My Hero Academia: Aura Farming

[The Synonym]

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[The Truth Comes Out]
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…

"…"

"…"

A contest had begun. A staring contest.

Taka locked eyes with Nezu, and the principal returned the gaze without blinking, silent and unmoving—save for the knowing smile fixed on his muzzle.

Then, Taka's eyes darted to Seiji at his side.

Seiji met his gaze just as unblinkingly, a smug smirk tugging at his lips.

Taka slowly looked back at Nezu.

'I'm being ganged up on…'

A bead of sweat ran down his temple as he felt the weight of both stares pressing into him—heavy, sharp, and painfully aware of the implications behind this little "visit."

Or rather, intervention.

Still… nothing was certain yet.

Maybe Seiji had just bragged about his great and amazing potential to Nezu after their spar the other day, hence his visit?

…No. He doubted Seiji had those kinds of connections.

Taka swallowed nervously.

This was thin ice.

Very thin ice.

He had to choose his words carefully, or everything would go to shit.

"So…" he said at last, feigning confusion as he gestured vaguely at the massive white rat… bear, dog, whatever he was. "Who are you?"

Nezu's ears perked up, delighted.

"Oh my, where are my manners?" he said cheerfully. "I'm Nezu, Principal of U.A. High School. Does that satisfy you, Mr Rockinesis?—oops! I wasn't supposed to say that yet."

"…"

After a long second of sheer disbelief, Taka snorted and shut his eyes.

'Yep. Never mind. Everything went to shit a long time ago.'

Suddenly, something pressed down on his shoulder.

He turned to see Seiji leaning on him casually, staring at him with that same damn smirk.

"You know," Seiji said lightly, "it was quite the surprise when U.A.'s actual principal knocked on my door and explained the certain… connections between a criminal mastermind that's been causing a lot of havoc lately—and my dear little ward. Anything you'd like to say for yourself, Taka?"

"You have no evidence," Taka replied instantly.

"Unfortunately, I do," Nezu cut in pleasantly. "Monetization records from that very successful channel of yours. Bank transfer history. IP address logs. Upload timestamps. Location metadata. And that's just the short list. Shall I continue?"

"…No. That's enough." Taka's poker face crumbled.

He was completely, utterly caught. There was no point in pretending anymore.

'Fucking Quirktube and the bank—where's my right to privacy?! I thought they weren't allowed to share any of that!'

Seiji suddenly burst into laughter, patting Taka's back loudly.

"Well, well, well! Looks like you got caught, little Taka! Your crime spree ends here!"

Taka gave him a long, flat stare.

Then—

"This guy knew too! I'm just a poor, innocent minor! If anyone's going to prison, it should be him!"

Seiji's laughter died instantly, and he snapped his head towards Taka with a panicked look.

"You little shit!"

Taka smirked, pointing at him accusatorily. "If I'm going down, you're coming with me!"

"After I raised you for twelve years, this is how you repay me?!"

"Hahahaha!"

Nezu's sudden cackle cut cleanly through their argument, making both of them snap their attention toward him in disbelief.

"You two really are quite the pair," Nezu said cheerfully. "There's no need to worry. I didn't come here to send either of you to prison, Takahashi-kun… nor you, Seiji-san."

"For real?" they both asked in unison.

Nezu nodded and hopped down from the couch, beginning to pace casually around the living room.

"While I am the principal of a hero school—and would normally be obligated to ensure you face the appropriate legal consequences for what I've discovered—you have, in fact, done some rather brilliant work as a vigilante. Illegal, yes. But impressive nonetheless."

"Hah? Brilliant work? This guy?" Seiji scoffed, poking Taka's cheek mockingly, which the teenager responded to by slapping his hand away.

"Indeed," Nezu replied with a sly smile. He pulled a small disk from his pocket and flicked it onto the floor. A holographic projection flared to life, displaying recordings of Taka's exploits as Rockinesis. "I took the time to analyze all your appearances. And surprisingly, for someone with no formal hero training, your environmental damage control is quite refined."

The images showed Taka redirecting attacks in harmless directions, positioning enemies, reducing his powers' impact on the surroundings, and minimizing collateral destruction.

"Though not perfect," Nezu continued, "you consistently reduced the impact on surrounding infrastructure. That's something even seasoned heroes often neglect. Most people wouldn't even think to prioritize it."

"Heh, that's because of me," Seiji said proudly, crossing his arms while leaning on Taka. "This brat was always tagging along at my job. So I gave him a tip or two about the hero life during my many outings capturing villains."

Taka deadpanned. "Bold of you to assume it's all because of you."

Seiji shot his ward a sideways grin. "Well, am I wrong, little Taka?"

"…No," Taka admitted quietly. "But still."

Nezu smiled and clicked a button on a remote. The projection shifted—now showing footage of Taka, or Rockinesis, clashing with multiple heroes who had attempted to apprehend him.

"Then there's the matter of you fighting heroes," Nezu continued. "Legally speaking, it is resisting arrest, without question. However, you consistently showed restraint. You even held back when you clearly had a very clear advantage."

Taka winced slightly as the footage showed him humiliating a few opponents.

"While you did seem to enjoy embarrassing them more than necessary," Nezu added with a knowing look, "I'll chalk that up to youthful immaturity. In the end, you caused no lasting injuries and disengaged responsibly."

Taka's face relaxed, suspiring relieved.

'Good thing I took something like this into account.'

Nezu clicked the remote once more.

Two final images appeared.

One being Taka's battle against the three A-class villains… And the other—his recent clash with Gigantomachia.

His eyebrow twitched at the clearly recent picture. From what it looked like, it was taken from the coastline with a very good zoom. Whether from the spectating crowd or the police, who knew.

"And finally," Nezu said, his voice turning more solemn, "there is your willingness to face foes that would have placed established heroes in extreme danger. In both of these cases, casualties were not only possible—but likely."

The room grew quiet.

"If you hadn't intervened," Nezu continued, "there was a chance the outcome could have been catastrophic. And while that does not excuse unauthorized hero activity—nor your involvement in conflicts beyond your legal standing—I must thank you. As the principal of U.A., and as someone who values human life, despite not being human myself."

"Uh… sure," Taka replied awkwardly. "You're welcome, I guess."

With that, the projection shut off. Nezu tucked the disk and remote back into his pocket, smiling faintly as the room settled into silence once more.

But then Nezu turned back to Taka. This time, however, his eyes locked onto his with a pressure wholly unbecoming of such a small body.

"Due to all the details I mentioned earlier, and considering your young age, I decided to take a small gamble," he said calmly. "Today, I did not come to apprehend you—nor your guardian—but to offer you a deal."

That immediately caught both ward and guardian's attention.

"But first," Nezu continued, raising one finger in its paw, "there is a question I must ask."

Taka frowned slightly. "What is it?"

Nezu's smile widened—then sharpened.

"What is your true Quirk, Takahashi-kun?"

"...!"

The instant the question left his mouth, the tension in the room spiked violently. Both pairs of eyes snapped onto Taka at once.

"Your registered Quirk, Muscle to Mind, supposedly allows you only to convert physical force into telekinetic power," Nezu continued. "Yet that description is clearly... insufficient to say the least."

He gestured lightly.

"Cloning. Energy manifestation. Physical strength and durability in the superhuman range, matched by an equally abnormal telekinetic ability. And what I can only assume are some degree of precognitive capabilities, judging by how accurately you anticipate crimes and conflicts to crash at them and play your shows."

Nezu's eyes glinted.

"To say your Quirk's official description falls short of its real scope would be a severe understatement, wouldn't you agree?"

"..."

Taka sweatdropped, his gaze sliding away under the weight of that stare.

What was he supposed to say?

He was cornered. Completely.

Nezu had already noticed nearly every ability he'd displayed so far—save for the ones he hadn't yet revealed. And the moment he did in the future, those too would be noticed. Lying now would only guarantee that he'd be caught in that lie later.

So… should he just tell the truth?

This was Nezu—an ally to the main cast. Not the government, with its sick machiavellian stuff, and certainly not a villain's spy. Even if terrifying in his own way, he was one of the few people Taka could reasonably trust. Both because of his proven character and because the guy was simply that competent.

Unless this was some AU where Nezu was secretly the true mastermind behind everything.

Rodent for One, or some shit like that.

'Focus, damn it.'

Realizing his thoughts were drifting, Taka forced himself back to the main point.

He glanced at Seiji—who was practically breathing down his neck, eyes wide and prodding smile brimming with expectation.

Taka trusted Seiji.

As for Nezu… he trusted him too, even if they'd only officially met today. The guy may be a rat, but he was a nice rat.

Or nice bear, or dog, whatever he was.

'I guess... It's fine.'

With a quiet sigh, Taka finally spoke.

"My Quirk's energy source isn't physical strength..." he admitted, his eyes growing serious as the revelations began unfolding. "It's a kind of energy that my body naturally builds up over time, piling up in me like a battery, and which lets me enhance myself, as well as project it into something akin to telekinesis. As for the other abilities… the energy seems to be quite versatile in how it can manifest outside my body, which lets me do all the other stuff—there might be more abilities, but I haven't discovered them yet."

"It accumulates passively?" Nezu asked.

"Yeah. Just on its own."

"And it somehow allows you to create clones, boost your physical prowess to inhuman levels, allegedly predict the future, and control things from afar?"

Taka nodded. "As I said, it's… uh, kind of versatile."

"Damn, kid," Seiji exclaimed from beside him, looking at him in a completely new light.

Nezu chuckled, but tapped the area beneath his muzzle thoughtfully. Clearly, not letting his amusement overshadow his running thoughts.

And while he did that, Taka sighed inwardly.

In the end, he still kept part of the truth to himself.

Not because he didn't trust the people in the room.

Not because he was afraid.

But because—

'The true Aura Farmer always keeps a few cards up his sleeve.' Taka thought, his eyes shining with a faint, sly glint for a second—Of course, just for dramatic effect while you read this. It wasn't something visible either to Nezu or Seiji.

Such a vain reason was all he had in mind when keeping the full information.

Maybe telling everything wouldn't change anything.

Or maybe… it would one day mean the difference between survival and death.

But for now, he preferred to keep those secrets wrapped.

That way, if someday an epic situation arose in which his foe somehow knew about his supposed Quirk and had prepared a countermeasure…

He would make the big reveal—then proceed to crush them with his full power.

That would be truly cool.

Of course, that was all just wishful thinking.

Whether it would actually come true or not was a matter for the future.

"Very well. Despite its bizarreness, I suppose it covers most of the loopholes I had noticed," Nezu suddenly nodded, giving the half-truth a pass.

Seeing that, Taka nodded as well, heaving a sigh of relief inwardly.

But then, he felt a pat on the shoulder.

He turned and saw Seiji smirking at him, looking a bit too excited.

"The next time we spar, you're showing me what you're really capable of."

Taka nodded silently, his expression unchanged.

Though in his mind—

'You just gave me free rein to beat your ass without the system's interference.'

If his aura could manifest a second face that revealed his true emotions, it would be wearing a wicked grin.

While Taka savored the future beating in his head, Seiji turned back to Nezu.

"So, what's this deal you were talking about, Principal?"

"Yes, I was just about to get to that," Nezu nodded, then fixed Taka with a sharp gaze, snapping him out of his thoughts. "You wrote in your desired career plan that you wanted to join U.A., correct?"

Taka nodded, once again inwardly cursing the concept of privacy.

Nezu smiled, offering a handshake. "Given your amazing potential, I want to make sure such talent is properly groomed into becoming a hero in the future, so... what would you say about receiving a recommendation?"

Taka tilted his head, unfamiliar with the term.

But then, Seiji gently smacked his shoulder, whispering it to him. "It means you won't have to take the usual entrance exam everyone else does. Instead, you'll go through the recommendation exam—fewer competitors, and thus better chances of getting in."

Taka's eyebrows lifted, finally realizing it was the method Todoroki and Yaoyorozu used to get in.

Nezu nodded. "Indeed. With the skills you've displayed, I have no doubt you'll excel in the practical portion. As for the written exam, you'll still have to study."

"I see…" Taka murmured, closing his eyes enigmatically for a moment to think, his usual edgy persona slipping as a matter of habit.

Then—

He smiled faintly, looking Nezu straight in the eyes, confident and unflinching—

"I refuse."

…

°

°

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| Minutes later, Taka's room… |

…

-Click-

"Phew..."

Taka closed the door behind him and let out a long sigh.

"Today really can't get any more hectic…"

Groaning, he stretched and walked over to his bed, throwing himself onto it—his aura instinctively cushioning the fall.

Good thing, too. He did have a broken arm.

Lying there in the soft embrace of his sheets, his gaze drifted to the ceiling as his thoughts returned to the final exchange he'd had with Nezu.

More specifically, the moment he had refused the recommendation.

First of all—he didn't want to take Yaoyorozu's or Todoroki's spot. As for the other recommended students, he didn't even remember them, and he sure as hell wasn't interested in the class they'd end up in. Class 1-A was the one to aim for if he wanted to Aura Farm for good.

They just got into so much shit, it'd be a waste to go to the other class.

But that was only the surface reason.

The real reason he had refused was due to the entrance exam.

Hundreds of examinees. Teachers observing every move. And one giant robot just begging to be destroyed.

If that wasn't the perfect farming ground, then what was?

There was no way he was sacrificing that just to stroll in through the front door on a recommendation. That wasn't auratic at all.

'At least he didn't take it the wrong way,' Taka thought with a quiet huff, remembering how calmly Nezu had accepted his refusal.

Seiji had backed him up too, rambling on his own about " Taka does not like the easy way" and "It builds character," which conveniently spared Taka from having to come up with a believable excuse.

In the end, it was decided—he would take the normal entrance exam, just like everyone else.

But after that… came the unpleasant part.

Nezu had promised not to expose his vigilante identity—on one condition.

From now on, Taka was to cut ties with his vigilantism completely and focus solely on becoming a hero.

If he agreed, Nezu would also help erase the digital trail he'd left behind in his greed for money while aura farming: monetization records, paper trails, all of it. The police would never link Rockinesis back to Takahashi Fukumoto.

The principal really was frighteningly flexible. Why was he going that far? Who knew. Taka could only assume it was because he didn't want him to go to prison or something.

Cause if he did, he'd pretty much miss the chance to go to U.A.

'Yeah, that makes sense.' Taka nodded to himself.

So, just like that, Taka's vigilante career was forcibly brought to an end.

Though he had managed to negotiate one exception, he was still allowed to keep uploading songs.

Fortunately, Nezu had agreed to that much. Otherwise, he would have lost all sources of aura.

And honestly, with his fame already grown, the aura he'd lose by not making shows wasn't gonna be that much.

Besides…

'After today's shit, I think I'm gonna take a rest from beating up villains.' He thought, eyeing his broken arm with a wince.

Of course, if some level 10 trouble alert popped up in between these three months that were left until U.A., then he'd probably step up and help out with what was within his capabilities.

But for now, he was taking some vacations.

'It was some really hectic seven months… and they ended in the most hectic way as well.'

On the very same day he fought a living catastrophe. His life as a vigilante quietly ended.

Quite the coincidence.

And on that note, Taka recalled his fight against Gigantomachia. His eyes narrowing as his eyes darted to his broken arm, and then to his opposite arm's hand, picturing the destructive energy he could create.

Even his strongest attack, a laser beam filled with 10,000 points of aura, had merely burned his exterior.

That much had been enough to understand his place in the world as of now.

He was strong… But when it came to the top-tier powers of this world, he was still painfully weak.

And in three months, the canon would start.

The show lasted a single year, and in that year, the main cast jumped from dealing with baby-level threats to dealing with the motherfucking end of the world.

