Dawn arrived quietly, without brilliance or spectacle, as if the world had agreed to move slowly for Renya's sake.He stepped out of the apartment with the usual routine: shoes aligned, hair tied, bag slung loosely over his shoulder.
Nothing about his appearance suggested anything had changed.But the air around him felt heavier, or quieter, or simply more focused — as if something unseen followed his steps with measured interest.
Abyss resonance.Still subtle.Still embryonic.
Yet undeniably present.
Airi walked beside him, backpack bouncing slightly as she matched his pace.
"You look like you barely slept," she said.
"I didn't," Renya replied.
"Thinking?"
"Yes."
"About hero work?"
He shook his head. "About movement."
She frowned. "Is this one of your mysterious old-world things?"
"Yes."
"Do I want to know?"
"No."
"Then I'll trust you," she said.
He glanced down at her.That sentence held more weight than she understood.
"Don't trust me blindly," he said.
"I won't," she replied. "I trust you responsibly."
He almost smiled. Almost.
The U.A. gates were busier than usual.Students moved in small clusters, whispering in excited threads.
Many eyes shifted toward Renya and Hoshi as they walked in.Some with curiosity.Some with quiet respect.Some with disbelief that the man who spoke like a philosopher was now an official hero.
Hoshi walked beside him with controlled posture, back straight, steps even.But anyone who knew her well — which was a small list — could see the spark of adrenaline in her.
"You feel it too?" she asked.
"Yes," Renya said.
"Something's different."
"Yes."
"From your Quirk?"
"No."
She took a breath. "Then from… the other thing?"
"Yes."
Hoshi nodded slowly.She didn't press further.She'd learned that some answers required the right question first.
They reached the training grounds for the morning briefing.Aizawa was there already, holding a notebook that looked like it was planning to collapse under the weight of bureaucracy.
"You two," he said. "Field report was clean. Students showed no trauma symptoms this morning. Good work."
Renya nodded.
Hoshi saluted.
Aizawa frowned. "Don't do that."
"Sorry," she said.
"Don't apologize either."
"Sorry."
Aizawa sighed.
Renya looked at Hoshi. "Stop that."
"Sorry."
She winced. "Okay. I'll stop."
Aizawa rubbed his eyes. "She's your problem now."
Renya accepted this silently.
The class gathered around as Aizawa began the morning announcements, but Renya was barely listening.Not because he was distracted.Because something was humming beneath the courtyard stone, beneath the chatter, beneath the morning air.
A resonance.
Not dangerous.Not hostile.Just concentrated.
Someone nearby was holding too much inside.
Renya's focus tightened.
A faint black ripple brushed his attention, like a fingertip trailing across water.His Quirk responded with a quiet stir.His cultivation responded with a deeper shift.
Something… someone… was about to break.
Hoshi noticed his posture."Who is it?" she whispered.
"I'm not sure yet," he murmured.
He let the resonance lead him.
His gaze settled on a single student standing near the back of the courtyard.
Tall.Stiff shoulders.Hands clenched too tightly around a notebook.Blank expression.Breath too shallow.
Class 1-B.Name: Shigeno Haruto.
Renya didn't know him personally.But the shadow around the boy's feet was trembling — not in form, not in color, but in rhythm.
It matched the pulse he had felt last night.
Resonant Wake.
A student about to collapse inward.
Aizawa continued lecturing.Renya stepped away.
Hoshi followed silently.
They reached Haruto just as his breath hitched.
The boy didn't look up.He stared at the concrete as if expecting it to crack.
"Haruto," Renya said quietly.
The student flinched."Y–yes?"
"Walk with us."
"I… I have class—"
"You will walk," Renya said, tone not commanding but inevitable.
Haruto's shoulders slumped.He nodded, almost relieved.
They moved to a quiet side passage near the gym storage area.No spectators.No pressure.
Shadows lay soft along the ground like folded cloth.
Renya faced the student.
"Tell me what is happening," he said.
Haruto swallowed hard."I… can't breathe right. It started last night. Then this morning it got worse. I thought it was stress. Maybe it is. But…"
He hesitated.
