"I really have to thank her this time. And in the future, you two might even become colleagues, Momo."
After jumping down from the training platform, Masata looked at Hatsume Mei, who was sleeping quietly on the ground, and spoke to Yaoyorozu.
Now that she was asleep, Hatsume Mei no longer had her usual energetic personality. Instead, she looked quiet and gentle, like a lifelike doll.
"Huh? When did you recruit her again?" Yaoyorozu asked in surprise. "And isn't Hatsume Mei from the Support Department?"
Masata hadn't mentioned this before, so she was genuinely confused.
"It was when she helped me make my battle suit," Masata explained. "Even though she's in Support, my future Hero Office won't just take simple commissions. We'll expand into other areas too, including equipment development. Combat uniforms will be very important in the future."
After experiencing her work firsthand, Masata's prejudice against Hatsume Mei had completely disappeared.
Instead, he now admired her.
In this society, people who could truly devote themselves to one field were becoming rarer and rarer.
That alone was enough to earn his respect.
"Masata! You look so handsome today!"
Just as the two were talking, an overly enthusiastic voice interrupted them.
When Masata saw Himiko Toga approaching with flushed cheeks and her small tiger teeth showing, cold sweat instantly formed on his back.
After all…
She had spent the night in his room.
There was no way he could pretend nothing had happened.
At this point, it wasn't even "scummy" behavior anymore.
It was far worse.
"Why are you still bothering Masata?!"
Yaoyorozu immediately stepped forward, standing in front of him like a protective hen shielding her chick.
She blocked Toga, who was trying to rush over.
"Because I like Masata, so I came," Toga replied honestly.
When she saw Masata being blocked, her brows furrowed in confusion.
"And last time, Masata was also in my room, and then—"
Before she could finish, Masata hurriedly covered her mouth.
"Haha! That, well… we're classmates, right? We'll be together for more than two years. She just came to say hello when she saw me, right? Toga?"
He explained awkwardly while desperately winking at her.
Fortunately, Toga wasn't stupid.
After a moment of thought, she nodded.
"Yeah!"
Yaoyorozu glanced at them suspiciously.
"I feel like you're hiding something from me…"
But everyone had their own privacy.
And Masata's explanation did sound reasonable.
So she didn't press further.
Feeling something warm and sticky on his palm, Masata quickly realized what had happened.
He withdrew his hand from Toga's face and wiped it awkwardly behind his back.
"Tch—"
Their little movements didn't escape the eyes of their classmates.
Several boys were already staring at Masata with complicated expressions.
When Masata saw Kaminari and Mineta's gloomy faces, he immediately became alert.
If those two started spreading rumors in front of Yaoyorozu, he would be in serious trouble.
"Time's up, Class A!!!"
A loud voice suddenly echoed from the entrance, instantly drawing everyone's attention—and saving Masata.
"According to the schedule, it's Class B's turn to use the training ground this afternoon!"
Class B's homeroom teacher, Vlad King, led his students inside.
"What terrible timing!" Kaminari cried.
He hadn't even shown his new secret weapon yet.
Over the past few days, he had greatly improved his combat gear, completely changing his fighting style.
Before, he could only discharge electricity at close range.
It was monotonous and dangerous.
Now he finally had range.
He had planned to show off.
But the opportunity was gone.
Of course he was upset.
"Eraser, take your students out," Vlad King said.
"Every second counts."
Although Aizawa and Vlad were close friends privately, they competed fiercely at work.
Class A had dominated Class B for a long time.
Vlad naturally felt dissatisfied.
"Did you know?" Monoma shouted loudly. "The pass rate for the provisional license exam is only about 50%! Class A is definitely going to fail together!"
But everyone was already used to his provocations.
No one took him seriously.
"Their combat uniforms are kind of interesting," Masata said, stroking his chin as he observed Class B.
"They look normal to me," Kento replied. "What's interesting about them?"
After all, Copy-type quirks didn't benefit much from equipment.
Masata smiled.
"Look at the three stopwatches on his belt. That means the quirk he copies probably has a time limit. He's very meticulous."
After listening, Kento looked carefully and noticed the details.
His impression of the student changed immediately.
"Since we're taking the same exam, we're destined to fight each other," Tokoyami declared dramatically.
Aizawa immediately shot him down.
"That's why Class A and Class B applied for different testing sites. You'll never meet."
Tokoyami froze.
He clearly hadn't known that.
"In June and September every year, three national testing sites are used simultaneously," Yaoyorozu explained. "It's an unwritten rule."
"But we'll still be competing with other schools."
"And the testing schedule was moved up."
Even so, many students still felt uneasy.
Seeing this, Aizawa added more pressure.
"Nationwide, very few first-year students take this exam," he said calmly.
"That means most of your opponents will be more experienced than you."
"They'll have stronger, more refined quirks."
"Some may have abilities you've never seen before."
"Don't underestimate them."
Time passed quietly.
And before they realized it—
The day of the Provisional Hero License Exam finally arrived.