'Are those ...? Upperclassmen?' Two unfamiliar faces headed towards their desks. As for who they were and what they wanted with him ... Well, Yuta had absolutely no idea about the first but had some inkling of the second.
The blonde boy, Mirio Togata, beamed down at the table with a level of charisma that felt like standing too close to a heat lamp.
Beside him, the girl was practically vibrating, her periwinkle hair swaying as she tilted her head at a gravity-defying angle to look at Yuta's face.
"Found him! Mirio, look! We found the first-year!"
'Wow. Her voice is kinda ... Close, close, too close.'
Yuta's internal monologue came to a grinding halt as Nejire Hado leaned in so close to Yuta that he had to lean back into Hana's space.
"Hey, hey! Are you really the one from General Studies? Is your hair naturally that red? Does it glow when you use your quirk? Why do they call you 'Phantom'? Can you actually disappear, or do you just move really fast? What's your quirk exactly? Did those villains really have no weaknesses? How did you know where to hit them? And what about the chain—where did you get that chain? Was it custom-made? And .."
"Nejire-san, maybe let him breathe first?" Mirio laughed, though his own excitement was palpable. He gave Yuta a thumbs-up. "Great work in Hosu, junior! You really showed a lot of 'Power!' out there. It's not every day a freshman makes that much of a splash."
Yuta blinked.
"I'm sorry, you are?"
"Oh! Right!" Mirio slapped his forehead with a laugh that boomed across the General Studies section. "Where are my manners? I'm Mirio Togata, a third-year from the Hero Course! And this inquisitive cloud is Nejire Hado!"
"Third-years?" Kimura whispered, his eyes going wide. "Wait... Togata? Is he that guy who kept accidentally losing his clothes last year's sports festival?"
"Kimura, shut up!" Tanaka hissed. How insensitive can someone be? Hana resisted the urge to facepalm them and there.
Yuta couldn't care for their theatrics, as Nejire still hadn't moved an inch out of Yuta's personal space.
'What the hell? And here I thought Hatsume was the only one who did this.'
"Hey Hey! Why's your face turning red?"
"Um ... What?"
"Hmm? Your cheeks look like they're matching your hair. Is that a thing with your quirk?"
"... Can you .. please move backwards?"
"Oh! Right! Sorry!" Nejire clasped her hands together, though her excited energy didn't diminish at all. "But seriously, how DID you move so fast? Is it your quirk or is the chain your quirk?"
"Why are you so interested in my quirk?"
"Hmm? I read online that making chains is part of your quirk, and you need to swallow iron to do it so I wanted to know if it hurts when you do it."
".."
"Hehe. Don't mind Nejire. She's ... Very excited." Mirio uttered with a smile. As for the mention of his previous deeds, no one mentioned.
Yuta's eyelids twitched. What the hell did using a chain have to do with his quirk?
Eventually, he just sighed.
"It's nice to meet you both. I'm Akutami Yuta."
"We know!" Mirio grinned, placing a large, steadying hand on Nejire's shoulder to gently reel her back. "The whole school knows! We were just in the neighborhood and wanted to say hi to the freshman everyone's talking about. Our friend Tamaki wanted to come too, but... well, he's currently trying to become a wall in the hallway."
Yuta glanced toward the cafeteria entrance. Sure enough, a boy with messy dark hair was standing facing a pillar, his forehead pressed against the concrete as if he were trying to phase into another dimension.
'What level of social anxiety is ... Wait .. why does this seem so familiar?'
Those familiar Dejavu moments came again.
'... Damn. This is one of those Transmigrator moments isn't it? .. Three students ... Hold on.'
His eyes widened. "You guys are the big three!"
Everyone looked at him.
"Hmm? Big three of what?" It was Nejire that answered, much to his surprise. 'What the .. am I wrong? No, I can't be wrong.'
"Um ... Sorry for being so direct? Mirio-Senpai. Does your quirk allow you to slip through things?"
Mirio's eyebrows shot up in genuine surprise. "Oh! Yeah, it does! Permeation. I can phase through solid objects." He grinned wider. "How'd you know? Did you watch last year's Sports Festival?"
"Something like that," Yuta said vaguely. 'Wait, so they ARE the Big Three. But they haven't been introduced yet... which means they're just regular third-years right now. Strong ones, but not officially the "Big Three" that everyone knows.'