He had three months—and the time window in which the protagonists dealt with weak opponents—to up his game.

If he did not, then he would start to lag behind.

And, as an aura farmer, that was not permitted.

'Three months…'

He raised his working hand, clenching it into a fist.

"All Might, Gigantomachia, All For One, and whichever other powerhouse exists in this world…" He mumbled, clenching his teeth and raising his fist as aura enveloped it. "... Prepare yourself, because by next year, you will all be my errand boys!"

Unfortunately, in doing so, his broken arm moved a bit more than necessary.

"Ouch!"

…

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-To be Continued…-

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(A/N: And so, the preparations arc comes to an end. Now, a time skip is approaching.

How was the chapter? Was Nezu in character, or did I screw up?

Also, don't worry about Taka not being able to do his shows. As he said, the aura he gains during those is a bit prescindible when comparing it to his current passive earnings. And with the current level of fame, heh, as after presenting his original song, plus with the fight against Gigantomachia going viral, he has enough fame to keep his passive earnings high enough until U.A. arrives.

Also, I didn't get to add the last skill I had planned, but I suppose I can just add it later.

Ba bye now.)

 

[The Synonym]

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[Entrance Exam]
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| Three months later, U.A.'s gate… |

…

"This is it…!"

Midoriya swallowed nervously as he stood before U.A., cold sweat running down his back.

The school where All Might had graduated. The best hero institution in Japan. The place where he was about to apply to become a hero.

Staring up at the massive gate, he felt as if a literal barrier stood between him and the path he was walking into—like he wasn't meant to step inside.

He'd been Quirkless all his life, and yet here he was, about to take the hero course entrance exam. It felt almost contradictory.

'Although… I am supposedly not Quirkless anymore,' he reminded himself, expression flattening as he recalled All Might's bizarre instruction from hours earlier at the beach:

{Eat this.}

'He said if I ate that hair, I'd inherit his power… but did it really work?'

He examined himself. Truthfully, he didn't feel any different.

After exhaling his nerves, determination flickered back into his eyes. Ten months of hellish training—all leading to this day. All Might, the strongest hero, had entrusted him with his Quirk. He couldn't afford to fail.

He wouldn't fail.

-Paf!-

He smacked both cheeks at once to shake off the anxiety and stepped forward—

-Thud!-

"Outta my way, Deku."

—only to be shoved aside as Bakugo, his friend/bully—more bully than friend—stormed past.

"A-ah!" Midoriya flailed, trying desperately to assemble a proper greeting with his hands. "K-Kacchan! N-nice to see you! You're here for the exam, right? I wish you luck, and—"

But Bakugo had already ignored him completely and walked on.

Midoriya sighed as he watched the blond go.

'I got scared out of habit…'

Feeling embarrassed at how quickly he folded despite his earlier resolve, he forced his gaze upward toward the huge U.A. logo on the front doors. Then he shook his head sharply, chasing the nerves away.

'I'm not the same as I was ten months ago… remember your training!'

He took a deep breath, steeling himself.

'Time to take my first step toward becoming a hero!'

And a step he took indeed.

-Squeak-

—but right at the next one, his legs tangled clumsily, pitching him forward.

'I'm done for.' Midoriya thought, feeling his earlier resolve crumble like dust.

However, just as his face was about to slam into the pavement—

"Huh?"

—his momentum halted abruptly, stopping mere centimeters from the ground.

Then, in an instant, an unseen force pulled him upright again, leaving him staring ahead with a blank expression, completely unable to register what had just happened.

"Eh?"

Only when he finally snapped out of his daze did he look around to search for his savior, and soon, he noticed a girl standing right next, also staring at him—a brown-haired girl wearing a thick scarf.

Ochako Uraraka—albeit, unknown to the green-haired kid.

The instant he saw her, it clicked. She had helped him.

"Ah, you saved me—thank you!" he said, bowing quickly.

But the girl only blinked in confusion.

"Eh?! Me? No, that wasn't me!—I mean, I was going to help, but you stopped falling before I could even reach you!"

"Huh? Then that wasn't your Quirk?" Midoriya tilted his head.

"Watch yourself."

A deep voice spoke from behind him.

Startled, he turned.

There, a black-haired youth wearing a long, tailored overcoat, a fitted black turtleneck underneath, and similarly colored pants, walked past with a cold gaze and a confident stride. Beside him, a black-haired girl with earphone jacks for earlobes watched with vague amusement.

Before Midoriya could respond, the boy continued walking, the girl following.

"I guess it was him who helped," Uraraka murmured, eyeing the departing boy with awe as he walked away.

Midoriya did too. For some reason, that youth emanated an air of power—whether it was the way he walked, the tone of his voice earlier, or simply the way he carried himself.

He was the very image of someone… strong.

'And that Quirk… what was it?' Midoriya replayed the sensation of being yanked back to his feet, despite nothing touching him. 'A telekinesis-type Quirk?'

While the freckled boy got lost in his thoughts, several meters ahead, the black haired girl shot a wry look at the youth walking beside her.

"Did you trip that guy?"

"No." He replied, almost too fast.

She raised an eyebrow. "Then why did you say we should wait at the entrance, only to start walking again the moment that kid walked in?"

"I just thought it was a good moment to go in. His tripping was just a coincidence."

She didn't look convinced, but eventually nodded with a snort. "… Sure."

…

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| U.A.'s Auditory |

…

Once everyone found their seats, a blond teacher stepped onto the stage, wearing a wide smile that radiated confidence. And his outfit wasn't subtle either—he was dressed like an actual rockstar. Slicked-back blond spiky hair, edgy leather jacket and pants, headphones, orange sunglasses, and a massive speaker-like collar around his neck.

For many, a hero renowned across Japan. Present Mic.

And also, one of the teachers of U.A.

He reached the podium just as a massive screen behind him lit up, the U.A. logo shining for all examinees to see.

"For all of you examinees tuning in today, I welcome you all to my show!—everybody say HEY!" Present Mic threw his arms up theatrically.

For a moment, silence drowned the auditorium. Not a single soul dared to answer.

"Hey."

But suddenly, a deep voice echoed across the room.

Normally, anyone speaking up then would've been met with weird looks, but the voice carried so much weight and conviction that nobody dared judge it, even for a moment.

In fact—

"... Hey!"

"Hey…"

"H-hey…!"

—It encouraged others to follow, almost instinctively, like responding to someone of high authority without thinking.

And as everyone realized what they had just done, their eyes naturally drifted toward the source.

With hundreds of students gathered, a single voice should have blended into the crowd.

Yet somehow, all gazes settled on one examinee sitting with an unsettling level of calm confidence.

He wasn't flashy, nor did he stand out physically. His outfit was good—but not that good.

Instead, what drew every eye… was his presence.

Somehow, everyone felt it instinctively the instant their gazes settled on him.

He was strong.

"—Ahem." Present Mic interrupted, snapping everyone back to attention. Even he looked surprised—whether at the unexpected response or at the strange presence of that student was unclear. But soon, his trademark grin returned. "I can see you're all pumped! Then it's time to get into the rundown of the practical exam you came here for!"

He struck a pose befitting his rockstar aesthetic, raising a hand dramatically as he shouted.

"AAAAAARE YOU READYYY?!"

"Yeah."

"Yeah…!"

"Y-yeah…"

"Yeah!"

Once again, that same voice answered first—and everyone followed.

Satisfied, Present Mic nodded as the huge screen behind him shifted, showing multiple cityscapes—U.A.'s "Battle Centers," full-scale urban combat zones labeled from A to G.

He proceeded to give a quick rundown of how the practical exam would work and what the examinees would be doing.

After the presentation, every examinee would be sent to a different Battle Center depending on their assigned location. Once there, their objective was to destroy the multiple robots scattered throughout the mock cities—four types in total—earning points for each one defeated. The point values varied based on the size of the robot: the smallest, about the size of a person, was worth 1 point, while the largest, roughly the size of a tank, was worth 3. And, naturally, fighting between examinees was strictly prohibited.

This was a hero exam, after all. Unheroic behavior wasn't exactly admired.

"Excuse me, may I ask a question?!"

Suddenly, a sharp and loud voice cut through the teacher's speech. Though it didn't look like it bothered Present Mic.

"Okay!" He shot a thumbs-up.

The examinee—Tenya Iida, a dark-blue-haired youth with glasses—stood up, holding the printout they had all been given. It contained the same information that the teacher had been covering, albeit more summarized.

"On the printout, there are four villains. If that's a misprint, then U.A., the most prominent school in Japan, should be ashamed of such a foolish mistake! We examinees are here because we wish to be molded into exemplary heroes!"

Then, in a quick pivot, he pointed directly at a certain green-haired boy—Midoriya.

"Additionally, the curly-haired one over there… You've been muttering the whole time. It's distracting! If you're here on a pleasure trip, then you should—"

"That's quite enough."

Once again, that familiar voice rang out, cutting Iida off midsentence.

The bespectacled youth turned sharply to the unknown youth, indignation written across his face.

"What?! I'm merely—"

"You could've said something to him without announcing it to everyone. Stop wasting our time and let the teacher answer."

"I—"

"Okay, okay, examinee 7111, thanks for the great message," Present Mic interrupted, stepping in before things escalated. "The fourth villain is worth zero points. Why? Because it's an obstacle, so to speak. It's not impossible to beat, but there's no reason to either. So, I recommend you all just avoid it."

Iida fell silent for a moment, his gaze drifting toward the examinee who had cut him off on the far side of the auditorium, before finally bowing deeply.

"Thank you very much. I apologize for the interruption."

And with that, he returned to his seat and remained silent.

After that, and having finished explaining the rest of the smaller details, Present Mic echoed the school's motto—Plus Ultra—to encourage everyone and bid them farewell. Thus, the rundown came to an end, and the wait for the practical exam officially began.

From then on, everyone was on their own.

Soon, the mass of students began moving, each walking toward the Battle Center assigned to them on their identification cards.

And while the crowd moved, sitting calmly in the stands was the youth from earlier. He narrowed his eyes slightly as he inspected the card in his hand.

"Battle Center G…"

Snorting, he stood up and adjusted his coat.

"Very well."

…

°

°

°

| Minutes later, Battle Center G's gate… |

…

"Hey, why's he still wearing that outfit? Didn't they let us change into athletic gear before getting on the bus?"

"Huh? Oh damn, you're right. Maybe his Quirk lets him ignore stuff like that?"

"Dammit, why did I have to get the same Battle Center as him?! Now I'm not gonna get any points."

"Maybe he's not as strong as he looks? Honestly, I can't see a single hint of what Quirk he might have."

"Hm, you're right. For all we know, he could have a crappy Quirk and is just putting on a façade!"

A group of examinees narrowed their eyes as they watched the youth from earlier, who leaned casually against a wall with his eyes closed while everyone waited for the gates to open.

"Yeah, now that I'm seeing him up close, he's not all'at—"

The youth opened his eyes and glared at them.

"—Is what I'd say if I were a fool! Haha… ha."

They immediately looked away.

"Hmph." The youth snorted, but didn't close his eyes again. Instead, he glanced around at the other examinees who were busy stretching or trying to calm their nerves.

'I don't see Midoriya,' he thought.

Indeed, this until-now unidentifiable youth was none other than the aura farmer himself… Taka. Now three months older.

Not only was he a little taller, but even through his clothes, it was clear his musculature had developed. He was no longer just fit—he was genuinely strong.

The last three months of training had pushed his body to its physical peak.

From here on, it would mostly be up to aging naturally, with maybe a bit more training. But growing stronger through pure exercise alone would bring much slower gains.

Of course, with some Aura, human limits were a joke.

Back to Taka, he continued giving all his competitors a glance, eyebrow twitching faintly upon not seeing a familiar green-haired curly teenager.

'…Too bad. I guess I'll have to settle for having aura-farmed him earlier.' He sighed, looking genuinely regretful—only to shrug a moment later, uncaring. 'Then again, I also won't have to worry about him failing to get into U.A. because I smashed the 0-pointer instead of him.'

He didn't dislike Midoriya. There was no reason for stopping him from getting into U.A.

The guy did his best to be a proper hero, and while a frustrating crybaby earlier on, he became someone somewhat to be respected by the end of the show. Even if he ended up a Quirkless bum.

That's also why he had helped him with Iida. Like he had reprimanded the glasses earlier, there was no need to humiliate Midoriya publicly for something he could have said over a hush or something.

Hence why he had spoken up.

That, and to aura farm, of course.

But he definitely didn't plan on being friends with Midoriya.

After all, he was the protagonist of this world. And if there was someone who could steal his aura-farming opportunities, it was that green-haired gremlin.

From now on, a rival relationship was about to begin—even if Midoriya had no clue.

And it was one he had absolutely no intention of losing.

He'd made sure the last three months were more than enough to cement his absolute superiority.

Midoriya could try, but he for sure wasn't gonna be catching up any time soon.

Smirking inwardly, Taka glared to his side. 'System, flash me with my gains.'

<... Watch your phrasing.>

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: (162 Base) 2500

▸ Defense: (324 Base) 2500

▸ Aura Projection: 26568

─────────────

Total Aura: 31082

─────────────

Skills:

▸Clean

▸Trouble Radar

▸Connoisseur

▸Pain is Just a Feeling

▸Innamovible Object

▸True Speaking

▸True Breathing

▸True Walking

▸Good job beating me… But that was merely a clone!

▸Efficient Body

▸Aura Projection - Pew Pew Mode

▸Imaginary Technique: My Theme

▸Sperm Eye

▸Let's Dance!

▸Aura Projection - Even A Stick Is Enough Mode

▸Aura Projection - Hardening Mode

▸Aura Projection - There There Mode

▸Aura Projection - Master Of Elements Mode

▸Aura Projection - Aura Type

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Over the past three months, he had tripled his aura.

His original song's video had earned him a huge amount during the first ten days. Sadly, after that, the passive gains stabilized—probably because the views were coming from the same people repeating the song, which didn't generate that much awe and hence didn't yield much aura, or because it simply wasn't reaching many new viewers after that.

Unfortunately, he didn't have a professional company pushing his track, so while it got really popular, it never reached the outrageous numbers big promoted videos could get. And, as expected, time eventually took its toll, slowing the gains even more.

Of course, his earnings were still massive compared to what he had before the video—just nothing like those sweet 1,000-a-day spikes.

In total, he'd managed to pull in twenty-thousand-something aura, up until today.

Pretty good considering he had been forced to stop his vigilante activities.

And then there was the matter of all the new modes he'd unlocked for his aura projection.

Some had been easy enough once he thought of them, coming naturally to him after one or two tries. Others—like the healing mode—had been tricky and took him weeks or months of constant practice to develop.

But they were definitely useful for aura farming. He already had plenty of ideas for how he'd be using them from here on out.

He just had to bide his time.

'Though for now, I have to focus on the event ahead.'

Closing his eyes enigmatically, he walked toward the front of the gate along with the rest of the examinees.

His eyes scanned his competitors, wondering if anyone from the future 1-A would be here too.

And, to his surprise, there was someone.

A certain purple-haired, dwarf-like teenager was among the crowd.

For a moment, he blinked.

Then he snorted—mentally apologizing.

'Sorry, Mineta. But someone had to go… and it looks like it's gonna be you.'

As if on cue, the gates to the Battle Center began opening—silently, almost imperceptibly.

Some students were distracted and didn't notice.

Others simply stared, waiting for a teacher to appear and announce the start of the exam.

Taka, however, smirked.

He stepped forward—passing everyone—and strode calmly straight into the battlegrounds, leaving the dumbfounded examinees behind.

