his locker door, then looked at Fuse with a relaxed smile. "Honestly, hearing a crazy idea like that... I don't feel surprised at all," Kirishima said while stretching his hard arm muscles. "During the two weeks we trained hard together at that beach... for some reason I started getting used to your weird personality, Fuse. I know you're narcissistic, but I have to admit, you have a very unique taste in combat."
At this moment, Fumikage, who had already finished changing earlier, walked over from the shadowy corner of the lockers. His blue P.E. uniform contrasted sharply with the black feathers on his head. "A concept of protective wings that can deceive enemies and transform into an instrument of death... an idea as cool as that could never be born if its creator didn't possess a deeply dark artistic soul," Tokoyami commented in his heavy voice.
Hearing praise from the class's prince of darkness, Fuse, Kaminari, and Kirishima all turned simultaneously. Tokoyami nodded solemnly, and the three of them returned the gesture with matching nods.
"A true protagonist must always have many great ideas in his head," Fuse folded his arms across his chest and nodded with great satisfaction at his friends' assessment.
Kaminari could only let out a long sigh, slapping his own forehead in resignation. "Well, there's the arrogance I was talking about from earlier."
As they were chatting casually, the atmosphere inside the changing room suddenly shifted to become very cold and tense. Fuse's ears immediately caught a pressure-filled conversation from another corner of the room. They all turned toward the source of the tension.
"Come to think of it, doesn't it feel really hot and uncomfortable over there?" Kaminari whispered, pointing toward the cluster of students with his chin.
In the corner of the room, Midoriya and Todoroki were standing face to face. Todoroki's face looked as flat and cold as ice, while Midoriya stood rigid, his face pale from being caught off guard by the open challenge the half-white, half-red-haired young man had just issued.
Fuse, who could sense the fighting intent between them, nodded slowly. But he wasn't surprised at all. Since he woke up this morning, he already knew that Midoriya and Todoroki would inevitably be involved in a confrontation in this room before the festival began.
A war challenge from a kid with family issues to the heir of a secret power? Heh, a real protagonist really does attract trouble toward him like a giant magnet... Fuse sneered inwardly.
"Ah, a troublesome pair of rivals," Fuse lifted his shoulders lazily. "Let the two of them settle their own business. Mental confrontations like that are very good for triggering their character growth in the future."
Fuse was about to turn his face away, but his steps halted when he saw Kaminari staring at him with his head tilted in confusion.
Seeing Kaminari's dumb face that didn't understand the meaning of his words, Fuse let out a long sigh, tired of dealing with his less-than-bright friend. "Never mind, forget what I said, Kaminari. Someday when your brain has developed, you'll understand the meaning of my words."
Kaminari and Kirishima looked at each other in confusion, then shrugged simultaneously, not understanding the strange language their class rep often used.
"Alright, this boring drama is enough," Fuse said.
He began walking toward where Midoriya and Todoroki stood, right as the tense conversation between them seemed to have ended, leaving behind a stiff silence.
"The two of you are making the atmosphere in this room very uncomfortable for the other students," Fuse said in a cold voice, standing exactly between Todoroki, who was about to leave, and Midoriya, who was still frozen.
"If you feel you're not NPCs who move because they've been programmed by a developer, you need to realize that your quarrel is disturbing the public order of the changing room." Fuse stared into Todoroki's heterochromatic eyes, then shifted to look at Midoriya's green ones in turn.
"There's no problem if you have a strong desire to prove who's stronger between the two of you..." Fuse continued in a lowered tone.
Todoroki narrowed his sharp eyes, staring at Fuse who had suddenly come to interfere in his personal business.
"...But, please save your arrogance. Don't display it in this room," Fuse smiled thinly.
Hearing the reprimand, Todoroki only snorted softly. He turned stiffly, then walked away, leaving the changing room without saying a single word.
Midoriya raised his hand to scratch the back of his head awkwardly, his face red with embarrassment. "I didn't actually mean for that to happen, Fuse-kun," Midoriya said in a guilty tone.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure, say whatever you want. There's no point defending yourself when the fact that you two were glaring sharply at each other happened right in front of my eyes," Fuse lectured Midoriya.
Fuse stared at Midoriya, then turned to look at Todoroki's back walking farther toward the exit. "When the other students in this room see your quarrel, they'll inevitably think that you two are very eager to punch and destroy each other on the field later."
"But don't worry," Fuse's aura suddenly shifted to become more enthusiastic. He swung his hand, slapping Midoriya's shoulder so hard that the green-haired young man was pushed slightly forward in surprise.
