Late evening.
The campus was quiet.
Inside his office, surrounded by towers of books and softly humming monitors, Nezu adjusted his tiny glasses.
Unlike Aizawa, Nezu didn't just search for records.
He searched for patterns.
He pulled the hospital file ID Aizawa had sent him.
Cross-referenced it.
Tracked metadata.
And there it was.
A ghost.
The administrator override that had uploaded Ren's discharge record didn't come from hospital infrastructure.
It originated from an off-site terminal.
Encrypted.
Masked.
But not perfectly.
Nezu's eyes gleamed.
"Oh… how fascinating."
He ran a deeper trace.
The override signature had appeared in three other systems over the last five years.
All involving:
Children with partial amnesia
No confirmed guardians
Minimal digital footprint
Fire-related emergency notes
Nezu's smile faded slightly.
"Someone is curating identities."
He immediately texted:
Nezu:I found something.
Within minutes, Shota Aizawa was in his office.
Nezu didn't waste time.
"This isn't random," he said calmly. "Ren's file insertion matches three prior cases. Same override signature."
Aizawa's expression hardened.
"Alive?"
"Two disappeared from records entirely within a year. One transferred schools under a new name."
Silence.
"And Ren?" Aizawa asked.
Nezu tilted his head.
"He is the only one enrolled at U.A."
A beat.
"And," Nezu added softly, "the only one displaying multiple quirk anomalies."
Aizawa's eyes darkened slightly.
"So someone created him."
"Or preserved him," Nezu corrected.
Silence filled the room.
Then Nezu's tone shifted — lighter.
"But for now," he said, hopping down from his desk, "we focus on something more immediate."
Aizawa blinked.
Nezu smiled.
"Balloons."
🎉 Class 1-A — Party Base Operations
The common room was chaos.
Not suspicious chaos.
Secret chaos.
Kirishima was holding a notebook labeled:
REN FILE
Mina had three color swatches spread out.
Denki was upside down on the couch.
Bakugou looked like he hated everything.
Todoroki stood calmly against the wall.
Kaito stood in the center of the room.
Nezu had given them permission to use a storage classroom as the "base."
No Ren allowed.
"Okay," Mina said, clapping. "We need THEME."
Kaito took a breath.
"…He likes simple things."
Everyone looked at him.
"He likes warm colors," Kaito continued. "Not flashy. He prefers deep red. Gold sometimes."
Mina scribbled aggressively.
"FOCUS COLORS: crimson + gold."
Denki gasped.
"Crimson?! That's like villain aesthetic cool!"
Bakugou threw a pillow at him.
Kaito ignored them.
"He likes cooking more than eating," he added. "If we get a cake, it shouldn't be too sweet. He doesn't like overly sugary stuff."
Ochako nodded seriously.
"Balanced frosting."
Todoroki quietly added, "He drinks root beer."
Everyone paused.
Kaito blinked.
"…Yeah. How did you know?"
Todoroki shrugged slightly.
"He always chooses it."
Mina scribbled again.
"ROOT BEER STATION."
Kirishima grinned.
"Does he like loud surprises?"
Kaito hesitated.
"…No."
The room quieted.
"He doesn't like sudden noise. Or being cornered."
That landed heavier than anyone expected.
"Okay," Mina said softly. "So not a jump scare surprise."
Denki raised a hand.
"What about a dramatic but emotionally safe reveal?"
Bakugou groaned.
Kaito exhaled slowly.
"He likes when people are relaxed. Laughing. Movie-night vibes."
Silence.
Then Mina gasped again.
"Fort party."
Everyone turned.
"WHAT IF," she said dramatically, "we recreate the common room fort night but bigger and better."
Denki shot upright.
"FORT 2.0."
Todoroki nodded once.
"That would feel familiar."
Kirishima slammed the notebook shut.
"MANLIEST IDEA YET."
Even Bakugou didn't object.
💰 The Budget Reveal
Kaito cleared his throat.
"There's… something else."
Everyone looked at him.
He pulled out his phone.
"Ren and I have a shared bank account."
Collective pause.
"For bills," Kaito added quickly. "Groceries. Stuff."
Denki leaned forward.
"How much are we talking?"
Kaito hesitated.
"…A lot."
"How much is a lot?" Mina pressed.
Kaito showed them the number.
Silence.
Denki screamed.
"WE CAN RENT A PONY."
"No pony," Todoroki said calmly.
"AGREED," Bakugou snapped.
Kaito quickly added, "We're not using all of it. That's not the point. But we can do this properly."
Mina's eyes sparkled.
"Custom cake."
"Professional lights."
"Decor that doesn't look like a kindergarten classroom," Bakugou muttered.
Kirishima pumped a fist.
"We go all out."
Kaito nodded.
"For once," he said quietly, "he gets something that's just for him."
The room softened.
No one joked for a moment.
🌙 Meanwhile — Ren
Ren was in the gym.
Alone.
Fire flickered faintly across his palm.
Controlled.
Precise.
He extinguished it.
Then flexed his fingers.
A faint, almost invisible tension pulsed under his skin.
Like strings waiting to tighten.
He exhaled slowly.
"Why does it feel like something's coming?" he muttered.
The air near the ceiling ventilation shaft shifted slightly.
Unseen.
Watching.