"What are you—?" one student asked, feeling wronged, as if Taka were cheating.

But Taka shut him up with a single line:

"Don't you know? Villains won't wait for you."

And then—

-Swish-

—he vanished.

That's when it dawned on everyone, even if the teacher hadn't said it himself.

The exam had begun, and they hadn't even realized it.

…

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: How was all that aura farming? It was a fun chapter to write, except for the part where I had to check the chapter every now and then to guide myself.

Though I suppose that's gonna have to become a regular thing, seeing as we have stepped into the canon for good.)

 

[The Synonym]

Join my Patreon to get access to more chapters, and you'll help me make ends meet while doing so.

patreon.com/TheSynonym

────────────────────────
[Entrance Exam 2]
────────────────────────

…

In a dark room, several figures sat before a row of faintly lit monitors, each displaying young boys and girls fighting desperately against robots.

"This year's examinees are really promising," Cementoss said, rubbing his barely prominent chin with interest as the students on-screen showcased a wide variety of Quirks—many of them powerful, or at least highly versatile.

"Yeah, but if we're talking about promising, a few of them are shining a lot brighter than the rest," Ectoplasm muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear.

The others nodded in agreement.

Indeed, some examinees stood out far more than others.

On one monitor, a blond student rampaged through the battlefield, violent explosions erupting from his hands as he demolished robots with brutal efficiency. It wasn't just the raw power of his blasts—his control was exceptional. He used his explosions as propulsion, launching himself across the battlefield, twisting midair to dodge attacks while maintaining relentless momentum, speeding up his collection of points massively.

His name: Katsuki Bakugo.

"He already got to first place even though we are not even halfway through the exam. At the rate he is gathering points, no one will be able to take that place from him." Vlad King commented, sweatdropping as he glanced at the charts and watched the student's score climb at an astonishing pace.

"Well, I wouldn't be so sure about that," Nezu said suddenly from the back of the room, prompting several raised eyebrows.

He believed someone would score more than this?

Judging by the principal's enigmatic tone, though, it seemed they only needed to keep watching to understand.

Soon, more examinees began to draw attention.

A boy whose skin hardened like stone, tearing through robots while assisting nearby examinees whenever he could—Eijiro Kirishima.

A girl who, upon touching robots, rendered them weightless before sending them crashing back down like meteors—Ochako Uraraka.

The younger brother of the hero Ingenium, dashing through the battlefield with terrifying speed and precision—Tenya Iida.

Many promising prospects filled the teachers' screens as they continued their evaluations.

Still, none had yet matched Katsuki Bakugo, who—despite having earned not a single rescue point—remained firmly at the top through sheer destruction efficiency alone.

And so it continued… until the four-minute mark.

Up until then, nothing had seemed out of the ordinary.

But then—

Something strange happened.

On the rankings display, where the top ten examinees' names were listed, a single name suddenly appeared from nowhere.

It passed 10th place.

Then 9th.

Then 8th.

It skipped straight past 6th.

Then 5th.

And it kept climbing at an absurd speed.

"What the hell is happening? Did we get hacked?" Snipe asked, disbelief clear in his voice.

The rate at which the ranking was changing was far too abnormal. It almost looked artificial.

Nezu, however, merely snickered.

"I'd say it's only fitting."

The teachers stared at him in disbelief.

"I've found him," Eraser Head—or rather, Aizawa Shota's voice suddenly cut in.

Everyone immediately turned, searching for the monitor displaying the mysterious examinee.

And when they found it—

"W-why is he standing atop a building…?"

They couldn't believe what they were seeing.

Instead of a hyper-aggressive prodigy rushing through the battlefield and destroying robots left and right, the monitor showed something far stranger.

A black-haired youth stood calmly at the edge of a building, arms crossed as he observed the battlefield from above. His long coat fluttered behind him in the wind, hair swaying as he remained perfectly still, framed against the sky.

It looked undeniably cool.

But it explained absolutely nothing. How the heck was he getting so many points?

"H-hold on… what's happening in Battle Center G?" Sniper suddenly asked, noticing something odd on another monitor.

The teachers' eyes shifted—and widened.

Across the battlefield, robots were barely being engaged at all.

Instead, dozens of them were rising into the air, suspended helplessly, unable to resist an unseen force. An eerie, crimson aura wrapped around their metallic bodies as they floated upward like puppets on invisible strings.

"It seems to be limited to the central area of the stage," Aizawa noted, eyes narrowing. Then his gaze flicked to the idle examinee on the other screen. "…And it all appears to be centered on that kid."

"What's his Quirk?" Vlad King asked urgently.

They immediately began pulling up his data.

Midnight was the first to find it. "Takahashi Fukumoto. Quirk: Muscle to Mind. It allows the user to convert physical force into telekinetic power…"

"That doesn't add up," Cementoss muttered. "Even if the robots are made of lighter materials, that's still two or three tons he's lifting."

As if responding to the comment, the youth suddenly stepped forward—and jumped.

He dropped straight off the building.

Then, a moment later, he landed below in a textbook superhero landing, the concrete beneath him cracking outward as it shattered.

Yet, despite the impact, he stood completely unharmed.

"…The description seems a bit incomplete..." Midnight added, sweatdropping. "It probably includes superhuman physical strength as well, which makes his telekinetic power equally as superhuman."

"Was he the one you were referring to earlier, Principal?" Vlad King asked, glancing at Nezu in disbelief.

Nezu only smirked. "Perhaps. We'll see. He still hasn't reached first place yet—and there are six minutes remaining."

The teachers turned their attention back to the monitors.

After landing, Taka raised one hand—and then brought it down in a sharp, decisive motion.

Instantly, every robot suspended in the air plummeted downward, crashing violently into the ground. Not a single one survived the impact.

Without wasting a second, his figure blurred as he kicked off the ground and shot forward, hunting for his next targets.

Any robot that came even remotely close to him was obliterated in an instant. And at the speed he was moving, his point count began climbing rapidly.

Faster than Bakugo's.

"…Yeah," Vlad King muttered wryly. "At this rate, he'll take first place before long."

Suddenly, Nezu stepped forward and lightly tapped Vlad King on the shoulder.

"We don't know that yet, do we?"

A concealed panel slid open, revealing a massive red button.

"It's often during the most critical moment of an exam that examinees truly show what they're made of," Nezu continued pleasantly. "Perhaps Bakugo-kun will give us a spectacular comeback… or perhaps he'll be fullyovertaken."

With that, Nezu pressed the button.

…

°

°

°

| Taka's POV: |

…

Too easy. Way too damn easy.

I definitely went overboard with my preparations—at least for these early stages of the show.

Even though I'm sparing the other participants a few robots so I'm not being a complete dick, I'm still wrecking most of the ones around here.

How many points have I racked up already? Sixty-two?

No, that'd only be the case if I'd destroyed nothing but one-point robots. I'm pretty sure I've taken down a good number of two- and three-pointers as well.

Honestly, I barely had time to register each robot before turning it into scrap, so I didn't even see how many points they were worth. I'm just estimating based on how many I've destroyed.

I'm probably nearing first place by now. If I'm not there already.

Normally, if there had been anyone from 1-A here who wasn't Mineta, I'd have slowed down about now. No point in accidentally robbing them of points and risking some random getting into the class instead.

But since this Battle Center seems to consist of that guy, Mineta, and a bunch of randoms, I don't have any reason to hold back.

I was going to use every robot in this place to score the highest of today, of this decade, or of this damn century.

Was this school even a century old?

No matter.

'Let's do this.'

My eyes narrowed as I began accelerating.

I wasn't flying—I didn't want to look too much like Rockinesis. Honestly, the telekinesis alone was already a pretty big giveaway.

Which, admittedly, made me grateful Nezu had stepped in and forced me to retire that identity. Otherwise, I would've ended up revealing a lot more of my abilities over these past three months. I just couldn't resist showing off.

But now that my vigilante days were over, I had plenty of powers I could use without linking them to my delinquent self.

Of course, there was still the issue of showing too many seemingly unlinked abilities to my supposed Quirk… that alone would link me to Rockinesis, who showed a similar level of randomness.

'I'll just have to sneak them in as subtly as possible.'

With a sigh, I slowed down and surveyed my surroundings.

Behind me, dozens of robots lay completely destroyed.

Still, this was far from enough.

I was planning on setting a whole new record.

'Now then… which direction still has robots left?'

I tried to recall which sections of the mock city I hadn't cleared yet.

That's when—

—RUMBLE—

The ground shook.

For a moment, I was confused. Too focused on searching for robots, so it startled me a bit.

But soon, it clicked.

"Hmm? Oh, right. Almost forgot this thing existed for a second," I snorted, turning my gaze toward the massive figure rising nearly a mile away.

The Zero Pointer.

Honestly, between point farming and aura farming for the teachers watching us, it had completely slipped my mind.

But not anymore. Seeing that giant, titanic, and terrifying figure in the distance, my mouth became watery.

The biggest moment for Aura Farming in this exam has come.

And I'm not wasting it.

Smirking, I turned and started running toward it.

I'd like to walk toward it calmly and epically, but with it being a mile away, the exam would be over by the time I arrived. So I had to sacrifice a few cool points just to make it there in time.

At my current speed, it didn't take long to reach the area where it was wreaking havoc.

Many participants were fleeing in groups or hiding from its scanners while desperately searching for any remaining robots. However, none of them was actually facing it.

Which was good.

Otherwise, who knew if my robot-monopoly ended up causing one of these guys to think of something desperate and steal my spotlight?

'Not happening.' I thought, finally slowing my running to a walk as I got close enough to focus back on looking cool.

As I strode calmly towards the metal behemoth, one examinee after another ran past me, throwing perplexed looks my way when they realized I was heading toward it instead of away.

Soon, I even crossed paths with an entire retreating crowd of panicked examinees.

When they saw me approaching, they parted instinctively, making way.

I smirked at the sight but didn't slow my pace in the slightest.

Before long, I was close enough. A few examinees were still nearby—some frantically searching for other robots, others hiding or trapped beneath collapsed buildings left behind by the giant robot's rampage.

All of them realized I was there the moment I stopped walking.

Including… the Zero Pointer.

Its many red eyes locked onto me, glowing like a hunter that had just spotted its prey.

Murmurs of disbelief rippled through the nearby examinees, who stared at me as if I were insane for facing it head-on.

But this is what an aura farmer does.

—Rumble—

The air around stirred, and the horrifying sound of metal screeching against itself filled the air as the giant mass of metal began descending, ready to smash me into smitherens.

But all I did was close my eyes and smirk faintly.

Then—I raised my hand.

—Screeeech!—

The Zero Pointer's metal plates and components groaned as their momentum slammed into an invisible force, stopping the punch dead in midair.

The resulting shockwave tore through the air, slamming into the ground and sending my coat whipping violently behind me.

Violently—but epically.

"Hmph."

I opened my eyes again, still smirking.

Then—

—Swoooosh!—

I flicked my hand aside, forcing the Zero Pointer's arm away.

With its guard wide open, I moved.

-BAM!-

My figure blurred like a shooting star. In an instant, I slammed into its chest, warping the metal inward as smoke burst free.

I kicked off immediately, rebounding toward a nearby building, and using it as a foothold to launch myself back again.

Another strike—this time to its arm.

Then again, landing along its side.

Again.

And again.

And again.

I ricocheted around the battlefield, striking from every angle while the Zero Pointer stood helplessly, absorbing blow after blow.

-Thud!-

"Fuuuh~"

When I finally landed back on the ground, ending my assault, the Zero Pointer was pitifully deformed from the sheer number of impacts. Morphing from a machine of pure destruction into a bullied little kid.

Yet, as it recovered from my onslaught, it still moved, still trying to attack me.

"Foolishness, zero pointer, foolishness."

... Of course, that was only because I was allowing it to.

As I was now, a single strike would've been enough.

But that would have made everything too short. And where was the fun in that?

Snorting, I turned my back on it.

Moments later, I felt the air pressure of one of its massive hands swinging toward me.

But before it could reach—

"Begone."

I raised my palm—and clenched it.

—BOOOOOOOOOM!!!—

In an instant, the Zero Pointer's head compressed like a crumpled paper ball and exploded, unleashing a massive shockwave that sent my hair and coat whipping forward as it struck my back.

And as all of that happened—

I walked away without looking back.

Because walking away from explosions without turning around... is always cool.

….

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: How was all the aura farming? Decided to add a few style points by banging on the zero pointer before deciding to destroy it for good.

Anyway, see you next chapter, and merry already-passed Christmas.)

 

[The Synonym]

Join my Patreon to get access to more chapters, and you'll help me make ends meet while doing so.

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────────────────────────
[I don't know this guy]
────────────────────────

…

Thirty minutes after the exam ended, and after receiving information about when they would be able to check their results, the examinees began leaving U.A.'s facilities in waves.

Amid the mass of teenagers heading out, two stood out, as the crowd seemed to give them far more space than it did anyone else.

"Phew… those were easily the most hectic ten minutes of my life… even more if we count the waiting time before the exam," Jiro said, letting out a relieved sigh.

Taka nodded, though he didn't look even remotely as tired as she did.

She noticed immediately and deadpanned. "Why the heck are you nodding? You probably had it easy. I overheard some guys who were in the same battle center as you, they said you went and toppled that huge robot that appeared at the end."

"Fighting was the easy part," Taka replied, his gaze fixed straight ahead. "The rest wasn't."

'Constantly searching for cameras and good aura-farming spots was a pain,' he added inwardly.

Jiro didn't look convinced. "I mean, I knew your telekinesis was strong after seeing how you dealt with those delinquents months ago… but I didn't think it was strong enough to take down a giant robot."

"You never asked." He answered matter-of-factly.

She snorted, clearly unimpressed. "Then what even is your Quirk? You always answer with 'something like that,' so I never actually learned what it is. And there's no way a simple telekinesis Quirk has that much… power."

Taka took a moment before answering, glancing to the side as if considering it.

"It's called Muscle to Mind," he said at last. "The stronger my physical body is, the stronger my telekinesis becomes."

'Or at least, that's what's registered under my name,' he thought.

Fortunately, Nezu hadn't seemed to mind the misleading description, mentioning that it could be adjusted into a more appropriate one over time once Taka began showing more abilities.

After all, Quirks evolving—or revealing their true nature, different from what was thought in a beginning—wasn't unheard of.

And in his case, being a late bloomer benefited him even more since he'd barely had any time to explore it compared to someone who'd had their Quirk their whole life.

However, although Nezu did advise him to show his other abilities so they could adjust his Quirk's description over time, he did clarify that slow changes were preferable, as anything too abrupt would raise suspicion and link him to his Rockinesis identity.

'Still,' Taka thought, 'holding back all these abilities without using them is starting to itch.'

He had plenty of time to train and refine them—but very few chances to actually use them and show them off.

His inner aura farmer was being edged, and he didn't like it.

'Well, U.A. isn't far off. I'll have plenty of opportunities there,' he reassured himself, smirking inwardly.

Lost in his thoughts, he failed to notice that instead of the matter being clarified, Jiro now looked even more confused.

"But… is it exponential or something?" she asked. "Because you definitely don't look like someone who could smash a giant robot with his bare hands."

"I could," Taka replied without hesitation.

"Pfft—yeah, right," Jiro scoffed, amused for a moment.

But when Taka didn't laugh—and instead remained completely serious—her smile slowly faded.

"…Seriously?"

Taka nodded, glancing at her. "Wanna see?"

She raised an eyebrow. "How? I don't see any robots around."

"I could lift you…"

Jiro's face turned awkward. "That's a bit..."

"—and throw you into the sky. Then I'd just catch you with my telekinesis."

