Chapter 29: Prelude to Villainy
Early that morning, Akio Tatsuma finished his usual rooftop training.
At his current level, he finally had enough strength to stand against the League of Villains—at least under the right conditions. As long as teachers and classmates were present, he could fight. On his own, though, he was still too inexperienced.
His physical conditioning had improved again, making him far stronger than an ordinary person. Short bursts of speed and explosive jumps now came naturally to him.
His Lightning Quirk had reached Level 3, and he could control it far more smoothly than before. He could already feel himself approaching stronger, more refined techniques. If he fought Shoto Todoroki now, Akio believed Todoroki would lose in a one-on-one fight.
That said, he had no idea whether Todoroki's strength had also grown. Akio's presence in this world had already begun shifting events, and there was no telling how much that had accelerated everyone else's development.
His Air Manipulation had also reached Level 3, equal to his lightning in raw potential. But in Akio's mind, Air Manipulation was still his true trump card. It was invisible, impossible to predict, and terrifyingly lethal. Combined with lightning, its full power was hard even for him to imagine.
After returning home and throwing on his backpack, Akio stopped by a nearby toy shop and bought an Ultraman Tiga mask.
Once the mask was tucked safely into his bag, he headed for U.A. High School.
Today was special.
Today, the League of Villains would make its first real appearance.
Today, darkness would begin to spread openly into the world.
And because of what would happen, the students of Class 1-A would experience their first true baptism in battle. They would come to understand that the world was not peaceful, and that danger could appear anywhere.
Standing at the front of the classroom, Shota Aizawa said in his usual half-awake tone:
"Today's Hero Basics class will be supervised by three instructors. Me, All Might, and one more teacher."
Sero immediately raised his hand.
"What kind of class is it?"
Aizawa lifted a sign with the word RESCUE written across it.
"Disaster rescue training. Floods, landslides, accidents. That kind of thing."
"Rescue training…" Kaminari muttered. "That sounds kind of intense."
Seated in the back, Akio kept running combat scenarios through his mind.
He was adjusting himself, steadying his breathing, and gathering strength. He wanted his body in perfect condition before the battle arrived.
"You idiot," Kirishima said with a grin, clenching his fists. "That's what heroes are supposed to do. I'm fired up already!"
"If it's flood rescue, that sounds like my specialty," Tsuyu said cheerfully.
Aizawa raised a hand to silence them.
"I'm not finished."
He looked over the class.
"This time, wear whichever costume is most suitable. Some outfits work better for specific situations."
"The facility is a little far from here. We'll take the bus."
Even as he spoke, Aizawa had a strange feeling in the back of his mind, as if something was off today. But he brushed it aside as simple fatigue from a bad night's sleep.
Midoriya clenched his fists.
"Rescue training… a chance to get closer to the kind of hero I admire…"
He thought of All Might, of the countless lives he had saved.
"This is training to become the greatest hero. I have to do this."
The school bus had not arrived yet, so the students gathered outside and waited.
At that moment, Tenya Iida walked over to Akio, wearing a huge grin.
"...?"
Akio looked at him suspiciously.
Was this guy having some kind of dramatic episode?
Iida grinned even wider, then suddenly bared his teeth in front of Akio.
Akio stared at him.
"…What exactly are you doing?"
Iida finally stopped fooling around and said proudly, "I wanted to show you. The toothbrush you gave me yesterday was amazing. My teeth are obviously whiter, and I somehow feel more refreshed too."
Akio blinked.
So that was it.
For a second, he had thought Iida had lost his mind.
"It worked that well?" Akio asked, suddenly regretting giving it away. As expected, system items were never simple.
Still, once he had given something away, he was not about to ask for it back. That would be bizarre.
And besides, he still had that strange toothpaste at home.
Maybe that was powerful too.
"Of course it did," Iida said. "Didn't you know?"
"Haha… of course I knew," Akio said smoothly, just as the school bus pulled up.
Iida's face instantly changed.
In the blink of an eye, he pulled out a whistle from somewhere, blew it sharply, and shouted:
"Class 1-A, line up! Two rows, in number order! Board the bus in an orderly fashion!"
Midoriya smiled awkwardly.
"Iida really is full of energy…"
After everyone boarded, Iida looked at the seating arrangement and went stiff.
The seats were arranged by the windows.
"This type…" he muttered, clearly devastated.
Akio patted him on the back.
"It's fine. Things don't always go the way you plan."
"Total waste of effort," Mina laughed from across the aisle.
Tsuyu sat beside Midoriya and said calmly, "I'm the type to say exactly what I'm thinking, Midoriya."
"Huh? Asui—"
"Call me Tsuyu."
She looked at him directly.
"Your Quirk feels a lot like All Might's."
Midoriya froze.
"I-Is that so?"
He was visibly panicking.
"Oh, well, I… that…"
"Hold on, Tsuyu," Kirishima cut in with a laugh. "All Might's never broken himself using his Quirk. So it's not exactly the same."
Midoriya visibly relaxed.
Kirishima had saved him.
"But still," Kirishima went on, "that kind of straightforward power-up Quirk is awesome. You can do a lot of flashy stuff with it."
He held up his arm, which instantly hardened.
"My Hardening Quirk is useful, sure, but it looks kind of plain."
"I think it looks really cool," Midoriya said honestly. "It's definitely the kind of Quirk pro heroes can do a lot with."
Kirishima grinned.
"Maybe. But if we're talking cool, Akio's Quirk really stands out. That's the kind of thing people notice."
Akio waved a hand.
"We're all the same. The important thing is becoming stronger. If we're not strong enough, we don't deserve to call ourselves heroes."
Iida laughed approvingly.
"That's a very profound thing to say."
At that point, Aoyama struck a pose and declared, "My navel laser is also excellent in both power and visual impact."
"Yeah, but it wrecks your stomach if you overdo it," Mina said brightly, draping an arm over him with a grin.
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