Hoshi stepped forward gently. "But what?"
Haruto looked at the ground.
"I feel like something is… following me."
Renya's eyes sharpened.
Not literally following.Not a creature.Not a curse.
An emotional feedback loop.
A resonance echo.
Something from the boy's psyche was being magnified — not by Renya, but by the echo Renya himself had awakened in the world.
The Abyss was learning to listen.Now it was listening to others as well.
Haruto trembled."I don't know what I did wrong. I didn't provoke anyone. I didn't fight. I just… feel like something is watching me every time my mind drifts."
Hoshi whispered, "It's echoing him."
Renya nodded.
"Haruto," he said. "Think back. What changed yesterday?"
Haruto swallowed again."I saw the live broadcast. The tribunal. And the aftermath. I saw how you handled the crowd. How everyone listened. I thought— I don't know. I thought I wanted to understand how you did it."
"And?" Renya asked.
"I tried," Haruto said. "I tried to copy you. To think like you. To… feel like you. Just to see if it helps me stay calm."
Hoshi stiffened.Renya exhaled slowly.
Imitation.Admiration.Resonance.
Exactly the kind of emotional intensity the Abyss could latch onto.
And this boy wasn't equipped to handle it.
A small shadow beneath Haruto's feet trembled again — this time visibly, though only faintly.
Hoshi took a step back instinctively.
Renya placed a hand on Haruto's shoulder.
The trembling stopped.
The shadows stilled.
The resonance dropped, not violently but as if relieved to be acknowledged.
Haruto gasped.His breath regulated instantly.
"What… what was that?"
Renya looked him in the eyes.
"You attempted to walk a path that isn't yours yet," he said. "And something older than this world noticed."
Haruto paled. "D–did I do something wrong?"
"No," Renya said. "But you tried to carry a weight your mind isn't built for."
He paused.
"And… I may have been the one who made that weight possible."
Haruto blinked, confused.
Hoshi looked at Renya sharply. "So that's what you meant last night."
"Yes," he said.
Hoshi stepped forward."Can it hurt him?"
"No," Renya said. "Not yet. The resonance is weak. It listens. It does not shape."
"But it could shape someone?" she pressed.
"Yes," he said quietly.
"That's dangerous."
"Yes."
Haruto looked between them in panic. "Please, I don't want this. I just wanted to… learn."
Renya took a breath.
He had a choice.
He could sever the resonance — cut the emotional imprint like a thread.Or he could use it — stabilize it — teach Haruto to channel it correctly.
One was safer.
The other was… real power.
Renya placed two fingers gently against Haruto's wrist.
"Do not imitate me," he said. "You are not my shadow."
Haruto nodded shakily.
"But," Renya continued, "you may learn from me. Slowly. Deliberately. Without inviting things you cannot yet understand."
The boy exhaled in pure relief.
Renya lifted his hand from Haruto's wrist.
The shadow beneath the student's feet softened — no longer trembling, now simply a shadow again.
Haruto bowed deeply."Thank you… sir."
Renya nodded."Go to class. And breathe."
Haruto left quickly, shoulders lighter.
Hoshi turned to Renya.
"You didn't cut the resonance," she said quietly.
"No," he said.
"Why?"
"Because this world is already responding to me," Renya said. "And I need to understand how. I cannot do that by closing every door."
She crossed her arms. "So you're studying the Abyss… through people?"
"I'm studying the Abyss through consequences," he said.
"Is that safe?"
"No."
Hoshi sighed. "I figured."
He gave her a rare, almost invisible smile."You asked to be my partner."
"That's before I knew you did research on humans," she muttered.
"You'll adjust."
"I knew you'd say that."
As they walked back toward the courtyard, Renya felt the faint pulse beneath his sternum again.
The Abyss was awake.
Not fully.
Not dangerously.
But listening.
And Musutafu was giving it plenty to hear.
Tomorrow, the resonance would deepen.
Tomorrow, the shadows would learn.
And Renya would have to decide how far he would let the two worlds overlap.
But for now?
He stepped back into the morning sun.
And the shadows followed him like a student ready to learn.