Pak!
"As a kind and handsome protagonist, I won't stop your fight in the future at all. Instead, I'll prepare the right timing and the perfect stage myself so you can destroy each other to your hearts' content."
"I'll support you from behind, Midoriya," Fuse released his grip on Midoriya's shoulder, staring sharply into those green eyes. "Defeat that arrogant bastard with his half-baked ice power, and make me feel proud that I didn't waste my time and sweat training you as my student."
Hearing those strange words, Midoriya's eyes blinked rapidly and his mouth opened, but his tongue felt stiff, unable to find the right words. Midoriya truly could only gape in astonishment.
Feeling his business was done, Fuse turned his face, spun his body, and looked at all the 1-A students still in the room.
"If you've all finished changing, let's leave this cramped room and head to the waiting tunnel right now," Fuse ordered in a loud voice.
"Standing still and hiding in this room for too long is a very disrespectful act toward my fans who are waiting outside. They've paid good money and stood under the scorching sun just to see and cheer the magnificent appearance of yours truly!"
"Move it, hurry up!" Fuse suddenly shouted with full spirit, raising his right hand high above.
...
At this moment, the rumbling sound of tens of thousands of spectators' cheers echoed deafeningly, reverberating throughout every corner of the giant U.A. stadium. The sound was like a massive wave crashing hard against rock walls.
Standing at the end of the dark tunnel, preparing to step out toward the field illuminated by blinding sunlight,
Fuse walked with both hands casually tucked into his P.E. pants pockets.
He closed both eyes briefly, letting his ears capture the vibration of the crowd's noise.
Fuse actually really wanted to make a conspicuous entrance,running out with a wide smile, raising both hands high in the air to greet everyone watching. To him, they were his fans. But, maintaining his dignity, he forced himself to remain calm and mysterious at the start of his appearance.
At this moment, Midoriya, walking right beside him, looked very startled upon hearing the rumbling crowd noise hitting his face. He stopped in his tracks, swallowed hard, and his entire body instantly became very rigid.
Seeing Midoriya frozen in fear, Fuse approached him.
With one quick hand movement, he slapped Midoriya's back hard.
Puk!
Midoriya was pushed forward slightly and jolted from his daze. He turned quickly and saw Fuse's face looking extremely calm.
"You're nervous just because of this trivial commotion?" Fuse asked with a smile full of confidence. "Calm yourself, Midoriya. Take a deep breath. You don't need to be anxious about being the center of everyone's attention, because the truth is you're not the real main character in this place. This entire grand stage, and all the television camera spots,I'll take over from the very first second we step out. I'll never give you even the slightest chance to steal my spectators' attention."
After delivering that arrogant advice, Fuse turned his face and quickened his pace, walking past the threshold of tunnel light to enter the scorching outdoor field.
Midoriya, still standing in shock at Fuse's words, slowly felt the tension in his chest begin to melt.
He let out a long breath, releasing his anxiety along with the morning air. He clenched both fists tightly, and his green eyes reignited with new resolve. A smile appeared on his face.
He stared at Fuse's back walking ahead of him,a back that, despite always being arrogant, for some reason felt very large and reliable in difficult situations.
Right in the middle of the vast green field stood a concrete podium stage that was still empty.
As all first-year students from various departments began gathering in formation, the sound of high-heeled footsteps was heard slicing through the air.
From behind the artificial smoke above the stage, the hero Midnight appeared in her striking style.
"Everyone, please pay attention and play fair! Fight with all the spirit of your youth!" Midnight shouted into the microphone in her hand, her voice booming throughout the stadium.
Then, swinging her small whip, Midnight announced the festival's opening session. "Next, let's hear the oath from the student representative! The representative from Class 1-A, the student who placed first in the entrance exam... Step forward, Bakugo Katsuki!"
Hearing his name called by the judge, Bakugo snorted roughly. He stepped out of the 1-A formation, walking with an extremely arrogant style toward the podium stage in front of everyone.
On stage, Bakugo stopped right in front of the microphone. He stood straight, staring down at all the participants from various departments below him with a condescending gaze.
Then, his gaze swept across his own class's lineup, and his eyes froze when they landed on Fuse, who stood casually with both hands in his pockets. Bakugo stared at Fuse with a deadly look full of challenge.
Seeing the provocative stare, Fuse wasn't angry at all. Instead, he returned the look with a thin smile, then lifted one shoulder casually while closing his eyes.
