The elevator lobby was packed. Students and parents crowded the space, waiting for the next car while boxes and furniture floated or rolled past on various Quirks. Cid, Toru, and her parents had just stepped up when they saw the hold-up.
A grand piano — polished black, clearly expensive — was wedged halfway through the open elevator doors. Four burly moving guys in uniforms were pushing, grunting, and trying to angle it through without scratching anything. A tall, elegant girl with long dark hair stood beside two equally polished adults who had to be her parents. All three looked mildly embarrassed.
Toru tilted her invisible head. "Whoa, who brings a piano to a dorm?"
Cid watched the movers struggle for another second, then shrugged. ' I guess I can help them out' he thought to himself.
He stepped forward, hands still in his hoodie pockets.
"Need a hand?"
The girl turned, surprised. Her parents glanced over. One of the movers wiped sweat from his brow and nodded gratefully.
The girl recovered quickly, offering a polite, composed smile. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble… we seem to have misjudged the dimensions."
Cid gave a lazy nod. "No problem."
He didn't say the words out loud. Just a calm flick of his visible right eye.
The grand piano collapsed in on itself instantly — shrinking from concert-grand size down to something that fit neatly in the palm of one hand. The movers nearly toppled forward from the sudden lack of resistance. The tiny piano hovered in mid-air for a second before Cid caught it gently between two fingers and handed it over.
The girl's eyes widened, then sparkled with genuine interest. "Incredible…"
Her mother recovered first, bowing slightly. "Thank you so much. I'm Mrs. Yaoyorozu. This is my husband, Mr. Yaoyorozu."
The father gave a courteous nod. "A pleasure."
The girl stepped forward, bowing neatly. "I'm Momo Yaoyorozu. It's very nice to meet you."
Cid returned the nod, casual as ever. "Cid Kageno."
Toru bounced in beside him, gloves waving. "Toru Hagakure! And these are my mom and dad!"
Toru's parents introduced themselves warmly, the four adults exchanging polite handshakes while the movers stepped back, looking relieved.
Momo glanced at the tiny piano now resting in her mother's palm, then back at Cid. Recognition clicked behind her eyes.
"Wait… you're the one who scored highest on the entrance exam, aren't you? 175 points, correct?"
Cid rubbed the back of his neck once. "Yeah. That's me."
Momo's posture straightened with polite excitement. "Fascinating. The way you resized that piano… it was instantaneous and perfectly proportional. No visible strain at all. How exactly does the shrinking process work? Line-of-sight only? And can you set specific ratios in advance? Does the mass conservation follow any particular—"
She caught herself mid-question, cheeks tinting faintly pink. "Ah… forgive me. I tend to get carried away when something piques my curiosity."
Toru giggled. "She's totally geeking out! Cid, you have to answer or she'll explode with questions the whole ride up."
Cid gave a small, lazy smile, the kind that barely reached his visible eye.
"Line of sight," he said simply. "Think it, and it happens. No fancy math on my end — it just… scales right."
Momo's eyes lit up like she'd been handed a new textbook. "Remarkable. The applications for support work alone would be—"
The elevator dinged, doors sliding open again.
Toru's dad chuckled. "Shall we continue this fascinating discussion upstairs? We're holding up the line."
They all stepped in together — Cid, Toru and her parents, Momo and hers — the tiny piano now safely tucked into Mrs. Yaoyorozu's purse. The doors closed, and the car began its smooth ascent.
Momo turned back to Cid, still clearly intrigued but trying to restrain herself. "If you wouldn't mind… I'd love to hear more about your Quirk sometime. Perhaps over tea once we're settled?"
Cid shrugged, the motion easy and unbothered. *Quirk talk already? Dorm life's gonna be chatty.*
"Sure. Why not."
Toru's gloves clapped together. "Group study session! This is gonna be fun!"
As the elevator rose, Cid leaned against the wall, hands back in his pockets, the faint weight of his shrunken belongings a quiet reminder that he'd brought everything he needed.
The elevator chimed softly on the third floor — the girls' side of the dorm.
Momo and her parents stepped out first, followed by Toru and hers. Cid lingered in the doorway, holding it open with one hand.
Momo turned back, the tiny piano still safe in her mother's purse. "Thank you again, Kageno-kun. If you could…?"
Cid nodded once. He didn't even step out of the elevator. Just a quick, lazy glance at the purse.
The piano unfolded in an instant — growing smoothly back to its full grand size right there in the hallway, legs landing gently on the carpet with a soft *thump*. Not a scratch. Not a single note out of tune.
Momo's eyes sparkled again. "Perfect control… truly impressive."
Toru bounced on her toes. "See? Told you he's the best at this stuff!"
Cid gave a small shrug. "No big deal. See you around."
Toru's gloves waved frantically. "Text me later, okay? Don't disappear again!"
Momo offered a polite, elegant bow. "I look forward to speaking more about your Quirk. Perhaps tomorrow?"
"Sure," Cid said, already stepping back as the doors began to close. "Whenever."
The elevator continued upward to the boys' floors.
When it opened on the fourth floor — the boys' wing — Cid stepped out into a much quieter hallway. A few guys were still hauling boxes, but most doors were already closed. He found his assigned room near the end — simple plaque reading "Kageno Cid – Room 412."
Inside, the space was clean and empty: bed, desk, small closet, window overlooking the training grounds. Exactly what he needed.
He dropped his backpack on the bed, unzipped it, and gave the contents a single calm look.
Everything inside popped back to normal size at once — clothes folding themselves neatly onto shelves, books stacking on the desk, a couple of small decorations (a photo frame, a plain lamp, a single poster) arranging themselves on the walls and nightstand without him lifting a finger.
Took maybe twenty seconds total.
Cid kicked off his shoes, flopped onto the freshly made bed, and stared at the ceiling with a quiet sigh.
"Home sweet home, I guess."
The room was silent except for the faint hum of the air conditioning. No parents downstairs. No Toru's laughter echoing down the hall yet. Just him, four walls, and the faint weight of six tiny robots still tucked safely in his hoodie pocket.
He closed his visible eye for a moment, the ghost of a smile tugging at his lips.
Not bad.