The morning after the emergency summit, UA's faculty convened with urgency. Principal Nezu, Aizawa, Vlad King, and several Pro Heroes—including Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods—briefed Class 1-A and 1-B in the main auditorium. The atmosphere was tense, every student seated upright, alert. Even the usually energetic ones like Kaminari and Kirishima had gone quiet. Yaoyorozu clutched her notebook tightly, taking meticulous notes even though her hands trembled slightly.
Nezu's voice was calm but firm. "Due to the recent uptick in villain activity, we've decided to initiate a joint-response protocol. You'll be assigned into mixed teams and stationed strategically under the pretense of advanced field training. These drills may turn real, so treat every encounter as such."
Gasps and murmurs rippled through the hall. Aizawa raised a hand. "Silence. This is not just a drill—it's a preventative measure. You will be with Pro Heroes at all times. But remain alert. Understand?"
"Yes, sir!" the class echoed, though unease lingered.
Reiji stood quietly in the back, his eyes scanning the reactions around him. Midoriya, Bakugo, and Todoroki didn't look surprised. They understood the stakes. But others looked shaken. Uraraka's hands trembled slightly. Sero whispered something to Mina, who only nodded tightly. Reiji glanced toward Jiro, who clutched her earlobes in thought, processing the gravity of their new reality.
He said nothing, but tension tugged at his chest. The residual data spike from the night before—it hadn't been a glitch. That flicker of instability wasn't natural. If left unchecked, it could endanger more than just himself. The system had been quiet since, but still waters often ran deepest.
As the briefing ended, students were dismissed to prepare. Reiji turned to leave but felt Midoriya's gaze on him. He met it briefly, then looked away. He couldn't afford any attachments now—not when shadows stirred within him, both figurative and literal.
Later that day, Reiji walked the empty hallway between the dorms and the training facility. The sun was high, casting long shadows through the windows, but a slight chill lingered in the air. A janitor quietly swept the floor at the far end, humming to himself, adding an odd normalcy to the otherwise tense corridor.
Tokoyami stepped out from a side corridor, joining him silently. His expression was unreadable, his sharp eyes observing every movement.
"You're different lately," Tokoyami said without preamble.
Reiji paused, offering a faint smile. "Aren't we all? Pressure changes people."
Tokoyami's eyes narrowed. "You've become… sharper. It's like something is watching through your eyes. You walk like you're never really here."
Reiji didn't answer immediately. He felt the flicker again—a ripple of instability where Scorpion and Noob Saibot's powers overlapped. The Mortal Kombat system had balanced them temporarily, but they weren't fully harmonized. If they clashed, it could destabilize him at a critical moment.
"Balance is harder than it looks," Reiji murmured more to himself than Tokoyami.
A beat of silence passed. Tokoyami's gaze lingered. "It is. But solitude won't bring peace either."
Reiji slowed his steps, finally nodding. "Thanks for the observation. Be careful during the drills."
Tokoyami tilted his head but let him go. "You too. Try not to get consumed by whatever shadows you've embraced."
Elsewhere, far from UA, Shigaraki stood before a massive slumbering form—Gigantomachia, his rhythmic breathing like a beast dreaming of destruction. Dabi leaned against a cracked pillar, arms crossed, while Toga sat on a crumbling ledge, twirling a bloody knife. Twice paced nearby, muttering to himself.
"The heroes are tightening their net," Shigaraki said. "Which means we spread the fire wider. Smoke them out of their own strongholds."
Toga grinned. "Who do I get to stab this time?"
"Focus on distraction," Shigaraki replied. "Draw their attention with chaos—not slaughter. Yet."
Dabi exhaled a plume of blue flame, the heat distorting the air and making the dry walls sizzle faintly. "You're softening."
Shigaraki's grin was cold and cracked. "No. I'm watching. We prod the beast… and wait for the cracks to show. Especially that boy. Reiji."
"Still think he's just a student?" Spinner asked, arms crossed as he studied footage of Reiji in combat. "That power wasn't just flashy. It was surgical."
"He's not," Shigaraki replied. "But he's not ready for what's coming either."
He turned to the map and pointed to a town nestled in a quiet valley, circled in red. "Start with this place. It's off their patrol paths and won't draw media. If he senses it, he'll come alone. Let's greet him properly."
Back at UA, Reiji sat alone atop the rooftop, legs drawn to his chest, hood pulled low. The breeze carried the faint rustle of trees, a peaceful contradiction to the storm in his chest. From above, the late afternoon sky shifted with golden light, casting long shadows across the school grounds.
[System Notification: Passive Skill Unlocked – Shadow Pulse]
A glowing ring of text circled his vision before fading.
He inhaled deeply. Shadow Pulse. The ability to detect traces of malicious intent or hidden threats within a limited radius. It didn't track people—it tracked hostility, like ripples disturbing the calm of a pond.
Reiji activated it.
A low hum echoed in his senses. Then, like sonar, he felt it—a faint, aggressive disturbance far northeast. Remote. Hidden. But real. The feeling made his skin prickle—wrongness cloaked in silence.
He stood quickly and checked the system map. The location wasn't listed on UA's training assignments. No patrols were scheduled near it. No students were deployed in that zone. Just a quiet town now vibrating with danger.
"Of course," he muttered. "They're baiting me."
But he couldn't tell anyone. Not yet. If the villains thought he moved independently, they might reveal more. He needed to see it firsthand.
He opened the window of the nearest stairwell and leapt down, cloak fluttering behind him. Shadows gathered at his heels like loyal hounds—silent, eager, and watching.
[System Sync: Shadow Pulse – Active. Range: Expanding…]
The wind greeted him like an old friend as he vanished into the trees beyond the school grounds, footsteps light but determined.
"If this is the path they've chosen… then I'll show them what walks in the shadows."
To be continued...
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