She deadpanned. "Please don't."

Taka rolled his eyes. "Suit yourself."

A brief silence followed, both of them lost in their own thoughts about what had just been said.

Eventually, Jiro spoke up again, shooting him a smirk.

"By the way, how do you think you did? Enough to claim first place as you said before?"

Taka smiled faintly. "Easily."

"Whoa, not even a second of humility with you," Jiro laughed.

"I'm pretty sure I destroyed over seventy percent of the robots in the entire stage… That, plus the rescue points I probably earned after taking down that huge robot, should've put me in first place without much trouble."

"R-rescue points?" Jiro asked, startled—like someone who had just found out an already finished exam had an entirely hidden section they hadn't seen.

Taka fell silent for a moment.

'Right. They didn't tell us that,' he mused, pursing his lips but keeping it off his face.

"Yeah… rescue points. They, uh…" His mind kicked into overdrive, scrambling for an excuse. "I overheard some guys talking about a secret gimmick. Apparently, the faculty also awarded points for heroic actions during the exam, not just for destroying robots…"

"Who said that?" Jiro asked, worried.

"Hmm… some random guy in my battle center. But honestly, it sounds like something a hero school would do, so I figured it was true."

She looked shaken by the information. "Y-yeah, it does make sense… Did I help anyone during the exam? I think I did—How do they even evaluate that? Like, does saving one person equal one point or something?"

Taka shrugged.

"No idea."

"Come on, Takahashi. You can't just drop info like that and leave me hanging."

He averted his gaze. "The guy I overheard didn't seem to know much either."

"Dammit." Jiro clicked her tongue. "What if the others in my stage knew and scored more points than I did because of it?"

He glanced at her with a faintly guilty look. He'd overspoken, and now she was clearly worried.

After a moment of thought, he spoke again.

"I'm sure not many people knew. You'll probably be fine. And even if you didn't get many of those points, everyone else's Quirks weren't anything special. You should pass easily just off the robot points."

"Ugh… hopefully."

She still didn't look convinced.

Seeing that, Taka grumbled inwardly.

'Me and my big mouth.'

Suddenly, his eyes darted upward, an idea forming.

He lifted his head and pointed at the sky. "Huh. Isn't that Rockinesis up there?"

Jiro's head snapped up. "Huh?! Where—"

"I was joking," Taka said flatly.

Her shocked expression instantly twisted into a glare.

Unbothered, Taka slapped her shoulder.

"Come on, lighten up. You have my vote of confidence—and I'm pretty strong, so that should count for something."

"Again with the confidence," Jiro scoffed, though a slight smirk tugged at her lips.

Taka smiled in quiet triumph.

However, as they finally reached U.A.'s gates—slowing slightly since they were too narrow for the crowd pouring out—and stepped onto the street beyond, Taka saw something that shook him to his core.

'No…' His eyes widened as he froze mid-step, cold sweat running down his back. 'This can't be!'

Jiro quickly noticed that he had stopped walking and raised an eyebrow, turning to see what had frozen him like that.

But all she saw was an empty street… save for a car parked not too far away, with a blond man standing beside it and—waving at them?

'Does he know him?' Jiro wondered.

Taka, however—

"I think we should take a detour," he said suddenly.

But before she could even answer—

"Yo, Taka! I came to bring you home!" the blond man shouted.

"I think he's calling you," Jiro said.

"He must be talking to someone else. Taka is a common na—"

"Takahashi Fukumoto—which, by the way, is not a common name—I said I came to get you home. Your home. In Shizuoka. In case you think I'm mistaking you for someone else. Now get your ass over here!"

"This fucking guy…" Taka muttered.

And so he did—he started making his way over. Jiro followed along, figuring she might as well say hi to whoever he was.

Soon, they stood in front of the man, who smirked at Taka with smug satisfaction.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't my ward, Takahashi Fukumoto, who, for some reason, likes to act as if he doesn't know me."

"Enough already." Taka clicked his tongue.

Seiji snickered, then shifted his gaze to Jiro standing beside him.

"And who is this young lady? Did you make a friend during the entrance exam?"

"Hi, um… I'm Kyoka Jiro. I've been friends with Taka for a while now," she introduced herself awkwardly.

Seiji tilted his head. "Huh? Taka? A friend? That's impossib—"

—Whack!—

"OW!"

His head snapped forward as something struck him from behind.

When he looked down, a baseball was rolling on the ground.

A group of kids quickly ran over, apologizing profusely and saying the ball had flown over by accident.

"Kids these days sure are careless when they play," Taka muttered, staring straight into Seiji's eyes.

The adult's smile twitched in annoyance.

Still, he didn't let the matter drop.

"So you've been friends for a while, huh? Funny how this little prick never told me," Seiji said with a smirk, ruffling Taka's hair aggressively.

That is—until Taka caught his wrist mid-motion and stopped it cold, creating an awkward standoff as Seiji tried to force it and Taka held him in place.

All the while, Seiji kept talking.

"So, you're probably from Shizuoka too, right?"

Jiro nodded.

"Then you must recognize me. After all, I'm quite the famous her—"

—Whack!—

"ACK! What the hell?!"

Another ball struck Seiji on the head.

Once again, the same kids hurried over, looking flabbergasted as well.

After grabbing their ball, they apologized before running off.

Seiji shot Taka a narrowed glare, then sighed and turned back to Jiro.

"So, how about you come with us?" He tapped the car's roof. "Or are your parents waiting for you?"

Taka very not discreetly shook his head at her.

She smiled wryly at the sight. Even if he hadn't, she would've refused anyway.

"My parents are already waiting for me, so I'll have to pass."

"Is that so? Too bad. I wanted to ask you what this rascal is like at school. You see, he acts all broody and serious, but he's actually—"

—Bam!—

This time, there was no ball.

Taka elbowed him hard.

"You little shit," Seiji hissed.

"Stop running your mouth," Taka shot back.

"I see you got cocky just because you beat me once. Just so you know, I wasn't even trying!"

"Sounds like loser talk."

While the two traded insults, Jiro snorted in amusement.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed. When she checked it, she realized her parents had arrived.

She prepared to leave, giving Taka a small wave.

"Well, Takahashi, see you in a month—hopefully."

"See you in a month," Taka replied, still half-wrestling with Seiji.

And with that, she walked away.

Once she was finally gone, guardian and ward separated.

"So why did you come? I would've been home in just a few minutes on my own," Taka said with a frown.

Seiji shrugged, his expression sly.

"Come on, kid. You just took the entrance exam for the best hero school in the country—and probably passed, considering how overpowered you are. Let your guardian spoil you a little."

Rolling his eyes, Taka smiled faintly.

"Suit yourself."

…

°

°

°

| A week later… |

…

Taka sat at his desk, tapping a pencil against his chin as he glared at the sheet lying before him.

Right now, he was planning yet another song to upload to his channel.

Ever since his early retirement from vigilantism, this had become his only source of aura, along with the songs he had already uploaded.

Since then, he had released a few more tracks, all of them taken from his old life. Having already proven himself, he was no longer against recreating them, and since he was busy studying and dealing with other matters, he decided to make the process easier on his clones by having them recompose the songs instead of creating entirely new ones from scratch.

He had already done "Hunting Soul" from the anime DanDaDan, "New Divide"—since he needed to maintain an edge—and "I Despise" from Chaotica, which used to be one of his favorites.

All of this, besides giving him a bunch of aura daily, also allowed him to add them back into his playlist again. Two birds with one stone, if he said so himself.

Now, he was busy deciding which song should be next.

But as he searched the deepest corners of his mind, looking for something that would hit nicely—someone knocked on his door.

—Wham!—

Only to be slammed open before he could even say anything. Revealing an excited-looking Seiji behind it.

"Yo, Taka, it's here!" the older man said as he stepped inside, waving an envelope in front of his face.

"What is it?" Taka asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Your entrance results!"

For a second, Taka looked genuinely surprised—before quickly regaining his composure.

"Is that so? Hand them over."

Seiji did, and soon Taka placed the small projector sealed inside the envelope onto his desk.

The moment he pressed the button, a projection of Nezu appeared in midair.

{"Hello! Takahashi-kun. It's been a while, hasn't it?" The principal waved cheerfully at the camera, almost like a child. {"I'm here with your results! Though I'm quite sure you already know what they are, given the huge show you put on during the exam."}

Seiji shot his ward a sly glance, which Taka completely ignored.

{"You certainly made sure to cement yourself as one of the best participants we've ever had. Not only did you rank first, but you also achieved the highest score ever recorded!"}

A panel appeared in the projection, displaying his name above all others. Making Taka's and Seiji's eyes widen like platters for a split second.

[Takahashi Fukumoto: 100 Villain Points | 70 Rescue Points]

{"Be proud, Takahashi-kun. Not only did you achieve an unprecedented result—"} Nezu leaned closer to the camera, covering one side of his mouth as if whispering. {"—you also surpassed the score All Might himself once achieved."}

Seiji grabbed Taka by the shoulders, shaking him excitedly as he laughed.

Nezu's projection finally reached its end, showing the principal opening his arms wide in a welcoming gesture.

{"You are hereby invited to join our institution, Takahashi Fukumoto. This is… Your Hero Academia."}

The projection cut off, leaving the room in silence for a moment.

Then Taka spoke.

"This is nothing less than the expected result."

Even as he discreetly pumped his fist.

…

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: No more waiting, U.A. is finally here.

I have already planned a few things so that you guys don't have to watch merely a repetition of the show, but with a guy aura farming in the background.

It also wouldn't make sense given the level Taka already has.

Also, updates should pick up the pace a bit from now on since I've reached my goal of putting the Patreon 10 ahead.

Not like instantly, though. But eitherway, the wait between chapters should be smaller.)

 

[The Synonym]

Join my Patreon to get access to more chapters, and you'll help me make ends meet while doing so.

patreon.com/TheSynonym

────────────────────────
[First Impression]
────────────────────────

| A month later… |

…

Monday morning, 7:40 a.m. Taka stood in front of his bathroom mirror, brushing his hair with a still faintly sleepy look.

"... Now's the moment. Tonight's the night—well, in this case it should be something more like, now's the moment, this morning's the morning…"

Muttering nonsense, he smiled faintly at his reflection as the dandruff and dried saliva from having slept a bit too well vanished without him doing anything.

"This shit's so convenient."

Now looking more presentable, he stared intently at the mirror, shifting his face from side to side, checking for anything that might need fixing.

Of course, there was nothing. That was impossible—he was simply too perfect.

Letting out a smug laugh, he brushed his hair up and looked at himself with pure arrogance.

"Prepare yourself, U.A. You're about to be aura farmed."

With those words, Taka left the bathroom and went to grab the rest of his things, preparing for his first day of school.

The day had finally come. Today, U.A. began its classes, and with them, canon would start unfolding.

Fortunately, he had been sorted into Class 1-A, which meant he'd have a front-row seat to all the crazy events that were about to happen—and, by extension, the perfect scenarios to become the ultimate aura farmer.

If he had ended up in Class 1-B, though, he honestly wouldn't have known what to do. Those guys were never present for the good stuff.

'Though… being a mysterious character from the other class who only appears at the clutchest moment would've been pretty epic too,' Taka mused, before quickly discarding the thought. He was already in 1-A—no point in planning for something that didn't happen.

Yeah. Imagine going to 1-B. That must suck. Who would do that?

Finished gathering his things, he went downstairs and tossed his backpack onto the couch before heading to the kitchen to make something to eat before leaving.

Something to eat, as in All Might's Puffs with milk.

After a quick preparation, he sat at the table, pouring his breakfast into a bowl while checking his phone.

His eyes drifted to the time.

7:50 a.m.

Classes started at 8:25 a.m., meaning he had barely thirty-five minutes left.

And he was still in Shizuoka—a trip that normally took about two hours.

"Heh." Taka smiled.

As powerful as he was now, though, it would take him no more than twenty minutes.

Basking in his own awesomeness, he began eating his breakfast with a relaxed smile.

But as he took his first bite, a familiar sensation hit him.

A déjà vu.

Chewing slowly, Taka stared ahead pensively.

"It's been a while, huh?" he muttered, recalling the day everything had begun.

Twelve months ago, he'd received his reincarnator starter pack—complete with memories of a past life and a system.

Since then, he'd been dragged into all kinds of ridiculous situations in the pursuit of becoming a true aura farmer. His power had grown by leaps and bounds, and his brain had been thoroughly washed in the process.

Now here he was—well, sitting—right where his life had done a full 180°, eating the same breakfast as back then.

Though, to be fair, he always ate this in the morning, so maybe it wasn't that crazy of a coincidence.

Either way, he had grown a lot since that moment.

"And it's only going to get better from now on." He smirked.

Glancing at his bowl, he opened his mouth wide and dumped the rest of his breakfast all at once.

His Efficient Body skill had really turned him into a glutton when he felt like it.

Licking his lips clean, he picked up his things and got ready to leave the house.

But before he could—

"Yo, Taka, already leaving?" Seiji stepped out of his room, looking half-dead from sleep.

"Yup." Taka nodded.

"Well, good luck on your first day," Seiji said.

Taka was about to nod—but Seiji wasn't quite done.

"Though try to tone the edge down a bit—you wouldn't want to scare possible new friends and ladies, would you?"

"Just go back to sleep." Taka rolled his eyes, though a faint smirk tugged at his lips.

After that, Seiji waved at him half-heartedly and closed the door behind him.

With that, Taka opened the door and stepped outside, taking in the morning air as he closed the door behind him.

Then—

—BOOM!—

With a sudden burst of air, Taka shot straight into the sky.

…

°

°

°

| Minutes later, U.A.'s Classroom 1-A |

…

Amidst a classroom full of strangers, each sitting at their desks and waiting patiently in silence for their teacher to arrive, two individuals stood out for the opposite reason. They were loudly arguing without restraint.

"Get your feet off the desk! Don't you know it's disrespectful to our seniors and to the people who built it?!" Tenya Iida berated, standing beside Katsuki Bakugo's desk.

"Of course not…" Bakugo spat, then glared at Iida with narrowed eyes. "And who the hell are you supposed to be…?"

Iida blinked, as if realizing he had violated the unspoken rules of human interaction by not introducing himself first.

Quickly, he gestured towards himself, extending a hand. "My name is Tenya Iida. I attended the private academy Somei."

Bakugo ignored the proposed handshake and clicked his tongue, hostility flashing in his eyes. "Tch. So you're an elite? I'll thoroughly enjoy crushing you."

Iida recoiled slightly at the declaration. "Crush me?! Y-you—are you seriously aiming to become a hero?"

Bakugo snorted and looked away, already bored with the conversation.

'Tsk, again some nobody.' He thought disdainfully, before his narrowed gaze scanned the whole classroom, falling on everyone's skulls.

Someone had dared to steal first place from him. Whoever it was, they were probably feeling like they were the king of the world right now.

'I'll make sure to remind them what their place is before they get too ahead of themselves.' He thought, mouth stretching slightly into a small grin.

He may have lost, but he for sure didn't think he was less than anyone for even a second. He had seen the scores; whoever it was, they either cheated or had a skill that went really well against robots.

Otherwise, there was no way someone could have attained that kind of score.

Or at least, that's what he thought.

"Hmm?"

But as his gaze drifted back toward the front of the classroom, he noticed someone standing at the entrance. Someone he recognized clearly and who made him scoff in disdain.

Midoriya Izuku.

And as Bakugo noticed him, so did Iida, who immediately left Bakugo's side to greet the newcomer.

As Midoriya stepped inside, his way was blocked by the glassed student, who offered yet another handshake.

"Good morning! I'm Tenya Iida from the private academy Som—!"