Bakugo growled softly in irritation, then brought his lips close to the microphone. "Sensei," Bakugo's heavy voice reverberated to every corner of the stadium through the speakers. "I'm going to take the top spot."
Hearing that, an uproar immediately exploded among the participants. Shouts of anger, insults, and loud protests came from students of other departments who felt insulted by Bakugo's words.
Meanwhile, Fuse only rolled his eyes in boredom behind his closed eyelids.
Heh, he's really using the exact same arrogant line as in the original story, Fuse yawned widely, covering his mouth with his hand.
Truly a very boring and uncreative speech. Can't he think of more classy words to entertain the audience?
"Even the sound of crickets at night is far more pleasant to hear than those empty words with no aesthetic value," Fuse whispered softly to the wind around him while smiling mockingly.
Unlike Fuse's casual demeanor, his other classmates, like Iida and Kirishima, actually wore irritated and embarrassed faces at Bakugo's behavior for provoking the anger of the entire year's students.
"Alright! That's enough for the warm-up! With that burning promise from the student representative, we can jump right into our first event!" Midnight regained the audience's attention, her whip slicing through the air.
On the giant monitor screen behind the podium, a spinning lottery graphic flashed rapidly, then stopped to display a large red text.
"Here it is! Our opening event is the obstacle race. This obstacle course will test the limits of your physical abilities! They call it, the Preliminary Round!"
After hearing Midnight's brief explanation of the obstacle race route that would circle the outer part of the stadium, thousands of participants immediately moved to position themselves in front of the starting line. The race was ready to begin.
At this moment, the entire bodies of the participants were in ready positions to run. They stood packed together in front of the giant steel gate that was still tightly closed, ready to dash forward the moment the start signal sounded.
But while all the students gathered with tense faces at the starting line, Fuse displayed a completely contrasting attitude.
He walked with slow footsteps and deliberately took a standing position at the very back of the sea of participants, far from the jostling crowd. He looked extremely lazy.
While his other classmates were already showing serious facial expressions with tense muscles, Fuse appeared as the single most unenthusiastic participant. His demeanor was so casual,both hands tucked into his P.E. pants pockets, looking around as if he were watching a children's match at a playground.
His excessively casual attitude at such a major event, of course, didn't escape the television cameras circling the stadium. Fuse's face happened to be clearly shown on one of the giant monitor screens.
This made the spectators in the stands turn to look at the person's face beside them with bewildered, questioning expressions.
"Hey, look at that red-haired kid in the very back row. Does that kid have no intention of winning from the start?" muttered a pro hero in the spectator stands.
"You're right, he looks too casual and lazy for this important festival... as if he's being forced to come by his mother," another spectator beside him chimed in, shaking their head in bewilderment.
"I agree. His attitude seems very dismissive. But it's fine,that means we don't need to waste time watching his lazy face appear in the important events later."
"Hmph. A student with no fighting spirit like that should just be sent home from the start," a veteran spectator joined in with a nod of agreement, speaking sharply to criticize Fuse.
As the sounds of criticism from the spectators echoed through the stadium stands, the indicator lights above the gate suddenly changed color. The blaring siren signaling the start rang out, piercing the air, and the giant steel gate in front of the participants was pulled wide open upward.
The race had officially begun!
At this moment, thousands of participants who had been holding their breath immediately moved forward simultaneously. They pushed and trampled each other in the narrow gate corridor, creating massive chaos in the opening seconds.
Behind the starting line, Fuse just stood still, watching the chaos from behind with a bored face.
"Oh, the race has started, has it?" he muttered in a flat tone.
He was still standing motionless at the very last position, with no intention in his legs to start running. He only watched the other participants racing and jostling through the narrow gate corridor.
In the middle of the crowd in the gate corridor, Midoriya, who was struggling hard to maintain his body position so he wouldn't fall and get trampled, sensed something strange behind him. He looked back over his classmates' shoulders, and his green eyes instantly widened in shock.
"Fuse-kun?!" Midoriya shouted in his heart upon seeing the red-haired young man still standing casually behind the starting line.
Fuse, who was staring at the sky boredly, noticed Midoriya's green gaze from afar. Fuse slowly raised his right hand from his pocket, waving it with a slow motion, then smiled confidently at Midoriya.
"Fight with all your strength, Midoriya. Don't embarrass your teacher," Fuse said softly. Although his voice couldn't be heard over the distance, his lip movements could be read very clearly by Midoriya.
Seeing Fuse's wave,still casual and showing no intention of running to catch up,Midoriya turned his head back forward with a face full of doubt.
