The next day—
Class 1-A sat quietly at their desks, morning light filtering through the windows as the low murmur of the school settled into routine.
A bored, rasping voice cut through the silence.
"I saw yesterday's exercise results."
Aizawa Shouta stood at the front of the room, scarf loose around his neck, dark circles heavier than usual.
"Bakugo," Aizawa said, eyes sliding toward him. "Cut the brat behavior. You have the capacity. Start acting like it."
Bakugo stiffened.
"I know," he answered immediately—no shouting, no explosion, no argument.
He turned his gaze to the green-haired boy sitting rigidly at his desk.
"Midoriya," he said flatly. "You once again solved the problem by breaking your arm."
Midoriya flinched.
"You can't keep doing that. We're not going to keep letting it slide just because you 'can't do it any other way.'"
The room was silent.
"I hate repeating myself," Aizawa went on, voice dull but firm. "But if you solve this problem—if you learn to control your Quirk—you'll be able to do great things."
Midoriya's shoulders, which had been tense and slumped, slowly straightened.
His eyes lit up.
"Yes, sir!" he said, bowing his head deeply.
"So work harder," Aizawa finished.
Then his gaze shifted again.
This time—to Momo Yaoyorozu.
And Ren Takeda.
"And you two," Aizawa said, unimpressed. "Chit-chatting during a combat simulation. Where do you think you were? An amusement park?"
Momo immediately lowered her head, cheeks faintly pink.
"I-I'm sorry, Aizawa-sensei."
Ren, meanwhile, leaned back in his chair, expression neutral, unbothered.
"…won't happen again, Aizawa-sensei," he replied calmly.
Aizawa sighed.
Takeda…
Yesterday, he was completely unstable.
But today… he looks perfectly fine.
"Moving on," he said. "To the main point of today's homeroom."
A collective tension spread through the class.
Another test?
A surprise assessment?
"I apologize for the lack of warning," Aizawa continued. "But today—"
He paused.
"You'll be electing a class president."
The room froze.
Then—
"YES!" Mina Ashido jumped up from her seat, fist in the air. "Finally! Something normal!"
The tension shattered instantly.
"I'll do it!"
"No, me!"
"I'd be perfect!"
"I'm totally leadership material!"
Hands shot up everywhere.
Even Bakugo stood halfway out of his seat.
"Me! Let me do it!"
Then—
"BE QUIET!"
The shout was so sharp it physically snapped the room into silence.
Iida Tenya stood rigidly, glasses gleaming as his arm chopped through the air.
"Leading a group is a task of great importance!" he declared.
"Simply wanting the position does not mean you are fit for it!"
Everyone stared.
"It is a sacred responsibility!" Iida continued, passion blazing.
"One entrusted only to someone who has earned the confidence of those around them!"
He adjusted his glasses.
"To select a true leader through the principles of democracy—"
He turned to face the class.
"The correct course of action is a vote!"
There was a beat.
Then Kirishima tilted his head.
"…Aren't you the one who wants it the most?"
Everyone's eyes shifted.
Iida's hand was still raised—straight, stiff, and unmistakably volunteering.
Kaminari leaned back in his chair. "Yeah… why so formal all of a sudden?"
Tsuyu blinked. "Also… we've only known each other for a few days. How are we supposed to trust anyone yet?"
"And everyone's just gonna vote for themselves," Kirishima added.
"Precisely!" Iida exclaimed, unfazed.
"Anyone who receives more than one vote will have proven that they possess the trust of others!"
He turned sharply to the front of the room.
"What do you think, Aizawa-sensei?"
There was no answer.
Aizawa had already zipped himself into his yellow sleeping bag, cocooned like an exhausted caterpillar.
He yawned.
"Just decide within the time given," he muttered. "I don't care how."
And then—
He collapsed sideways onto the floor.
Fast asleep.
...
A while later—
The votes were in.
Chalk scraped softly as the final results were written on the board.
Then silence fell.
At the top, neatly listed:
[2nd — Takeda Ren (2 votes)]
[1st — Midoriya Izuku (3 votes)]
The room exploded.
"W-WHAT?!" Midoriya shot up from his seat, hands flailing. "I-I got three votes?!"
His face flushed bright red as he looked around in panic.
Bakugo slammed his desk.
"WHO THE HELL VOTED FOR DEKU?!" he roared. "ARE YOU ALL INSANE?!"
Sero leaned back in his chair, grinning.
"Well, at least we know who voted for you."
Bakugo snapped his head toward him. "THE HELL YOU SAY?!"
A few desks back, Uraraka whistled casually, eyes drifting toward the ceiling as if she had nothing to do with anything.
Totally innocent.
Absolutely did not vote for Midoriya.
Definitely not.
"…Uraraka."
She jumped.
"H-Huh?!"
Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest as she turned—
Only to see Ren standing beside her desk.
"R-Ren…?" she stammered, then exhaled in relief. "Oh—it's you…"
They'd barely talked before, but between what Midoriya had told her—and how Ren had treated him—she already had a good impression of him.
"You know the upcoming movie The Smiling Hero?" Ren asked casually.
Uraraka blinked. "The one inspired by All Might? I'm super excited for it!"
"I've got an extra ticket for the premiere," Ren said. "So I was wondering if you wanted to come with—"
He stopped.
Uraraka's face had gone completely red.
"…Are you alright?" he asked.
"N-No—I mean—yes! Yes, I'm fine!" she blurted out, hands flailing slightly.
Her brain short-circuited.
Did Ren Takeda—the prodigy, the world-famous hero-in-training—just ask me out?!