"I-I heard it!" Midoriya cut him off, accepting the handshake with a nervous smile. "I-I'm Midoriya. Nice to meet you, Iida-kun."

Iida nodded, but his expression suddenly turned serious, making Midoriya even more nervous. "Midoriya… you knew about that extra rule in the practical exam, didn't you?"

"Eh?"

Ignoring Midoriya's confusion, Iida clenched his fist, frustration clear on his face. "I never realized… yet, you did. I truly misjudged you! I hate to admit it… But you're better than me!"

Midoriya deadpanned as a bead of sweat rolled down his temple. "S-sorry, I actually didn't know either."

Sadly, his nervousness turned his normal voice into a mere mumble, making it so Iida never caught that.

"Ah! That curly hair—you're that common-looking guy! You passed the exam just like Present Mic said!"

Before Midoriya could try to speak louder, though, a new voice interrupted them.

Turning his head, Midoriya saw Uraraka—recognizing her instantly as the girl who had helped him during the practical exam to avoid his death by fall damage, and whom he had helped prior to that by smashing a certain giant robot's face flat.

'It's the kind person!—and she looks really nice in that uniform…'

While Midoriya got lost in his own weird thoughts, Uraraka heaved a relieved sigh before snickering as she punched the air enthusiastically. "Well, I mean, of course you passed. With a punch that strong, it'd be weird if they rejected you!"

At the compliment, his face instantly turned red like the bum he was.

But just as the atmosphere was turning pleasant—

"A-ah, u-uhm, well, it was thanks to you going to talk to the teachers that—"

"You're in the way."

—A blunt but powerful voice cut through it. Making their conversation, and any other that may have been going on inside the classroom, die in an instant,

Instantly, all eyes turned toward the source, including those of the students who had been quietly seated.

A black haired boy stood there, his dark, sharp eyes landing on Uraka and Midoriya, who stood at the entrance.

Without realizing it, both took a step back, giving way to the newcomer.

And so, with the path open, he stepped into the classroom.

—Step.

""...!""

The moment he did, an oppressive sensation washed over the entire room.

Not heavy, not frightening.

But the kind of feeling you get when standing in the presence of someone... superior.

Nervousness.

Averting gazes.

Not knowing how to exist.

That kind of feeling assaulted almost everyone.

And as that pressure settled on them, Bakugo—who had been lazily leaning back in his chair with both feet on the desk—snapped upright, his eyes blazing with sudden realization.

He had been wondering who the bastard was who'd stolen first place from him.

But now, the question felt almost stupid.

The one standing before him… was clearly the culprit.

It had to be.

That presence—there was no way it belonged to anyone else but to the bastard who had dared take first place from him!

"You—!"

In an instant, Bakugo prepared for conflict. Ready to put him in his place.

But just as the words reached his throat, the boy's eyes met his.

"...!"

And in that very instant, it felt like a brief clash had occurred. Like the meeting of two predators, who gauged each other from their gazes alone.

—One that Bakugo lost a millisecond later.

His gaze averted itself before he even realized it, and when he did, his eyes snapped wide in shock.

'I—I dodged his gaze?!'

While Bakugo spiraled over his own unconscious reaction, the boy snorted before his eyes returned to the front and he continued walking into the classroom, eventually stopping right in front of Iida.

"I-it's you…" Iida said, his mind flashing back to their brief confrontation in the auditorium. For a moment, he hesitated, unsure whether to greet him like the others.

To his surprise, however, the handshake came first from the boy himself.

He didn't give an introduction or say anything at all. He simply offered his hand.

Iida hesitated for a moment, questioning if this was some kind of trick. After all, they had started off on the wrong foot.

But in the end, his manners won out over his unease.

"I-I'm Tenya Iida." The bespectacled guy gave a curt nod.

The boy nodded once too, then finally spoke.

"Takahashi Fukumoto… Though you can just call me Taka."

The instant those words left his mouth, the oppressive aura blanketing the room vanished.

Several students let out unconscious sighs of relief as the tension dissipated. For a brief moment, the imposing presence surrounding the boy seemed to thin, almost fading away entirely.

But just as the atmosphere began to lighten—

"Go make friends somewhere else."

Another voice cut in.

Everyone's attention snapped back to the classroom entrance—more specifically, to the floor just behind the door.

There lay something resembling a caterpillar. One that, for some reason, had a human face.

Nevermind. It was just a guy inside a sleeping bag.

Slurping from a pouch of mashed fruit, the man wriggled free from the bag and stood up, staring at the class with an utterly exhausted expression.

Messy, shoulder-length black hair. Dry, perpetually tired eyes. A thin, unshaven beard. A plain dark-green jumpsuit, paired with a thick scarf wrapped loosely around his neck.

He was the very embodiment of hoboness.

Eraser Head—Shota Aizawa.

"Alright, it took you all fifteen seconds to shut up," he muttered, folding the sleeping bag under his arm before sweeping the room with a sharp glare. "Time's limited. You kids aren't rational enough."

The students stared at him in disbelief, unsure of who—or what—they were looking at.

Thankfully, he didn't leave them guessing for long.

"I'm your homeroom teacher. Shota Aizawa," he said flatly. "Nice to meet you."

The classroom erupted into gasps.

Under normal circumstances, such an introduction wouldn't have caused such a reaction. But such was his hoboness to provoke those reactions.

Before anyone could voice their questions, though, Aizawa reached into his backpack and pulled out the standard U.A. gym uniform, holding it up for everyone to see.

"This is sudden, but put these on," he said. "We're heading outside to the field."

Confusion rippled through the class. Aizawa, however, clearly had no interest in suspense.

"We're doing a Quirk Assessment Test," he added, a faint grin tugging at his lips.

And he wasn't the only one smiling.

"Heh."

Taka let out a quiet snort, the corner of his mouth curving upward.

'Oh yeah,' he thought. 'It's aura farming time.'

…

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: The first impression has been made, and what an impression indeed. How is it looking so far for you guys? I have to ask since the line between cringe and epic is often thin. Gotta make sure I'm keeping a safe distance.)

 

[The Synonym]

Join my Patreon to get access to more chapters, and you'll help me make ends meet while doing so.

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────────────────────────
[Hardcore Ball Throw]
────────────────────────

After receiving their instructions, the students made their way out of the building, walking together in the meantime until they reached their respective changing rooms and had to separate. Along the way, a few of them made small talk with whoever seemed approachable.

Which, obviously, did not include Taka.

That said, someone still approached him.

"Hey," Jiro said, lightly elbowing his side.

He glanced at her, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "Didn't you say you weren't making it into U.A.? Why are you here?"

She deadpanned. "I get it, I get it. You were right about me getting in."

"Of course I was," Taka replied seriously yet confidently, making her click her tongue.

"Is it just me, or have you been getting cockier ever since we met?"

"It's not cockiness. It's confidence."

"Yeah—way too much of it." She rolled her eyes, but a moment later her expression sharpened, suspicion creeping in. "By the way, what was all that about?"

"What do you mean?" Taka frowned at her in confusion.

"You messaged me fifteen minutes before class saying you arrived. So how come you were the last one to enter?"

"…"

"Not to mention how everyone reacted. The whole class went silent the moment you walked in. It's like you planned it—like you were making some kind of grand entrance."

Taka took a moment before responding, averting his eyes.

'She knows too much…'

Clearing his throat, he looked ahead again, expression unchanged. "I don't know. Maybe I just have that effect on people."

"You really don't understand moderation, do you?" she deadpanned.

Taka didn't reply, simply staring forward stoically, as he couldn't afford to break character.

Inside, however, his thoughts were racing.

'Maybe I should make my aura farming more subtle…'

Back in the classroom, he had indeed planned everything carefully. He'd waited patiently until everyone had arrived, and then, when Midoriya and Uraraka were in the middle of talking, he decided to make his entrance.

One that he purposely made extra intimidating, so everyone could be clear who was the real strongest here.

Todoroki? More like Bumoroki.

Midoriya? More like Bumdoriya.

Bakugo? More like Bumkugo—pretty accurate, actually.

And so on and so on.

Like that, he made sure his first impression was unforgettable.

Of course, no matter how good his True Walking ability was, it couldn't have caused that pressuring sensation that everyone experienced earlier.

The real MVP had been the latest Aura Projection mode he unlocked.

Aura Projection - Aura Type.

Thinking about said skill, he opened the panel mentally and gave its contents a satisfied look.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Aura Projection - Aura Type] (Active)

Description: It's often said that body language speaks louder than words—and they're right. Physical cues convey what people don't, or can't, put into words. In that sense, it acts as a window into our true selves.

But who says Aura can't do the same?

Intimidation, warmth, anger, excitement. Time to let your aura speak for itself, don't you think?

▸Allows you to make your aura visible and freely change its color.

▸Your aura can convey your emotions to those around you. Certain emotions may trigger special effects.

▸Your aura can also make people feel certain emotions themselves. Though, this function is dependent on the type of emotion, the person's mental fortitude, awareness of this sensation, and the resistance they may put.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

With this awesome skill, he'd sent a faint wave of oppression through the room to complement his other abilities, turning his entrance into something undeniably impactful.

He hadn't gone as far as outright scaring them—just a subtle sense of authority. Combined with his passive skills to look cooler than usual, it had been more than enough.

Even so, he hadn't expected it to be that effective.

Even Bakugo—who he'd fully expected to lunge at him like a rabid dog—had backed down after their eyes met.

That didn't mean the guy was scared. Taka could still feel Bakugo's furious gaze burning into the back of his head.

He'd likely retreated strategically, waiting for the right moment—or for whatever activity was coming next, to call him out.

And Taka was looking forward to it. Conflict meant someone to put in their place—and that, in turn, meant aura.

As to why he had greeted Iida, that had been a last-second adjustment. As he had been entering the room and scanned his soon-to-be classmates briefly, he'd realized how thick the atmosphere had become due to his aura's effects.

So, realizing he may have exaggerated a little, he decided to soften his own image a little.

That, and because they were gonna be classmates from now on. There was no point in antagonizing someone who, according to the canon, stopped being an asshole pretty quickly after U.A. began.

So, he decided to return their animosity to zero with that handshake.

Hopefully it worked.

'Still, the side effects of my aura are becoming a little too obvious,' Taka thought wryly as his eyes swept over the class. Most of them were avoiding his gaze entirely.

He had been simply too intimidating, it seemed.

'Nothing I can't fix later,' he huffed.

All in all, he'd rate that aura farming attempt a solid 8 out of 10.

Great at establishing power and presence—but he might've overdone it just a little.

Fortunately, he had a new incoming aura-farming opportunity to make up for his earlier mistakes.

Maybe now he'd go for a more approachable aura farming, rather than the intimidating type from earlier.

'How do I do that, though? I already established my edginess in their minds... If I go back on that, wouldn't that backfire?'

While he mused thoroughly on how to lessen the barrier he had accidentally created with his classmates, soon the class reached the field.

Once there, everyone splits off toward their respective changing rooms.

However, as the boys entered theirs and began changing into their gym uniforms, competitiveness sparked immediately.

U.A. was an elite school. And as such, it was normal for most of the hero department to be fit to some extent. Being a hero involved a lot of body movement, after all.

So, in a room full of muscled teenagers, gauging each other's levels right away was a given.

And naturally, eyes were drawn to the biggest threat of all first.

""...?!""

—Only for most of them to widen their eyes in surprise. Taka's body looked as though it had been honed specifically for combat efficiency, striking a perfect balance between musculature and flexibility.

They had muscles, but Taka looked literally sculpted.

Kirishima, unsurprisingly, was the first to blurt out what he thought.

"Yo, man—you look crazy strong."

Taka paused mid-change and gave the redheaded student a nod. "Thanks."

Seeing no hostility or coldness, Kirishima's friendly nature was encouraged. "How much do you lift, bro?"

Taka seemed to think about it for a moment. "Hmm… about one ton."

"H-huh?"

'At least with my current stat configuration,' Taka added mentally. Still, there was no need to reveal his true limits just yet. A slower, more deliberate reveal would be far more epic.

While Taka smirked inwardly, the rest of the boys had clearly overheard the exchange. Soon, several pairs of eyes turned toward him in disbelief, wondering what kind of Quirk could allow someone to lift a full ton.

The obvious answer would be super strength—but that felt too simple, didn't it? Besides, they'd seen the rankings. There was no way mere super strength alone could account for all the points Taka had earned.

"Tsk."

Of course, some weren't wondering; they were scowling.

But putting those people aside…

"T-that's a lot," Kirishima muttered, clearly taken aback. Still, he wasn't the type to be intimidated by sheer power. After pulling on his upper gym uniform—much like Taka had already done—he extended a hand. "I'm Eijiro Kirishima. Nice to meet you, man."

Taka accepted the handshake without hesitation. "Takahashi Fukumoto. Just call me Taka."

That earned him a wide grin. "Sure! Call me Eijiro if you want!"

"Sure."

…

°

°

°

| Minutes later… |

…

After everyone finished changing, they returned to the field and gathered together, waiting for their teacher to arrive.

Not long after, Aizawa appeared, carrying a small device in one hand and a ball in the other. He stepped in front of the class and gave them a half-hearted look.

"Alright. Let's begin immediately."

"W-wait—sensei, what about the opening ceremony?" Ochako asked quickly before he could continue, clearly worried about skipping it.

Aizawa looked almost bored by the question, fixing her with a stern glare. "If you're aiming to become heroes, you don't have time for such leisurely events. U.A.'s selling point is how unrestricted its traditions are—and that applies to teachers as well. So this is what we'll be doing instead."

She shrank back slightly, intimidated by his seriousness on their very first day.

Huffing at her reaction, Aizawa returned to the point, gaze directed at everyone. "You've all done this since junior high, haven't you? Physical fitness tests where Quirks aren't allowed."

The class nodded hesitantly.

Aizawa sighed, irritation flashing across his face. "For some reason, this country still relies on averages based on students who aren't allowed to use their Quirks. It's completely irrational." He clicked his tongue. "Well, that's just the Ministry of Education procrastinating."

Then, his gaze locked onto a single student. A black-haired boy standing at the front with both hands coolly on his pockets.

"Takahashi. You placed first in the practical exam, didn't you?"

A few surprised gasps echoed around the field—mostly at the confirmation that this year's exceptional record genuinely belonged to him. Most of them had already suspected as much.

"Hm." Taka nodded faintly, his expression flat and unreadable.

"What was your best result for the softball throw?" Aizawa asked.

Taka pondered the question for a moment, looking away as he tilted his head slightly.

'My results were pretty pathetic until I started training seriously last year… After that, I took one more test. It was more acceptable, but still nowhere near my current limit without aura.'

"About sixty meters," he answered at last.

Aizawa nodded. "Then try again—this time, using your Quirk."

At that, a dangerous glint flickered in Taka's eyes.

"Are you sure?"

Aizawa didn't bat an eye. "Yes."

He tossed the ball toward him.

-Tack!-

Taka caught it without even looking, then walked over to the marked throwing area—a large circle painted onto the ground, with growing arcs ahead of it.

"You can do anything you want as long as you stay inside the circle," Aizawa clarified.

Taka nodded faintly, his eyes locking forward with focus.

Then, he took a step back.

—Step—

As he did, a sensation similar to the one from earlier in the classroom spread across the field, making many of the students squint and unconsciously focus on him.

This feeling was familiar—yet different.

Before, it had made them avert their eyes.

Now, they couldn't look away.

And it was a good thing they didn't.

"W-what is that…?" muttered Kaminari, the blonde with the bolt mark in his hair. His words echoed everyone else's confusion.

Suddenly, a red aura began to emanate from Taka, its waves calm, almost fluid.