"Ooh! Ooh! Did you figure it out from how he moves?" Nejire bounced slightly. "Or did someone tell you? Are you good at analyzing quirks? Can you analyze mine? What do you think my quirk is?"
Yuta blinked at the rapid-fire questions. "I... just made an educated guess based on reputation."
"Reputation?" Mirio smiled.
"Well, I guess I am pretty famous. That's no problem though."
"So, Mirio-senpai," Yuta said, trying to regain some semblance of a normal conversation. "What can I do for you?"
"Nothing at all. Just wanted to see the face of the guy who's shaking things up. It's rare to see a transfer make it into the Hero Course, let alone handle a situation like Hosu with that much composure. You've got good eyes, Akutami-kun."
"He does! They're like... intense!" Nejire chirped. "I saw your eyes glow red during the Sports Festival broadcast, and then again in the Hosu footage. They were really red. Kinda reminds me of Aizawa-sensei's eyes when he uses his quirk."
Her voice turned contemplative, and Yuta could practically see the gears turning in her head.
"Come to think of it, Aizawa-sensei never takes on personal interns, yet you're his intern at Hosu and he seems very invested in you. Why is that?"
Yuta felt a sense of dread building. 'Oh no.' Judging Nejire from the past fifty-nine seconds, he had a bad feeling she was about to spout something absurd next. Sure enough, the next thing that came out shocked even him.
Nejire's eyes suddenly went wide, and her entire face lit up with realization.
"Hmm. You have the same eyes as Aizawa-sensei when you both use your quirks. You both have black hair. You both have that same tired expression..."
'Please don't—'
"You're not secretly his love child, are you?"
"Secret love child?!"
The cafeteria, which had already been leaning in to eavesdrop on the interaction, suddenly hit a vacuum of silence.
Yuta felt his soul briefly attempt to leave his body. Behind him, Tanaka let out a choked sound that was half-cough, half-strangled laugh, while Hana choked on her soup.
"Love child?!" Kimura's skin flashed through three different colors in rapid succession.
"Nejire-san!" Even Mirio looked momentarily stunned. "That's a bit... leap-heavy, don't you think?"
"But look at them!" Nejire insisted, her eyes wide with the thrill of a conspiracy theorist finding a "clue."
"Same eyes, same hair color, same grumpy expression ..."
"I'm not grumpy," Yuta said flatly.
"See! Even the way you said that was grumpy!"
Yuta pinched the bridge of his nose. Between the media circus, the Hassaikai, Hosu, and now this... "I am not Aizawa-sensei's secret child."
"That's exactly what a secret love child would say to protect his father's underground reputation!" Nejire whispered loudly, nodding to herself. It was just like the touching romance movie she watched last night.
Yuta groaned. "I said I am not."
"Are you sure? Have you asked him?"
"I'm pretty sure I'd know if ..."
"But have you asked him?"
Yuta opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.
"...No, but—"
"See! You should ask!" Nejire clapped her hands together. "Ooh, and if he is your dad, does that mean you inherited his quirk? But your quirk seems different. Can you explain how it works? Is it genetic? Or .."
"Nejire-san," Yuta said, his voice taking on an edge that made even Mirio straighten slightly. "I appreciate the... creativity. But I'd prefer if we didn't spread rumors about my personal life. Especially ones involving my homeroom teacher."
Nejire blinked, finally catching on to the shift in tone. "Oh! Sorry! I didn't mean—I was just—"
"It's fine," Yuta said, though his expression said it wasn't entirely fine. "Just... maybe ask about my quirk instead of my family tree?"
"Right! Yes! Of course!" Nejire nodded rapidly, her enthusiasm dimming to something more manageable. "Your quirk! Let's talk about that instead!"
Mirio placed a hand on Nejire's shoulder, gently steering her back a step. "Maybe we should give Akutami-kun some space, yeah? We kinda ambushed him during lunch."
"Oh... yeah." Nejire deflated slightly, looking genuinely apologetic now. "Sorry. I get excited and forget to think sometimes."
Yuta's expression softened marginally. "It's... fine. Just been a long couple of days."
"Forgive her please. She's been watching too many soap operas lately," before the situation could escalate, Mirio made a low bow, head dipping way past his knees.
"I apologize on her behalf."
"It's really fine."
"Alright then. Thank you for your time, Akutami-kun. Perhaps we'll meet again soon."
__
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