But then—
She glanced instinctively toward Momo.
Wait… did something happen between Yaoyorozu and Ren?
She was blushing earlier when Aizawa scolded them, so things between them should be alright...
Why would he ask me then?
Her eyes widened slightly.
Is he a playboy…?
"Uraraka," Ren said again, calmly. "Do you want to come or not—with me and Momo?"
She froze.
"…Ah?"
"Aren't I… kind of a third wheel?" she asked awkwardly, scratching the back of her head.
"A fourth," Ren corrected easily. "Midoriya's coming too."
Her eyes lit up.
"Oh—! Then yeah! I'll come!" she said with a bright smile.
Ren nodded, satisfied, and turned back toward the front of the room.
Up there, Midoriya—still flustered—was frantically waving his hands.
"I-I think Iida would be way better suited for this!" he blurted out.
Tenya Iida froze.
Then—
"I ACCEPT!" he shouted, tears streaming down his face. "I WILL NOT DISAPPOINT YOU!"
Ren raised his hand lazily.
"I'd like to concede the vice-president position as well," he said. "Too much hassle."
Iida turned instantly, already fully embodying his role as class president.
"Very well! Then the vice-president position will go to third place—Yaoyorozu Momo!"
Momo blinked.
"H-Huh?!"
She hadn't even been paying attention.
Her gaze had been fixed on Ren and Uraraka talking.
And for some reason—
Her chest felt… tight.
Unsettled.
…
Lunch break.
Ren and Momo sat together, trays on the desk.
The moment they settled—
"Ren," Momo said, a bit too quickly. "What were you talking about with Uraraka earlier?"
Ren opened his backpack, pulling out a neatly packed lunchbox. Unlike the other students, he brought food from home.
"Why?" he asked lightly. "You jealous?"
Momo's eyebrow twitched.
She leaned over and pinched his forearm hard.
"Hmpf."
"Ahi!" Ren recoiled. "Okay—okay! I'll tell you, just stop!"
She released him with a small, satisfied chuckle.
His skin was already a little red.
"I'm just trying to apologize to Midoriya," Ren said, opening the lunchbox.
Momo tilted her head. "And what does Uraraka have to do with that?"
"Midoriya likes her," Ren replied simply. "So I'm setting up a date for them."
"…A date?" Momo echoed.
"Well, they don't know it's a date," Ren added.
She was about to ask more—
Then the smell hit her.
Hard.
"…Ren," she said slowly, pinching her nose. "What in the world is that?"
Nearby students recoiled instinctively, some gagging.
Ren stared down at his food calmly.
I really need a smell-concealing quirk, he thought.
"This is the most nutritionally optimal meal for my body," he explained. "I eat it every day. Lunch and dinner."
Momo stared in horror.
"…Every day?"
"It was worse at the beginning," Ren added. "I've improved it over time."
Improved?! Momo didn't even want to imagine the original version.
And yet—
Her admiration quietly deepened.
Despite his overwhelming power… he still put himself through this every day just to grow stronger.
"…You were about to ask something?" Ren said, taking a bite.
Momo kept her nose blocked. "How did you organize this… date?"
"Tomorrow's the premiere of The Smiling Hero," Ren replied casually. "I asked my agency for tickets. They found four pretty quickly."
"Four?" she asked. "So… you, Midoriya, Uraraka, and…?"
Ren chuckled, glancing at her.
"Who do you think?"
Momo's face instantly turned red.
"W-Why are you embarrassed?" Ren teased. "It's not like it's a date. We're just helping a friend with his crush, right?"
The word date made her blush even harder.
"…R-Right," she muttered, looking away.
Ren smiled to himself and took another bite of his horrifyingly effective meal.
...
As Momo and Ren continued talking—her still very carefully angled away from his lunchbox—Ren's gaze drifted.
Then stopped.
Across the cafeteria, seated among a group of Class 1-B students, was a familiar figure. Blond hair. Sharp eyes.
A posture that screamed insecurity wrapped in arrogance.
Monoma Neito.
Ren's expression softened slightly—not with warmth, but with recognition.
…So you made it to U.A. too, cousin.
Yes. His cousin.
Their mothers were sisters.
And his mother hated Reina to the core.
Reina Takeda had been born with a superior mutation of the family quirk. While Monoma's mother awakened Copy, Reina awakened Mimic—a quirk capable of copying multiple abilities at once. Though the time limit shortened with each additional quirk, it was still undeniably stronger.
From that moment on, the family's world had revolved around Reina.
Training. Expectations. Praise.
Everything.
Monoma's mother had been left in the shadow.
Neglected despite her still great potential.
Overshadowed not only by Reina's power—but by her beauty, her talent, her very existence. Even as children, boys who spoke to her only asked about Reina. When their quirks manifested, the gap only widened.
Envy rotted into hatred.
By the time Ren was born, Monoma's mother wanted nothing to do with them. She refused visits. Refused conversation. Refused acknowledgment.
And so Ren had grown up distant from that side of the family.
The only reason he even knew Monoma at all was because All Might had forced him into public middle school.
They'd been classmates then.
Awkward. Tense. Monoma tried to compete with him in all the wrong ways.
Ren looked at Monoma now, watching him talk animatedly, gesturing far more than necessary.
And he smiled.
He turned to Momo.
"Wait here a moment," Ren said casually. "I'll be right back."
He stood up.
To be continued...
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How was this chapter? Liked it?
I am trying to make some more slice-of-life, some more family background for Ren to make him more part of the MHA universe and also because I wanted to write a cousin relationship.
The surgery went perfect by the way. Thank you guys for all the support.