But despite its peaceful appearance, somehow, it oozed something that all the class couldn't help but swallow in awe at.

Pure, raw power at its finest.

"I suggest you all take a step back," Taka said, his voice snapping them out of their daze.

Most of them backed off instantly without hesitation.

The only ones who didn't move were Bakugo and Aizawa.

Taka glanced at them briefly, as if confirming they wouldn't budge, then shrugged faintly.

And so, with the preparations taken, his muscles tightened.

One foot stepped forward.

His body twisted.

His aura visibly condensed around his arm and the ball.

And then, his arm whipped forward.

He threw.

—BOOOOM!—

The instant the ball vanished from his hand, shooting into the distance, the air around him exploded outward in every direction like a bomb.

As a result, both Aizawa and Bakugo were forced to shield their faces as the violent gust slammed into them head-on. The others had to do the same, though the force they felt was noticeably weaker than what hit the two standing at the front.

Even so, Aizawa never took his eyes off the device tracking the ball's distance.

Beep. Beep. Beep-beep—

The numbers climbed relentlessly.

Ten meters.

A hundred.

A thousand.

They just kept increasing.

"...!"

—Until, finally, they stopped.

Aizawa's eyes narrowed.

Noticing his reaction, Taka smirked inwardly.

'How's that?'

The truth was, he had held back—but not just to hide his true strength.

Raw power was good for aura farming, sure.

But there was something even better.

"3,500," Aizawa announced. Not a digit more. Not a digit less.

The class erupted into gasps.

—And that something was power paired with control.

Aizawa stared at the device in his hand for a moment too long, his expression unreadable.

Eventually, his gaze lifted and locked onto Taka, his brows knitting together.

"Takahashi," he said flatly, "you held back."

Taka didn't blink. He stoically turned toward his teacher.

"Yeah."

That answer only seemed to irritate Aizawa further.

"Do you think being a hero is a game where you can afford to hold back?"

Taka met his gaze without flinching.

"I think it's a job where I'll have to know how to."

A brief silence followed.

"And if you can't?" Aizawa pressed.

"Then I won't."

"…Hmm." Aizawa studied him for a moment longer before his expression softened slightly. "You might actually be rational."

"..." Taka wasn't sure how to respond.

Luckily, he didn't have to.

—Tack!—

His hand instinctively caught the ball again. He looked at it, brow raising slightly.

"Knowing how to hold back is good," Aizawa said, "but this is a Quirk assessment test. Go all out."

'So much for control satisfying him,' Taka scoffed inwardly, staring at the ball for a bit. 'Go all out, huh?'

In his previous throw, he'd barely used twenty-five percent of his true strength.

He wasn't about to reveal everything just because he was told to. Big reveals required timing.

Still… if his teacher was feeling so curious, then he could show a bit more.

Half, maybe.

Either way, by the time a revelation became necessary, half of today's strength would probably represent way less in the future.

So, stepping back into the throwing circle, Taka rolled his shoulder and wound his arm.

But just before releasing, he glanced at Aizawa—and Bakugo.

"Step back." He advised. Though now not so kindly.

This time, even though Bakugo hesitated for a moment, both eventually complied—Mostly because Aizawa forced the blonde with a glare.

Seeing that, Taka smiled faintly.

Then, he tensed.

His aura flared violently, not like water anymore, but instead like raging fire, sending visible tremors through the air.

His muscles tightened.

His arm wound up to the max.

And then—

—BOOOOOOM!!!—

The ball was launched.

This time, it wasn't just air that exploded outward.

Dust erupted from the ground as the shockwave blasted through the field, sending students staggering back. Even Aizawa was forced to shut his eyes for a brief moment.

By the time everyone recovered, the ball was already long gone.

Aizawa immediately checked the device.

His eyes widened—then, involuntarily, he grinned.

"7,698 meters."

In an instant, the field fell into stunned silence.

…

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-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: Ah, another cliffhanger. I must be the very devil.

How was that? Was it tuff? Or am I doing too much? Hopefully the first.

Sorry for the wait, I was gonna start uploading faster, but university got intense this week... And it will do so in the next one, too.

Fortunately, my academic year ends next week as well, so I'll be finally free.)

 

[The Synonym]

Join my Patreon to get access to more chapters, and you'll help me make ends meet while doing so.

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────────────────────────
[Tests]
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…

'This… is the first place of the entrance exam?' Midoriya's eyes trembled in disbelief.

A month ago, after finishing the entrance exam, he'd heard people talking about someone destroying a Zero Pointer. At the time, he'd assumed they were talking about him, even though some of the people who were speaking about it weren't from his battle center.

But now he understood.

They had meant that boy. He, too, had accomplished the same thing.

No—with that level of power and technique, it probably was much different from how he had done it.

With the power he'd displayed today, destroying a robot like that wouldn't have been any harder than blowing away dust.

He, on the other hand, had to break an arm to accomplish the same result.

And what shook Midoriya the most wasn't just the strength on display—it was the fact that someone like this would be his classmate for the next three years.

'Is this the level of U.A.?' he wondered, glancing down at the fist that he once destroyed in doing what the youth in front of him could have done without breaking a sweat.

For a brief moment, doubt crept in. Had his ten months of training really been enough?

He shook his head sharply, forcing the pessimistic thoughts away.

'No… even Kacchan can't do something like that. That person, whatever his quirk is, is simply on a whole different level.' A drop of sweat rolled down his forehead.

While Midoriya's thoughts spiraled, the field itself had fallen into a deafening silence after the loud display of power. Everyone stood frozen, too stunned to say a word after realizing not all Quirks were made equal.

This shit had levels.

Fortunately, a voice cut through their collective daze.

"Is that enough, sensei?" Taka asked calmly.

His tone was neutral, serious—but there was a faint trace of challenge beneath it.

Aizawa's smirk faded.

"…Yeah. Now go back to your place."

Snorting softly, Taka turned and walked back toward the group.

As he returned to his spot, he could feel countless eyes on him—stares filled with awe, shock, and unease. He ignored them all.

Cool people didn't acknowledge admiration.

"So, did you all understand what we're doing today?" Aizawa said sharply, snapping everyone back to attention. "Judging by your faces, you were daydreaming instead of listening. You'll be performing the standard physical fitness tests—this time while using your Quirks."

Instantly, chatter broke out across the field, excitement replacing the earlier shock.

"For real?"

"We get to use our Quirks right away?!"

"That's U.A. for you!"

"This sounds fun!"

Unfortunately, that last comment—spoken by a certain pink-haired student—seemed to flip a switch on Aizawa.

"Looks fun, huh?" Aizawa said, his voice flat, eyes locking onto her as if daring her to repeat herself.

She shrank back right away, and along with her, the excitement died instantly.

Smiles vanished, nervous expressions replacing them before their teacher's change in humor.

"You have three years to become a proper hero. Will you really keep that kind of mindset the whole time?" he asked, his eyes sweeping over everyone who had dared show even a sliver of excitement earlier.

The class didn't answer; no one dared risk stepping on another landmine.

Unfortunately, silence itself was a landmine.

"Alright… let's do it like this, then." A smirk crept onto Aizawa's apathetic face. "Whoever ends up in last place after all the tests are done will be judged as having no potential… and expelled."

""H-huh?!"" the entire class gasped in horror.

Taka, of course, remained as stoic as possible.

Uraraka was the first to protest. "Last place will be expelled?! But—it's just the first day of school! And even if it wasn't, it's still unfair!"

Aizawa didn't bat an eye. Instead, his tone gained even more conviction. "Natural disasters. Large-scale accidents. Dangerous villains without scruples. Calamities whose time or place can't be predicted—Japan is full of such unfairness. Heroes are the ones who defy that unfairness and make things right. During your three years at this school, U.A. will throw hardship after hardship at you to make you capable of doing exactly that. If you were expecting a place where you could make friends and go to karaoke after class, then I'm sorry to disappoint you. Go Beyond, Plus Ultra. There's a reason that's our school's motto. Here… you'll all overcome your limits, or fail trying."

That was enough to cement reality for everyone.

Iida took out a bottle of water and hydrated himself, mentally praising U.A. for its difficulty and preparing for the hardships ahead, just as Aizawa had said.

Bakugo spun his arm around, scowling with determination to reclaim the place that belonged to him.

Midoriya was having a mental breakdown, agonizing over how to survive this with his lack of control over his new Quirk.

Todoroki—he remained stoic throughout everything.

And Taka… he glared at Todoroki and deadpanned.

'What a copycat.'

Thinking so, he cracked his neck left and right, his eyes sharpening. 'How's this? Too badass for you, emo boy?'

Todoroki spared him a brief glance before looking away.

'Heh. That's right—run away,' Taka smirked.

…

°

°

°

| Minutes later… |

…

The first test was the 50-meter dash, held with two students at a time, paired according to seat numbers. Their speed was recorded by a special automaton standing beside the track.

Taka, very aurafarmingly, was in the last batch of seats, paired with Yaoyorozu—the actual last seat.

So, he was able to let everyone else have their chance to shine before his own turn finally arrived. As some could say, save the best for last.

As he and Yaoyorozu stood at the starting line, his eyes naturally drifted toward her, wondering how she was doing.

Yaoyorozu, standing beside him, swallowed nervously. In an instant, she materialized a pair of rocket skates and put them on.

'Does that even count as using her Quirk?' He sweatdropped, briefly glancing at Aizawa, then deadpanned when he saw him not reacting at all. 'I guess it does.'

{On your mark…}

As he pondered what truly counted as "using" one's Quirk, the automaton began the countdown.

{Get set…}

Refocusing on the task at hand, Taka's body lifted, floating just a centimeter above the ground.

Then—

{GO!}

His figure blurred.

{0.7 seconds}

By the time anyone realized what had happened, he was already standing at the finish line, his feet gently touching the ground again.

—Fwoosh!—

—A moment later, the force behind his movement exploded outward, faster than even the air itself.

A curtain of dust erupted all the way from the starting line, blasting in every direction. Those watching from several meters away were hit by the shockwave, forced to cover themselves.

For a moment, Aizawa's eyes narrowed while he, too, guarded himself against the force, wondering if that had interfered with Yaoyorozu's run.

But when his vision cleared, he saw that the massive shockwave hadn't affected her at all. Somehow, something shielded her against it.

'He accounted for that?' he thought, glaring at Taka, who stood calmly at the finish line with an impassive expression.

Seconds later, Yaoyorozu reached the goal.

{3.31 seconds} The automaton announced.

After slowing down, she removed her skates and heaved a sigh, whether glad it had ended, or because she was satisfied with her result, only known to her. Then she walked toward Taka, who spared her a brief glance as she approached.

"You shielded me from the shockwave, didn't you? Thank you very much," she said, performing a deep bow.

He blinked faintly at the sudden gratitude.

"It was my speed that caused it in the first place. Don't mention it." Taka closed his eyes enigmatically.

Though his thoughts were anything but enigmatic. 'How's that—powerful and responsible. Aren't you all feeling awed?'

He opened one eye slightly to glance at the spectating crowd.

Their expressions hadn't changed at all.

Then it dawned on him—they hadn't heard him at all.

'Forgot to talk loud enough.' He sighed inwardly.

<[+5 aura]>

'Hmm?'

Fortunately, it seemed his coolness hadn't been lost completely.

Turning to Yaoyorozu, it appeared she had appreciated it, judging by the newfound respect in her gaze.

With them finished, the test came to an end.

The second test was grip strength. They all moved to the nearby school gym, where grip-strength measuring devices were kept in stock.

The highest score belonged to Shoji, whose Quirk—allowing him to produce several limbs at will—pushed his strength to an impressive 540 kilograms.

The grip was immaculate indeed.

Many boys gathered around him in shock.

At least—until Taka stepped up as well.

—Crack!—

The device snapped apart under the speed and sheer force of his grip, instantly drawing every eye to him.

'Whoops.' Taka smirked unapologetically inwardly.

Aizawa could only sigh helplessly.

After that, the third test was the Standing Long Jump.

Aura farming was a bit harder here, since the task was simply jumping forward beyond the sand. A rather plain and simple task.

—That's what a loser, non–aura farmer would say.

—Bang!—

A burst of force exploded from Taka's feet as he leapt, sending him soaring skyward for a brief moment. He even performed a flip midair, hands tucked casually into his pockets for extra style.

An instant later, he plummeted.

—BAM!—

His feet slammed into the ground, shattering it on impact and embedding slightly into the earth.

But despite buckling a little from the landing, he soon stood up tall again, expression unchanged.

His hands… still in his pockets.

Jiro stood not too far, having done the test herself already.

'That guy's doing too much.' She deadpanned.

Even if deep inside, she thought that had been pretty cool.

Then came the fourth test. Repeated side steps.

This time, Taka decided to copy the style of a fellow aura farmer. A certain caped baldy.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—

Dust erupted, and air exploded as his figure multiplied into afterimages that moved from side to side, his eyes seeming to shine for a moment as a red stela traced his rapid horizontal movements.

And through it all, his figure remained unchanged. Despite the blurring speed, he stood relaxed with both hands in his pockets. His feet did all the heavy lifting, propelling him from side to side while the rest of his body was left to aura farm.

Soon enough, the test came to an end. Half the class stared at him in disbelief, while the other half looked worried for their own sake.

Then, at last... came the next test.

The ball-throwing test—the moment that would decide Midoriya's fate.

In the original show, the greenhead had pulled a plan out of his ass that earned just enough of Aizawa's respect to cancel his expulsion plans.

But this wasn't the show.

Nothing guaranteed he'd be that clever this time around. Perhaps the butterfly effect had already taken hold, and Taka simply hadn't noticed yet.

Maybe because of his own grand and mighty presence, the pressure on Midoriya would be higher than in the original, and the kid would either rise through it with that protagonist's determination of his—or screw up and go home as a bum after all the work it took to get into U.A. in the first place.

'I'll be watching, just in case,' Taka thought, ready to intervene if necessary.

A lesser person might have seen this as the perfect opportunity to eliminate an aura-farming rival… But a true master of the craft doesn't fear the light of others. He lets them shine as brightly as they can, as only when others are able to see how brightly others can shine, can they truly appreciate the brightest light of all.

<That was supposed to be my line.> The system chimed in.

'It was a bit obvious, and you were too slow to say it,' Taka scoffed.

<...>

Leaving the System to sulk, Taka glanced back at Midoriya, whose turn was drawing near.

'Come on, Midoriya. Clutch up.'

Feeling a gaze, Midoriya turned around.

But by then, Taka had already crossed his arms and closed his eyes enigmatically.

Midoriya sighed and returned to dreading the immediate future.

Finally, his turn came.

The greenhead stepped into the throwing circle, a bead of sweat rolling down his face as his mind raced at a thousand miles per hour, hand tightly gripping the ball in his grasp.

To use his Quirk or not? That was the question.

So far, he'd attempted every test without it, and the results were grim. His training with All Might may have improved his physique compared to last year, but his classmates weren't slacking during it either. They, too, possessed good physiques that allowed them to get fairly good results from sheer physical ability only.

But unlike him, his peers had quirks that allowed them to shine in specific tests, elevating their scores—and leaving him hovering at the bottom of the scoreboard.

At this rate, expulsion was inevitable.

Midoriya gripped the ball, frustration boiling over. Breaking his limbs was agonizing, but if the alternative was being kicked out on the first day, he had no choice.

'I'll do it,' he resolved. 'I won't let it end like this!'

With renewed determination, Midoriya wound up his arm. Faint arcs of electricity began to dance around him, his veins glowing with stored power. He stepped forward, a massive surge of energy funnelling from his core directly into the ball.