Is... is it possible that Fuse-kun intends to lose in the preliminary round? whispered the doubt in Midoriya's mind.
Then, remembering the hard training he'd undergone over the past two weeks, Midoriya quickly shook his head vigorously, dispelling that foolish thought from his mind.
"No! That's impossible. Fuse-kun isn't that kind of person. He would never willingly lose to anyone. He just feels very confident that he can pass this obstacle easily even if he falls behind at the start!" Midoriya convinced himself, his teeth clenched tight.
"This isn't the time to think about that! I need to focus on my own path!"
At this moment, Midoriya immediately lowered his body position. He flowed green energy throughout his body, activating Full Cowling at the safe ten-percent limit for his muscles.
The green electrical energy exploded around his body, giving him extraordinary agility. Instead of getting caught in the mass crush on the corridor floor, Midoriya leaped high into the air. He used the concrete walls of the gate corridor as footholds, bouncing and passing all the students below him by zigzagging nimbly from wall to wall like a frog.
Seeing that unexpected acrobatic maneuver, the sight suddenly startled many parties. The participants who were jostling below gaped in shock at Midoriya's display, cutting across their race path from above the corridor.
Especially Katsuki Bakugo, who had just been about to blast his way out of the middle of the student crowd.
"W-WHAT?!" Bakugo roared loudly.
Bakugo's eyes widened as he saw Midoriya's figure streaking past him from above the wall. His face instantly turned fiery red with peaking rage.
He immediately bit his lip hard, then released a giant explosion from both palms that sent the students around him flying. With the help of his explosive thrust, Bakugo flew into the air, chasing Midoriya at high speed.
Seeing the two of them easily clear the corridor and take the lead, Todoroki, who was trapped in the middle of the crowd, didn't stay still. He stomped his right foot against the concrete floor.
In an instant, a massive wave of ice surged forward from his foot, freezing the entire ground surface, legs, and walls in the corridor. The ice attack trapped and paralyzed dozens of other participants in place, while Todoroki glided forward past them easily, as if ice skating.
His action made it extremely difficult for the other participants to pass!
As for Fumikage, who was in the back of the corridor, realizing the path had been frozen by ice, acted quickly. He cloaked his back with Dark Shadow as an additional thruster, then slid swiftly, following the three of them from behind.
In the broadcast room situated high above the stadium, Present Mic and Aizawa Shota were assigned as race commentators.
Present Mic, with his booming and energetic voice, commented on the extraordinary performances of the Class 1-A students who had easily overtaken all students from other classes in the opening seconds of the race.
At this moment, after finishing his commentary on the leading pack, Present Mic's eyes shifted to the monitor screen showing Fuse at the starting line. He was clearly very surprised and confused by Fuse's attitude,far too casual, not moving at all from where he stood.
"Woah, look at that! What do you think about that student of yours, Eraserhead? From his movements, it looks like he has no intention of running at all and has already given up on the preliminary obstacle course since the very start!" Present Mic opened his mouth, commenting on the strange sight with bewilderment.
Aizawa furrowed his brow, quickly raising his right hand to cover one ear because Present Mic was shouting too loudly right next to his ear when asking about it.
But not long after, once the ringing in his ear subsided, Aizawa removed his hand. He fell silent for a moment and continued staring at the monitor screen displaying Fuse in silence.
Five seconds of silence passed in the broadcast room before Aizawa finally answered the question in a flat tone.
"No. Your guess is wrong," Aizawa answered briefly. "He has no intention of giving up. That kid is just overconfident in his abilities."
"Oh! Is that so?!" Present Mic grew even more curious, leaning his body forward. "You mean, you're sure he can still catch up to the leading pack and overtake all of them who've already run far ahead?!" Present Mic asked with a voice so loud it split the stadium air.
Aizawa didn't say anything more in response. He leaned back in his chair, letting the mystery hang in the air.
Down below, at the starting line that was now beginning to empty as participants left, Fuse,who still hadn't moved from where he stood,heard the conversation between his two teachers from the stadium speakers.
Fuse turned his head, glaring toward the glass room where the commentators sat far above with an annoyed look.
"Ugh... for some reason, the commentators in this world feel far noisier, more talkative, and more prone to exaggerating things than what I heard when I watched them in the original story..." Fuse complained in a bored tone.
He let out a long sigh, then slowly pulled both hands out of his pockets. His eyes stared straight ahead at the ice corridor before him.
...
A/N: I don't have much to say. Perhaps some of you have noticed that my writing style has changed slightly.