"Look over there—seems like the kendo club is recruiting new members~"
"Wow! There's even a combat club! Do you want to join?"Uraraka Ochaco said excitedly as she walked across campus with Igarashi Masata the next day.
"This really feels like high school life," Masata replied casually. "Yesterday I was genuinely traumatized by that dead-fish-eyed teacher. But I've already decided—I'm going straight home. Joining clubs is a waste of life. With that time, I'd rather do one hundred push-ups, one hundred sit-ups, one hundred squats, and run ten kilometers!"
"That's amazing! Is that your training method? It sounds so cool!"Ochaco's eyes sparkled again.
"Ahem—no, no. That's a special training method for peerless strongmen. Not suitable for ordinary people like us," Masata said awkwardly. He hadn't expected her to take it seriously. "Don't try it, Chacha."
He raised a hand and ruffled Ochaco's fluffy hair, his resolve strengthening.
"Never!"
Ring—
The bell rang, signaling the end of class.
Masata collapsed onto his desk, eyes half-lidded like a salted fish that had lost all hope."Seriously… why are the cultural classes so boring? This feels no different from an ordinary school. Is this really U.A.?"
"What nonsense are you spouting?"Yaoyorozu Momo stood beside him, a vein almost popping on her forehead. "This is normal high school life. It's lunchtime—get up."
U.A.'s cafeteria was operated by a Chef Hero, meaning students could enjoy top-tier cuisine at surprisingly affordable prices.
Masata, Yaoyorozu Momo, and Ochaco carried their trays and sat down near their classmates.
"U.A. really is amazing!" Masata said with his mouth full, already forgetting his complaints from earlier.
"Yeah! The grilled meat here is insanely good!"Kirishima Eijiro, sitting nearby, was also eating with gusto.
"Kirishima, you really are manly! A man's first priority is never going hungry!""That's right! Real men are always full of energy!""Ooooooo!!!"
The surrounding students stared at the suddenly fired-up duo with speechless expressions. They clearly couldn't understand this strange sense of romance.
Except for one person.
"I see… that makes perfect sense," Midoriya Izuku muttered seriously."After all, humans are made of iron, and rice is steel. Skip a meal and you'll feel weak. As carbon-based organisms, humans rely on food to sustain biological activity. Heroes especially require far more energy than ordinary people, since they must remain on standby at all times. Therefore, seizing every opportunity to eat and maintain a full stomach is indeed the optimal strategy… As expected of Masata—such profound truth hidden in simple words… No wonder he's so strong. I still have much to learn…"
…This is Izuku.
Those two hot-blooded idiots weren't thinking that deeply at all!Midoriya, are you doing reading comprehension?!
There was one more person in Class 1-A who couldn't understand.
"By the way, Ochaco-chan came to school with Masata today, right? Kero."Asui Tsuyu tried to lighten the atmosphere.
"Huh? Yeah. I'm living at Masata's house right now," Ochaco replied honestly.
"NANI?!"
A loud roar erupted from the table—but it wasn't Asui.
It was Minoru Mineta, the short boy with purple grape-like spheres on his head.
Mineta bit his lower lip, eyes bloodshot, an ominous black aura radiating from his small body as he glared murderously at Masata, who was still happily eating.
"Huh?"Feeling the hostile gaze, Masata raised his head in confusion.
"Isn't that the little purple guy?" Masata thought."What's with that exaggerated expression? Did I take his favorite food?"
Mineta's furious face looked almost comical when paired with his height—barely over one meter tall—and the strange grapes on his head. Compared to Masata's nearly 1.8-meter build, the difference was overwhelming.
"Uh… Mineta-san? What's wrong?"Masata asked politely, suppressing a laugh.
"You… you jerk!"Mineta forced himself to look at Masata's muscular frame.
"You're already childhood friends with Yaoyorozu Momo—wasn't that enough?!"
"And now you're even living with Uraraka?! Unforgivable!!!"Mineta clutched his chest and wailed dramatically.
Some classmates nodded unconsciously.
"Uh… when you put it like that, it does sound excessive," Ojiro Mashirao analyzed calmly, tail swaying behind him. "Living with a female classmate on the first day is a bit much."
Iida Tenya rushed forward, arms flailing."Igarashi! Did you use improper methods to force Uraraka to live with you?! Uraraka, if you're being coerced, blink! Your classmates will help you!"
"Huh?"Ochaco, still not fully understanding, blinked in confusion.
"…She blinked!!!"
Everyone froze.
"I didn't expect Mineta-san to be so righteous," Jiro Kyoka commented coolly, her long earlobes swaying. "Standing up even against someone as strong as Masata. Guess you really can't judge people by appearances."
Mineta suddenly straightened up, eyes watering.
"I'm just jealous!!!" he shouted."Are you the protagonist of this world?! Why do all the good things happen to you?!"
"…EH?! So you're just jealous?!"
The class was stunned once again.
"Everyone seems to have misunderstood," Yaoyorozu Momo said calmly, stepping in at just the right moment."Uraraka's parents and Masata's parents have been friends for many years. This arrangement was made because of their families."
"Oh… I see.""Masata, sorry! I misjudged you!""Hah, false alarm.""Retracting my words—Mineta's still a perverted grape."
With the misunderstanding cleared, Class 1-A returned to eating, laughter gradually filling the cafeteria as the atmosphere finally relaxed.