'I'll become a hero!'

And so, he threw.

-Thud-

A second later, the ball hit the dirt just some meters away, raising a bit of dust in its landing, but not much more than that.

In an instant, Midoriya's face went pale.

"H-how? I'm sure I—"

"I erased your Quirk." Aizawa's voice cut through the air with solemnity. "Honestly, to allow a kid like you here… that entrance exam was truly irrational."

'Here it is.' Taka narrowed his eyes.

Just as in the show, Aizawa proceeded to give Midoriya the pep talk, making him realize that by maiming himself, he would become more of a hindrance than a help to other heroes in real disasters.

With that done, and having left Midoriya to his thoughts, Aizawa returned to his spot. Now, however, low expectations were plastered all over his deadpan expression.

"You have two more tries for the ball throw. After that, we are moving on to the last person, and then to the next test," he declared, leaving the poor green-haired boy to get lost in his own swirling thoughts.

Taka's hand twitched, ready to boost the ball's speed if necessary.

For a moment, the field fell into a heavy silence. The entire class watched in a mix of pity and tension while Midoriya let his mind race. Soon after, it seemed he had reached a conclusion.

Just like before, he took his stance, his arm winding up for the throw.

Everyone caught their breath. Some were already mentally marking Midoriya as the one to be expelled—namely, a certain explosive blond.

And then, Midoriya's body snapped into motion.

Aizawa's eyes narrowed, wondering which path the boy would take. All in, or nothing at all. With the lack of control he had over his power, he could only choose one. And to Aizawa, whichever he chose mattered little.

As he was now, Midoriya had no talent for being a hero. Today, he would get rid of the kid before he harmed himself permanently. Being a hero wasn't a playground, after all.

Or at least—that's what he thought.

"...!"

Suddenly, Aizawa's eyes snapped open in surprise as his trained gaze caught a minute detail. While mid-motion, Midoriya had indeed activated his Quirk.

For a moment, he scoffed, thinking of it as the last try of a cornered rat.

But then, he truly realized what was different.

Unlike earlier, this time all that energy and power was entirely focused on the very tip of his finger.

—BOOOOM!—

The next instant, the air exploded as the ball shot violently into the sky. Midoriya's body sagged forward from the sheer recoil of the blast.

But then, he caught himself. He pulled his injured hand into a tight fist and looked up at his teacher. Despite the tears in his eyes, he wore a defiant, bright smile.

"I can still move… sensei!"

Aizawa's face, baffled until that moment, shifted. A wide, excited grin spread across his features.

In the meantime, Taka snorted, a slight smile tugging at his lips.

'Heh. Not bad, kid.'

His aura, which had flared invisibly around Midoriya to intervene if things went south, receded. It flowed back to its rightful owner, settling once more.

'This would have been boring, otherwise.'

…

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-To be Continued…-

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(A/N: Another chapter right away, so you guys are not left abandoned while I focus on my exams.

And so, the tests are over. At least the important ones. Did this chapter feel a bit like filler? I felt like I spent a lot of time on an event that wasn't that important.

Then again, aura farming must be done properly, so taking this long is probably to be expected.)

 

[The Synonym]

Join my Patreon to get access to more chapters, and you'll help me make ends meet while doing so.

patreon.com/TheSynonym

────────────────────────
[End of Day 1]
────────────────────────

After Midoriya's aura farming moment, and a small altercation with Bakugo going bonkers at Midoriya for having a Quirk, the class continued with the rest of the tests like normal. Sit-ups, Seated Toe-touch, Long Distance Run, all of them relatively simple exercises, and still something Taka made use of to aura farm somehow.

During most tests, Yaoyorozu stood at the lead, with the crazy inventions she produced with her Quirk often surpassing what any of the others could reach with their own Quirk.

—of course, that was without counting Taka.

The teenager kept crushing every test with overwhelming power, placing himself at the top in each one, save for the baseball throw, where Uraraka managed to score infinity with her Quirk by erasing the ball's gravity.

During it all, sadly, Midoriya's performance dropped a tad more thanks to the wretched pain coming from his broken finger. It made it so that, even after clutching up at the baseball throw, he still went back to the bottom of the rankings in no time.

And so, just like that, thirty minutes and several other tests later, the Quirk Assessment Test came to an end.

Once they were done, the whole class reunited outside the gym, watching as Aizawa pulled a remote from his pocket and projected everyone's results.

Instantly, all eyes were drawn to the projected board of results, most of the students being nervous or worried about what they were about to see. Midoriya, in particular.

After all, while they had a faint understanding of how they had done, nothing said the teacher wouldn't evaluate them in a completely unexpected way, and end up with them in the dreaded last place.

At least—until Aizawa himself explained that the scores were simply the results from the tests added together.

That was enough to set Midoriya in a spiral of worry. He, after all, was the one the most aware of how much he had sucked.

And, to his dismay, as soon as the results were revealed, what he had feared became true.

There, at the bottom of the list, was his name—ranked last in the class.

On the other hand—

'Well, I was gonna crash out if I hadn't been there,' Taka thought with a snort as he saw his name at the top, followed by Yaoyorozu and then Todoroki.

As expected, he had dominated.

'I guess that concludes the aura farming for the day.' He sighed, tension faintly leaving his shoulders.

As for Midoriya being at the very bottom, he didn't bat an eye. After all—

"By the way," Aizawa spoke up nonchalantly as he turned off the projection, "...I was lying about the whole expulsion thing."

Instantly, most of the class's faces twisted into bafflement.

""What?!""

Aizawa seemed to smirk at their suffering, looking at them with a mocking gaze. "It was a rational deception to force you to push your limits."

Instantly, those at the lower ranks became exasperated—namely Midoriya, for thinking this had been the end, and Iida, because he had trusted the teacher with all his heart.

"Of course it was a lie!" Yaoyorozu chimed in upon seeing their upset reactions, sweatdropping faintly. "It would have been obvious if you had just thought it through."

Those who had been worried earlier sweatdropped as well, mentally slapping themselves for falling for it… at least, until a voice cut through.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Taka said ominously out of the sudden, drawing most eyes to him.

"What?" Yaoyorozu turned to him, baffled.

Sadly, she didn't get an answer, as Taka simply closed his eyes enigmatically.

And before she could press for answers—

"With that, we're done here. There are handouts with the curriculum and such in the classroom. So when you get back, give them a look." Aizawa said, turning around to leave. Albeit, just before doing so, he passed a doctor's note to the injured greenhead. "Midoriya, have the old lady fix you in the nurse's office—hmm? Weren't you injured?"

His eyebrows furrowed slightly as he glanced at Midoriya's previously broken finger—now completely healed.

And it seemed he wasn't the only one to just realize it.

"E-eh?! When did it—huh?!" Midoriya stared at his finger in bafflement, now without any trace of ever having been broken.

While the teacher and Midoriya's new friends tried to comprehend what had just happened, Taka snorted and turned to walk away, heading toward the changing rooms.

'Didn't even cost me 300 aura to fix it,' he smirked inwardly, glancing at the skill that had been the hardest to unlock of them all.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Aura Projection - There There Mode] (Active)

Description: To destroy is easy, and a basic skill of any aura farmer. But is the aura farmer truly one if he can't walk the most difficult path as well?

Because harder than destruction is the path of creation and protection.

Suffering is part of the cold universe they inhabit, but with his light, the aura farmer can dampen the cold and bring protection to those around him.

For the aura farmer is more than a cool weapon. He is also a cool protector.

▸ Allows the user to regenerate their own or others' wounds by expending aura.

▸ Expenditure is based on how much of the body currently requires treatment. Bigger parts require bigger chunks of aura.

▸ Certain parts of the body require more aura to heal. Vital organs are the most expensive.

▸ Due to the type of transformation aura undergoes, aura recovers at half the usual speed compared to other modes.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

'Very good indeed.' Taka nodded, satisfied.

It was indeed a glorious skill—albeit crazily expensive. But he supposed that was appropriate; otherwise, it would be far too easy to abuse.

Even though Midoriya's finger had only cost him around 300 aura to fix, a finger was a very small part of the body.

Healing larger areas could easily reach the thousands in cost, maybe even surpassing the tens of thousands.

Not to mention vital organs… He didn't even dare think about how much those would cost to heal.

He hadn't yet had the chance to test more serious healing, but as things stood now—with his aura pool hovering around forty thousand—he still didn't feel capable of performing a truly powerful heal if someone ever needed it.

Still, for now, it was enough. And when the time came that large-scale healing became necessary, he'd probably have a much larger aura pool anyway.

As for why he had decided to heal Midoriya's finger when there had been no real need to, especially with Recovery Girl around…

It was all for the sake of aura farming.

When the day he'd have to reveal his healing abilities finally came, the impact would be far greater. Everyone would connect all those moments of inexplicable recovery and trace them back to him at the moment of truth.

But why was he so blatantly risking exposure, you ask? The answer was simple.

Hiding his skills had never been the goal—only a means to an end. Or rather, a means to aura farm later in the story.

In truth, he never planned on staying hidden forever.

After all, the more the show progressed, the stronger his opponents would become, and hence the more abilities he'd inevitably be forced to reveal to stay up to the level.

And knowing that day would come eventually—and seeing no point in wasting all that aura by playing it low-key forever—why not prepare for the future? Why not plant all these seeds, so the moment he had to show his true abilities, he could aura farm as hard as he could with them?

Besides, his vigilante charges weren't that much of a deal—at least not in the long term.

When the day came that his identity as Rockinesis was revealed, and he had to face the heavyweights of this world… and probably save it in the process, what were the chances they wouldn't forgive him for his vigilante days after all that?

'And even if they don't, living as a wanted guy running from the law is also pretty auratic.' He thought. 'The strongest criminal in the world. That sounds tuff as hell.'

Grinning now that his back was facing everyone and they couldn't see his face, Taka awaited patiently for the future.

Whatever was to come his way in the future, he would be thoroughly prepared… to aura farm the heck out of it.

…

°

°

°

| Minutes later… |

…

Having changed back into their regular uniforms, and after stopping by their classroom to pick up the handouts Aizawa had mentioned, the students gradually began leaving the school premises.

Taka walked alongside Jiro, the two already heading toward the gates, followed by dozens of students around them.

As they walked, she sighed tiredly, sounding like a ninety-year-old grandma. "Huff… I thought I was a goner back there. When I didn't see my name in the first row of students, I thought, this is it, I'm getting expelled on my first day of school."

Taka raised an eyebrow. "Why? Midoriya was doing terribly."

"Midoriya? Oh, the green-haired kid." Jiro nodded. "Well, he got a pretty amazing result in the baseball throw. I got some fairly good results in the other tests, but not as good as his, so I got worried for a second."

Taka seemed to ponder that for a moment. "I suppose it makes sense. Still, you clearly did better than Hagakure. Her Quirk just wasn't suited for this kind of test."

Jiro deadpanned. "I just panicked, okay? No need to overanalyze it."

Then, after a brief pause, she looked at Taka with a puzzled expression.

"Hmm? By the way, how did you know her name? I didn't even see you talk to her."

Taka clicked his tongue inwardly, cursing his loose mouth again, before quickly coming up with an excuse.

"I just have a good memory. With the teacher mentioning names once, I already got the hang of most of them."

"Seriously?" Jiro asked, surprised.

Taka nodded without changing his expression.

"So an overpowered Quirk and a good memory. You really hit the genetic lottery, huh?"

Taka smiled faintly. "I suppose."

Jiro grumbled in discontent for a moment before her eyebrows lit up faintly in mischief, recalling something.

"By the way, what was with all that during the tests?"

Taka didn't bat an eye. "What was with what?"

Jiro's gaze turned accusatory. "You know—the extra steps, the looking cool, when you could've just done the tests normally. You really thought you were being subtle?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Taka denied, eyes fixed straight ahead. "That's just how I usually do tests."

Jiro didn't seem ready to let the matter go that easily, grin widening—at least until Taka suddenly turned his gaze on her, cutting her off.

"Anyway… you thought I looked cool, huh?"

Jiro's words caught in her throat.

After a moment of silence, she looked away, grumbling under her breath.

"Let's change the subject."

Snorting with a faint smile, Taka nodded.

Like that, the two eventually left the school premises and headed toward the station. Making small chat on the way.

"What station are you going to?" she asked as they neared the subway. "My parents got me an apartment near Shinjuku."

"I'm not going to one. I live just around here," Taka said, gesturing with his head vaguely. "We moved here temporarily since it's close to the school."

"With Seiji-san?"

"...Yeah. With that guy," Taka replied, distaste evident in his tone.

Jiro chuckled.

Eventually, they parted ways as she entered the station.

Taka, on the other hand, turned around and slipped into a nearby alleyway as soon as he was left alone.

Then—

—Swoosh—

After making sure no one had seen him, he soared into the sky, using his aura both to elevate at high speed and to dampen the noise of his ascent.

Once airborne, he shot forward in the direction of Shizuoka, his speed enormous as he cut through the countless clouds above.

As he soared across the open sky, his thoughts drifted back to the day. Evaluating his own performance with a thoughtful face.

'My introduction was a bit forceful, but I think I nailed it during the tests´, there's no way they don't think I'm cool now…' He nodded to himself, albeit deadpanning a bit as he recalled Jiro's comment after school. 'Still, I should be careful not to make it too obvious that I'm aura farming. Otherwise, I'll just look like some narcissistic dude trying to look humble instead of the composed, naturally cool persona I'm aiming for.'

The tests themselves had been a tad too simple, which forced him to improvise ways to farm aura in them.

And he had accomplished it. However, in the process, they might have made his intentions a little too obvious.

'Well, tomorrow's class should make aura farming simpler,' he thought, a smirk forming on his face. 'After all, if things go as per the show… tomorrow there'll be a combat class.'

There, he wouldn't need to think of complex ways to aura farm like today.

Instead, it'd be as simple as overwhelming his opponents.

—Although if they were too weak, that'd be kind of a waste, or somehow end up in him looking bad instead.

'Maybe I can find a way to force myself to fight the heavy hitters of the class?'

Taka mused, already planning ahead.

Regardless, tomorrow would be a great day to aura farm. Not only because of combat… but because—

'The fit is gonna be immaculate.'

Tomorrow, they were getting their hero suits.

…

────────────────────────

-To Be Continued...-

────────────────────────

(A/N: One subject less, one chunk of my arsonist impulses fading away..)

 

[The Synonym]

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────────────────────────
[Hero Basic Training Class]
────────────────────────

The second day of classes arrived the day after the first.

Everyone was already gathered in the classroom, waiting patiently for their teacher to arrive—either making small talk with the classmates seated nearby or messing around on their phones.

Everyone, save for one person.

—Slam!

The door opened suddenly, and a familiar figure stepped in, drawing most eyes and plunging the class into brief silence.

It was Taka, of course.

'New day, new opportunities to aura farm.'

He let everyone get a good look at him for a second or two, then made his way to his seat—right behind Midoriya, next to Tokoyami, and in front of Yaoyorozu.

-Bzzz-

As he sat down and set his things aside, however, the vibration of his cellphone startled him.

Curious, he took it out, and to his surprise—

{Jiro: Didn't you say you were here 20 minutes earlier? How come you're last again?}

Taka clicked his tongue internally and glanced toward Jiro, who was seated a few rows away and looking at him with a sly smirk.

He quickly typed a reply.

{You: Went to buy something to drink.}

A response came almost instantly.

{Jiro: I didn't see anything in your hands when you came in, though?}

{You: I already drank it}

{Jiro: Just how thirsty were you?}

Jiro was now shooting him a disbelieving look.

