Chapter 15 — Look Carefully. I Am Lightning.
Shota Aizawa, the homeroom teacher of U.A. High School Class 1-A, possessed the Quirk Erasure—the ability to temporarily disable the Quirks of anyone he looked at. The moment he blinked, the effect disappeared.
"Stop wasting time," Aizawa said calmly as he turned away."Prepare for the next test."
Nearby, Katsuki Bakugo clenched his fists in irritation.
"Not long ago," he muttered, "that useless nerd was just a pebble on the roadside."
Memories flashed through his mind.
Midoriya following him around as a kid.
Looking at him with admiration.
But now that look was gone.
Midoriya had changed.
And Bakugo hated it.
Just then Akio Tatsuma walked past him.
He wore a faint smile.
Bakugo's temper ignited immediately.
"What are you laughing at, spark boy?"
Akio paused and glanced at him.
He hadn't expected Bakugo's temper to explode over something so trivial.
He wasn't Midoriya.
There was no reason to tolerate Bakugo's attitude.
"Look carefully," Akio said calmly.
"I'm not the one who uses electricity."
He raised a hand and pointed into the crowd.
"That guy is."
Everyone turned.
The finger pointed directly at Denki Kaminari.
Kaminari blinked.
"…Huh? Why me?"
Bakugo snorted.
"Tch. What's the difference? Both of you are useless."
Akio sighed.
"Wait."
Bakugo stopped.
Akio looked straight at him.
"Look carefully."
"I'm not electricity."
Blue arcs of energy flickered across his palm.
"I'm lightning."
Several students immediately turned their heads.
Even Aizawa shifted his attention toward him.
Lightning-type Quirks were rare.
And this student had already shown unusual potential during the entrance exam.
Aizawa wanted to see what he could really do.
This class might be interesting, he thought.
Bakugo looked back with irritation.
"What are you staring at?"
Akio didn't respond.
He simply picked up the softball.
Blue lightning suddenly burst around his hand.
CRACK!
The ball shot forward.
The air exploded as the softball tore through it, leaving visible rings of compressed wind behind.
Bakugo's eyes widened.
"…That was faster than mine."
Iida pushed up his glasses.
"Incredible…"
"That height…"
Kaminari scratched his head.
"So he uses electricity too? That's basically the same as my Quirk."
Yaoyorozu immediately shook her head.
"No."
"That's lightning."
"It's different from electricity."
Kaminari puffed up his cheeks.
"Hey! Electricity is strong too!"
Yaoyorozu turned away, slightly embarrassed. She hadn't meant to defend Akio—lightning simply had greater destructive potential.
That was all.
The measuring device beeped.
950.05 meters
The class inhaled sharply.
Aside from Uraraka's infinity throw, this was the longest distance achieved purely through physical power.
Even Aizawa raised an eyebrow.
"…Interesting."
Akio had only used about eighty percent of his strength.
If he pushed harder, the throw would easily pass 1,300 meters.
But that would attract too much attention.
Provoking Bakugo slightly was enough.
There was no need to stand out too much.
After several more events, the physical fitness test finally ended.
The students gathered again on the playground.
"Alright," Aizawa said.
"I'll announce the results."
"The rankings are based on your total scores across all eight tests."
Midoriya swallowed nervously.
If he ranked last…
The screen flickered.
The results appeared.
1st — Ochaco Uraraka2nd — Shoto Todoroki3rd — Akio Tatsuma4th — Katsuki Bakugo5th — Tenya Iida6th — Fumikage Tokoyami7th — Mezo Shoji8th — Mashirao Ojiro9th — Eijiro Kirishima10th — Mina Ashido
The remaining rankings followed.
17th — Denki Kaminari18th — Kyoka Jiro19th — Toru Hagakure20th — Minoru Mineta
21st — Izuku Midoriya
Bakugo immediately turned toward Akio.
"You're above me."
Akio simply smiled.
Bakugo clenched his fists.
"That bastard…"
"I'll beat him next time."
Kaminari sighed dramatically.
"Akio got third place…"
"And I'm seventeenth."
"Lightning really does have an advantage over electricity."
Of course, he didn't know Akio possessed another hidden ability.
If he did, he might collapse in despair.
Then Aizawa spoke again.
"Oh, and one more thing."
"The expulsion rule…"
"…was a lie."
The entire class froze.
Midoriya nearly turned to stone.
"A lie?!"
Aizawa remained completely expressionless.
"It was a rational deception."
"A method to force you to push your Quirks to their limits."
Several students exhaled in relief.
Sero forced a nervous laugh.
"That was terrifying…"
Kirishima raised his fist with excitement.
"I'm ready for any challenge!"
Yaoyorozu glanced toward Midoriya.
"At the beginning, Akio already said no one would be expelled."
Midoriya blinked.
"…He did."
He hadn't realized it before.
Akio stretched and started walking back toward the classroom.
Behind him, Bakugo was still glaring.
But Akio didn't care.
Their real journey at U.A. High School had only just begun.
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