Saturday at U.A. High School felt… weirdly normal.
Which, for my life lately, was honestly suspicious.
One moment I was eating breakfast in a blanket fort with my friends, the next moment Kirishima slammed his fist on the table and yelled something about "MANLY TRAINING TIME."
And somehow that turned into six of us walking toward the gym.
Me.
Kaito.
Kirishima.
Denki.
Mina.
And Izuku Midoriya.
I still wasn't totally sure how Midoriya joined us. He just sort of appeared with his notebook like he always does.
As we walked through the halls, I stretched my arms behind my head.
"So… are we actually training?"
Kirishima pumped his fist.
"Of course!"
Denki groaned dramatically.
"Bro it's Saturday."
Mina skipped ahead of us and turned around walking backwards.
"C'mon! It'll be fun!"
Kaito glanced at me.
"You good with it?"
I shrugged.
"Sure. I mean, I accidentally teleported into a villain base yesterday."
Denki nodded.
"Fair point."
Midoriya scribbled something down.
"Your portal quirk really is fascinating…"
I sighed.
Of course he was taking notes already.
Inside the Gym
The doors to the gym opened and the huge room echoed slightly as we walked in.
I always forgot how big the training areas at U.A. were.
High ceilings.
Massive mats.
Weights and training equipment everywhere.
Even a row of punching bags hanging from metal beams.
I stepped inside and looked around.
"…This place is huge."
Kirishima cracked his knuckles like he had just entered a gladiator arena.
"PERFECT."
Denki walked over to a bench and immediately sat down.
"I'm already tired."
Mina stretched her arms over her head.
"Alright! Warm ups!"
I followed everyone toward the center of the room.
Midoriya had already opened his notebook.
I pointed at it.
"You're going to write down everything I do, aren't you?"
He looked up nervously.
"…Probably."
Kaito laughed.
"Just accept it, Ren."
I sighed.
"Fine."
Warm Ups
We started with running laps around the gym floor.
I ran beside Kaito while the others spread out.
Denki was already breathing heavily behind us.
"I regret everything."
"You've been running for thirty seconds," Mina called back.
"That's THIRTY LONG SECONDS."
I laughed quietly and kept jogging.
Honestly… it felt nice.
Normal.
No villains.
No weird portals opening in the dorm.
Just friends running in a gym.
Kaito nudged me slightly.
"So."
I looked over.
"So?"
"You feeling any different today?"
I knew what he meant.
The portal thing.
I slowed slightly.
"…Actually yeah."
I held up my hand while jogging.
There was this strange pressure in the air around my fingers.
Like the space itself was… waiting.
"I can feel it now."
Kaito raised an eyebrow.
"Feel what?"
"The portals."
Midoriya suddenly appeared beside us like a researcher chasing a rare animal.
"You can feel the spatial distortion!"
I jumped a little.
"Why do you run so quietly?!"
He was already scribbling in his notebook.
"Your quirk must interact with dimensional space itself—"
Denki jogged past us looking miserable.
"I'm going to collapse."
Stretching
After a few laps we stopped near the mats.
Everyone stretched.
Kirishima rolled his shoulders.
"Alright!"
He pointed at me.
"Ren!"
I blinked.
"…Yes?"
"Spar with me."
My brain took a moment to process that.
"…What."
Mina gasped dramatically.
"Oh this is gonna be good."
Denki immediately sat down on the floor.
"YES."
Midoriya flipped to a fresh page in his notebook.
Kaito crossed his arms with a grin.
I pointed at Kirishima.
"You're literally made of rock."
He grinned wider.
"Exactly!"
I sighed.
"…Fine."
Sparring
We stepped onto the mat.
Kirishima took a stance.
"Don't hold back!"
I rubbed the back of my neck.
"I'm not really sure what counts as holding back anymore."
That was not a comforting sentence.
Denki whispered to Mina.
"That's slightly terrifying."
Kirishima hardened his skin immediately.
His body turned red and jagged like stone.
"COME ON!"
I raised my hands awkwardly.
"Okay… uh…"
Then he charged.
I panicked.
My brain yelled PORTAL.
The world twisted.
Suddenly—
I was behind him.
Kirishima stopped and looked around.
"…Huh?"
Everyone stared at me.
Denki pointed.
"HE TELEPORTED AGAIN."
I blinked.
"…I did?"
Midoriya was writing so fast the paper almost tore.
"Instant repositioning!"
Kirishima turned around grinning.
"AGAIN!"
He rushed me a second time.
This time I tried to move normally.
He swung.
I ducked.
Then I reacted without thinking.
My hand brushed his arm.
For half a second I forgot something very important.
My blood from earlier had a small cut on my knuckle.
Kirishima froze.
Completely.
Like a statue.
I stared at him.
"…Oh."
Denki slowly stood up.
"…Did you just paralyze him?"
I waved my hands.
"WAIT WAIT WAIT I DIDN'T MEAN TO—"
Five seconds later Kirishima suddenly moved again.
He blinked.
"…Whoa."
I pointed.
"I'm so sorry!"
He burst out laughing.
"THAT WAS AWESOME!"
Midoriya was shaking with excitement.
"Blood-triggered paralysis confirmed!"
I groaned.
"I really need warning labels."
After Training
Eventually we all collapsed on the mats.
Denki was laying flat on his back.
"I'm dead."
Mina laughed.
"You barely did anything!"
Kaito tossed me a water bottle.
"Nice job."
I took a drink.
"Thanks."
Midoriya looked up from his notes.
"Your abilities are still evolving."
That sentence was slightly terrifying.
I leaned back on my elbows and stared at the ceiling lights.
"…You know something?"
Kaito looked over.
"What?"
I thought about the last few weeks.
Villains.
Portals.
Scientists.
Crazy powers.
Friends.
Then I smiled a little.
"…Life at U.A. is weird."
Denki raised a hand weakly.
"Understatement of the year."
And honestly?
I had a feeling things were about to get even weirder.