And so, for better or worse, our very first Foundational Heroics class came to an end. It was what happened afterward, during the post-school hours, that proved most interesting.
"Hey, since we're all here, let's have a review session about today's training! It'll be a good way for us to get to know each other, too!"
Homeroom had just finished. As everyone was preparing to head home, Kirishima raised his voice with the suggestion. Almost every eye in the room turned toward him.
"I love that idea!"
"Count me in!"
"Me too, ribbit!"
"Sorry. I have some personal business I can't put off today," Todoroki said, heading for the door.
"Oh, no worries! We'll catch you next time, man!" Kirishima replied with a wave.
Aside from Todoroki, everyone else—much to my surprise—agreed to stay. Their dedication to self-improvement was truly commendable; even for Jedi, finding a group with such uniform drive was a rarity. It was a wonderful thing to see.
Of course, there were exceptions to the "group harmony" vibe—specifically Bakugo, who was still glaring daggers at Midoriya. Midoriya, for his part, was still clearly recovering from his injuries.
Actually, the fact that Bakugo was even in the room was a surprise. Immediately after the exercise, he had seemed completely catatonic, lost in a daze of shock. He must have had some sort of encounter with Midoriya in the locker rooms when the latter returned from the nurse's office. By the time he'd walked back into the classroom, his usual explosive temperament had returned.
...No, that wasn't quite right. Unlike before, the thick fog of arrogance had lifted from his presence. Even that volatile aggression—the kind that felt like a latent destructive impulse—had faded.
In its place was a monumental, almost bottomless ambition born from a piercing self-awareness. He was still angry, yes, but that rage was now directed almost entirely inward.
I didn't know the specifics of what they'd discussed, but it seemed his conversation with Midoriya had pulled him back from the brink. He was already looking toward the future. Perhaps that was why the stench of the Dark Side had weakened. His defeat had been a profound shock, yet the fact that his first instinct wasn't to take it out on others, but to better himself, proved that he truly did belong in the Hero course.
"My apologies," I spoke up. "I would like to join the review session, but I have business in the faculty room. I'll come back as soon as I'm finished, so please, feel free to start without me."
"Oh? What's this? Trouble on the first day?" Ashido teased.
"Nah, she's not like Bakugo," Kaminari joked.
"HAH?! You wanna die, Sparky?!" Bakugo erupted.
...I suppose I should retract my earlier thought about his "faded" aggression.
"In any case," I continued, "there's something I want to apply for. I'm not sure if the system even allows for it yet, so I need to check on the regulations."
"An application?" Yaoyorozu asked, tilting her head.
"Yes. My father mentioned that UA allows students to use the training facilities after school if they submit a formal request. I want to look into that."
"The training facilities!?"
"Wait, tell us more about that!"
The class practically swarmed me. Did they really want to train that much more? Even the most disciplined Padawans I knew weren't this eager. It was honestly impressive.
"Everyone, calm down!" Iida shouted, stepping in. "Masue-kun is going to the faculty room specifically to get the details, isn't she!?"
"Oh, right."
"Got a bit ahead of ourselves there."
"Exactly," I said. "So, please, start your discussion. I'll explain everything about the facilities once I return."
With that, I left my classmates behind and stepped out into the hall.
As the small student walked out of the room with a polite bow, the members of Class 1-A watched her go, each letting out a collective sigh.
"...Man, I still can't believe it," Ojiro began, breaking the silence. "She's actually younger than us."
"She skipped grades, right? That's so crazy... how old is she again?" Hagakure asked, turning toward Toga, who was known to be close with Riha.
"Ri-chan will be eleven this August," Toga said, looking oddly proud.
"Eleven!?"
"Wait, that means she's still ten right now!"
"So young!"
"More like... tiny? But she's so mature!"
"And she got those scores at that age? That's terrifying," Sato muttered.
"It's frustrating, but she really was sparkling today☆" Aoyama added.
"That glowing sword was so cool!"
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