The next day rolled around faster than I expected.
After the whole Quirk Apprehension Test incident, I figured we'd get a break or a boring lecture at least. Nope. U.A. didn't waste time.
Our afternoon class had barely started when the door to the classroom burst open with the force of a typhoon.
"I AM... COMING THROUGH THIS DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!!"
It was All Might.
The room lit up instantly with excitement. Almost everyone's faces lit up like fireworks.
Midoriya practically bounced in his seat.
Me? I raised a brow.
I mean, yeah, it was cool. I'd watched him save people on TV in my old life. But now that I'd seen him in person a few times, the whole dramatic thing was starting to feel... weirdly normal.
All Might gave a big grin, his teeth somehow sparkling. "It's time for… BATTLE TRAINING!"
The class cheered.
"Get your hero costumes and meet me at Ground Beta in ten minutes!" he added.
I blinked.
Hero costumes?
Oh yeah — the one custom-made by my followers.
Right. The 'totally inconspicuous villain boss pretending to be a hero' look.
I sighed and headed to the locker room.
When I arrived at Ground Beta, most of the class was already there in their gear.
Everyone looked different. Shoto in his half-body suit, Bakugo in those grenade gauntlets, and Midoriya… well, I tried not to laugh. Bless his green jumpsuit heart.
"You all look great!" All Might boomed. "Now, let's go over the rules!"
He explained the Battle Trial — two teams per match, heroes versus villains. Villains guard a fake nuclear weapon prop, and the heroes try to capture it or defeat the villains within a time limit.
Simple enough.
I yawned as he read off the team pairings one by one.
Team A. Team B.
The teams went by, and I half-listened until I heard my name.
"Team J — Akira Itsuki and Eijiro Kirishima!"
Kirishima gave me a big, toothy grin.
"Yo, partner! Let's wreck this!"
I scratched the back of my head. "Yeah… about that. We're the villains, right?"
"Yup!" he punched his palm. "Time to show what manly villains look like!"
I forced a smile.
Great. 'Manly villains.' Just what my reputation needed.
My followers would be smug if they saw this.
Probably taking it as some "Boss Akira taking over U.A. from the inside" nonsense.
I just wanted to get through school, eat snacks, and maybe avoid explosions.
Was that too much to ask?
We headed inside the building assigned for our trial. It was quiet and dusty. Kirishima grabbed a spot near the prop "bomb" and cracked his knuckles.
"This is kinda fun, huh?" he grinned.
"I guess," I mumbled, sitting down cross-legged on a crate.
I glanced at the monitor showing the other matches.
Some teams were already battling it out.
I could see Uraraka floating debris like a mini asteroid field.
Iida sprinting around like a caffeinated cheetah.
But no sight of my group yet. Good.
I wasn't sure how I'd explain things if my tiny villain gang started sending me texts mid-exam like they usually did.
"Boss, we robbed a snack cart. Glory to the villain boss!"
Yeah, no.
At least the hero students here didn't suspect a thing.
Rumors about Aldera Junior High kids and villain rumors were only floating in town, not U.A.
I leaned back against the wall.
"So… how do you wanna play this, manly villain partner?"
Kirishima grinned.
"Wait for 'em to come to us, then BAM — harden and counter!"
"…Hard to argue with that."
The announcement came over the speakers.
"Commencing Team J match in five minutes."
I sighed.
Well.
Guess it was showtime.