Having successfully dodged the question, Taka sighed faintly and put his phone away, leaning back in his chair comfortably.

At least, until a hand lightly tapped his shoulder.

"Excuse me, Takahashi-san."

"Hmm?"

He turned around to see Yaoyorozu sitting there, behind him, looking a bit timid.

'Well, after yesterday's round of aura farming, I guess I'm a tad imposing,' Taka mused for a moment before addressing her.

"What's up?"

His casual response seemed to have lessened her worry, judging by her more comfortable look.

"Well, after what you said yesterday—oh, my apologies!" Her eyes suddenly widened, panic flashing across her face. She bowed faintly from her seat. "I'm Momo Yaoyorozu. I apologize for the late introduction."

Taka sweatdropped faintly. 'Are all rich kids this proper?'

His gaze flicked briefly to Iida, who sat upright in his seat, stiff as a statue and likely waiting for the teacher to arrive.

Quickly, his attention returned to Yaoyorozu, and he offered her a polite nod.

"It's fine. I'm Takahashi Fukumoto. Though you can just call me Taka. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too, Takahashi-san."

'Another one using my full name,' Taka rolled his eyes—internally.

First Jiro, now Yaoyorozu. He was giving them the chance to save themselves a mouthful.

Only Kirishima had accepted his grace so far.

Well, to each their own.

"So, what were you saying?" Taka asked.

She perked up, her expression turning serious once more. "Yes. I wanted to ask you about what you said yesterday."

'What did I say yesterday?' Taka wondered. A moment later, it clicked, and his expression flattened slightly. "...Is it about the expulsion thing?"

"Yes. You disagreed with me when I said the expulsion threat had been false. If I may ask, why?"

'She's still on that?' Taka stared at her for a moment, speechless.

At the time, he'd only wanted to aura farm a bit by acting mysterious.

But since she was still curious about it—even after his edgy exit yesterday without an answer—he supposed he could explain. It wasn't like he'd lied, after all.

"Well, I'm pretty sure he actually expelled the current second-years when they entered."

Yaoyorozu looked genuinely shocked.

"What?!"

But that exclamation hadn't come from her.

The startled voice of someone outside the conversation cut in, catching both of them off guard. They turned slightly to see Midoriya leaning toward them, eyes wide with panic.

Only after realizing they had heard him—and were now staring at him, along with everyone else who'd been startled by his shout—did he panic and turn back around.

"Ah, sorry!"

'This guy sure has a long way to go,' Taka smiled wryly at Midoriya's quick-to-panic nature.

His mind immediately drifted to the arc where the guy went all edgy and serious. That was when he really began aura farming properly.

Of course, he had a few memorable moments before that, but only after that point did he become a more thorough fighter—and a more consistent aura farmer.

For now, though, there was still a long way to go before that happened.

'Over a year,' Taka snorted.

It wasn't actually that long, now that he thought about it. If anything, it just showed how absurd this year was going to be, with all the bad stuff crammed into a single stretch of time.

'Well, I'm gonna be here this time… I should be able to turn a few bad things around,' Taka thought, recalling the scale of certain events to come—and the repercussions they'd have on everyone involved.

Now that he was here, though, he could make sure those things didn't happen.

And while he was at it, aura farm. Because it was never a bad time to aura farm.

Having established his priorities, Taka turned back to Yaoyorozu, who was still looking oddly at Midoriya's already-turned-back figure.

"Anyway, you can ask them yourself after class."

"Ah, yes. Thank you very much." Yaoyorozu nodded faintly as she turned back to him.

With the conversation coming to an end, Taka faced forward again.

Not because he didn't know what else to say—but because an aura farmer must be silent and cool… yes.

As he resumed his silent, meditative pose, the classroom door suddenly opened, and his eyes snapped open, a smirk forming on his face.

'Finally, here he is… All Mig—'

"HELL YEAAAAH! WHAT'S UP, STUDENTS?!"

Taka pursed his lips as the one who burst through the door turned out to be Present Mic—not All Might.

Only then did he remember the curriculum Aizawa had handed them yesterday.

'Right… that class was in the afternoon.'

Sweatdropping at his mistake, he sighed faintly.

It seemed the aura farming would have to wait a few more hours.

…

°

°

°

| U.A. Afternoon… |

…

"I miscalculated," Taka muttered as he slammed his head onto the desk.

Mentally, of course.

When he'd planned to enroll in U.A., he'd only thought about all the moments where he'd be able to aura farm.

What he'd completely glossed over was the fact that it was, first and foremost, an actual school.

Alright—he hadn't really forgotten. He just hadn't paid it much mind.

Now, however, he was facing the harsh truth.

The show had focused only on the interesting parts, conveniently skipping over the long, boring classes that naturally came with a school setting—and with the main cast being students.

Don't get him wrong, he wasn't bad at studying. He'd worked like hell alongside his clones to get good grades, which he did.

But he definitely wasn't some prodigy.

So whenever a teacher asked a question, he sweated bullets worrying he'd answer wrong—and lose aura in the process.

Fortunately, so far, he'd managed to answer everything correctly.

But that brought up another problem.

Besides aura farming in clutch moments, he'd also have to worry about not screwing up during the downtime from now on.

'And for an entire year…' Taka sighed.

As always, the path of the aura farmer was never easy.

Still, he had finally made it through the whole day.

And along with it, the moment he had been waiting for had finally arrived.

"I AM—!"

Taka's head lifted, and he glared toward the classroom entrance as a sly glint appeared in his eyes.

"—COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!"

Along with the shout, the massive figure of a man stepped into the classroom—no smaller than Titaniphite, but all muscle instead of rock.

His wide smile and imposing presence immediately filled the room with awe, most—if not all—of the students gaping at the hero's appearance.

Of course, save for Taka, who merely glanced at All Might with an analytical gaze.

'Well, well, well, if it isn't my errand boy.. And of course, the biggest aura farmer of our time.'

While Taka liked to joke about him being his errand boy, the truth was that if there was anyone worth learning about aura dynamics from, it was this man.

The one and only.

The Symbol of Peace.

A hero so powerful and influential that a single smile could calm the hearts of everyone watching, no matter how dire the situation.

A single phrase of his could instill hope in some hearts, and fear in others.

And a single punch could erase all evil or protect all good.

Not to mention that, powers or not, he could aura farm just fine. The man, far in the future as per the show, fought the world-ending villain using nothing but a high-tech suit—his body wrecked by old injuries, and his powers long gone.

And to top it all off, he laughed his ass off in the villain's face.

If that wasn't aura, then he didn't know what it was.

Albeit, he and other students ended up in a pretty shit condition after the battle.

'Well, things won't need to go that far with me here,' Taka snorted, closing his eyes for a brief moment.

—Only to open them again a second later, determination blazing in his gaze.

'Now, show me what you've got, All Might.'

While Taka was taking this far too seriously, All Might had already reached the teacher's podium. He stood before the class with both fists on his waist, his wide smile radiating warmth.

"Good day, ladies and gentlemen! I teach Hero Basic Training. Here, you'll train in different ways to learn the fundamentals of being a hero—and it'll be the subject you spend the most hours on as heroes in training."

The class nodded almost in unison, completely taken in by his presence.

"Having said that—let's get straight into it!"

He flexed, apparently pulling something from his pocket in a stylish motion before flashing it toward the class.

"What we'll be doing today… is this!"

All eyes snapped to the object in his hand, and the moment the students recognized it, excited murmurs spread through the room.

There, held between his fingers, was a card.

One that read "Battle."

"COMBAT TRAINING!" All Might announced, just in case anyone hadn't seen it. Then he whipped his arm toward the adjacent wall. "And to go with that, we have THESE!"

Several compartments began sliding out from the wall, revealing boxes numbered from one to twenty.

All Might's smile widened, focusing back on the students. "Costumes based on your Quirk registrations and the requests you submitted before school started."

The instant the word costumes left All Might's mouth, excitement exploded throughout the class. Everyone wanted to see how their costumes had turned out and, of course, try them on.

'He really knows how to handle a crowd,' Taka thought silently as he observed the surrounding reaction and All Might's theatrics, rubbing his chin.

Still, he did not ignore the mention of the costumes, his gaze instantly settling on the number 19.

'Let's see if they did it as I asked… Or if I'm gonna have to kill someone today.'

…

°

°

°

| Minutes later… |

…

All Might stood before the entrance to Ground Beta, patiently awaiting the arrival of his students.

As he waited, his mind drifted back to the moment he had presented himself to the class.

Before that, Nezu had told him he would find a very interesting student among them. Curious, he had reviewed everyone's Quirks beforehand—save for young Midoriya's.

While several of them had shown promising potential, none had truly stood out as someone Nezu would go out of his way to point out.

At least, that had been the case—

Until he stepped into the classroom.

The moment he crossed the door, he felt it, the piercing gaze of one of the students.

Amid all the other excited stares, this other one could have easily gone unnoticed. Yet the presence that the student emanated made it impossible to ignore.

The gaze didn't hold hostility—but it certainly wasn't pleasant, either.

If he had to describe it… It reminded him of the gaze Endeavor used to direct at him during their years at U.A.

But in this student's eyes, there was something Endeavor's glare had never possessed.

Certainty.

Whatever the student had been thinking as he stared at him, there hadn't been a single ounce of doubt behind it.

"Hm…"

Humming thoughtfully, All Might opened his teacher's folder and scanned through the class list until he found the photo attached to that presence.

"Takahashi Fukumoto. Quirk: Muscle to Mind."

Yes, he had seen it earlier, and he had considered it a Quirk with solid potential.

But now, having met him… perhaps there was something more to this boy.

Smiling faintly, All Might closed the folder and looked ahead.

'Well,' he thought, 'this is the perfect chance to find out, isn't it?'

His bright blue eyes shone with interest as figures began emerging from the shadows of the entrance.

Clearing his throat, he raised his voice to address the approaching students. "They say clothes make the man, young men and ladies—and that applies here just the same."

Class 1-A stepped into the light, the vibrant and flashy colors of their hero suits blending together into an impressive sight.

All Might's smile widened.

"Now that you're wearing those outfits, be fully aware that from this moment on…" He paused for effect. "—you are Heroes!"

Chins lifted proudly across the group, the title accepted with a mix of nervousness and reverence.

Soon, however, another figure emerged from behind—clearly late compared to the rest.

All Might's eyes narrowed slightly.

A moment later, the student stepped into the light, revealing—

"Did I make it in time?"

—Midoriya, clad in a Bugs Bunny–like suit.

All Might nearly choked at the sight, immediately recognizing the inspiration.

'So obvious…' He struggled not to laugh.

With everyone finally gathered, the students began glancing at one another's costumes, excitement and competitiveness rising in equal measure.

Everyone wanted their suit to be praised—and everyone wanted to see what choices the others had made.

But as they chatted about designs and possible future adjustments, another sound echoed from the darkened entrance.

—Step.

A single footfall, calm and measured, yet somehow loud enough that nearly everyone heard it.

Immediately, all eyes turned toward the source. The dark hallway where they had all come from.

And from within it, they could all see it. A figure was approaching, his pace deliberate and almost regal.

Instantly, everyone knew who it was, and all focus centered on it.

And soon, the figure stepped into the light—

—or rather, it felt as though the shadows followed him out.

Unlike the vivid colors of the others—save for one student in particular—this one stood in stark contrast to the bright day. A dark coat, a stylish yet strangely savage-looking black tricorn hat, and a mask covering everything up to his nose, plus many garments that only added to the edginess.

As he made his entrance, reactions rippled through the group.

A certain raven-headed student nodded in quiet acknowledgment.

A certain earphone-jack–earlobbed student deadpanned, muttering something about someone being right behind her—and somehow still managing to arrive last again.

A certain red-haired student's eyes sparkled, mumbling about manliness and whatnot.

A certain explosive blond clicked his tongue in annoyance.

And a certain white-and-red-haired student… stoically ignored it.

<[+50 aura!]>

'Yes, yes, I look quite awesome, I know.'

Taka had arrived.

…

────────────────────────

-To Be Continued...-

────────────────────────

(A/N: There we go, another chapter, and finally getting to the combat exercise.

I had some free time and managed to write a chapter. Might be able to come up with a chapter for tomorrow as well, or not, who knows?

Anyway, see you next chap)

 

[The Synonym]

(A/N: A bit late, but I was trying to get some sleep after not getting much last night. Sadly, it didn't work out, and I had to chug a monster to last the rest of the day. Today I'm sleeping early, that's for sure.)

────────────────────────
[Combat Exercise]
────────────────────────

…

Once everyone was fully reunited and they had all gotten a good look at Taka's extravagant costume, All Might began giving the instructions for the exercise right away.

In summary, the class would be segmented into several teams of two students, who would take on the roles of either heroes or villains. Two opposing teams would then face off inside the many buildings scattered across Ground Beta, each match having its own building to destroy.

The villains' objective was to protect a mock bomb placed at the top of the building. The heroes, on the other hand, had to start from the bottom floors and reach the bomb to "deactivate" it.

The victory conditions were fairly simple.

The villains would win if they managed to protect the bomb until the fifteen-minute limit ran out, or if they apprehended all the heroes using the capture bindings they'd been given. Achieving either condition would secure their victory.

The heroes, meanwhile, would win if they touched the bomb—counting as deactivation for the exercise—or if they apprehended the villains using the same bindings they, too, had been provided.

Once the instructions were given, and a certain glassed student's multiple questions were answered, the students stepped forward one by one to draw balls from a box, each marked with letters from A to J, to determine their teams.

As the process went on, Taka began thinking of ways to rig the whole thing so he could get matched against Bakugo or Todoroki, who were currently the strongest contenders in class.

While doing so, his turn came, and he was offered the box to take a ball out.

A moment after rummaging through it, he glanced down at the ball he had drawn.

Team I, and his partner—

'Hagakure, huh?' He sweatdropped, turning to look—or rather, not look—at the invisible girl at the other side of the group. '…Damn.'

Immediately, all of his plans went straight down the gutter.

He had hoped things would play out as they did in the show, letting him use his foreknowledge to identify which ball belonged to which team and subtly manipulate them with his aura so he could fight whoever he wanted.

But seeing the invisible girl there made something painfully clear.

They already weren't the same.

His eyes swept across the other groups forming around the field, narrowing as his worries cemented.

The teams were different from the show. Which meant the matches would probably be, too.

That left him with no way of knowing which ball belonged to Todoroki's team—or Bakugo's.

And with the remaining balls hidden inside the box, right beside All Might, even trying to peek was close to impossible. He wasn't that fast yet.

'Well, so much for aura farming,' Taka clicked his tongue.

If only he had a way to make something like an actual astral projection, so he could check on the box without being noticed…

He didn't, in case you were hoping otherwise.

'Still, it's a pretty good idea… I might try it out later.' He squinted faintly at the idea.

"Hello, Takahashi-kun, right?"

A voice calling out to him snapped him out of his ideas. A bit nervous, but trying to sound calm.

He turned and saw that Hagakure had approached on her own… Namely, only her gloves and shoes. The rest of her was invisible.

'Focus, man.'

Preventing his mind from wandering into strange topics, he offered a hand.

"That, or Taka. Whatever you feel like calling me."

It seemed that the friendly gesture had been enough to erase the nervousness from her voice.

"Then Taka it is! I'm Toru Hagakure, nice to meet cha!" she said energetically as she shook his hand.

Taka nodded faintly. However, inwardly, a smile appeared on his face.

'Finally, someone else who takes on my offer.'

The other was Kirishima, but given his focus on aura farming, he hadn't talked much with him.

He had to act mysterious all the time, so going to speak to others on his own volition was a no-no.

<Then you ask yourself why you have few friends.>

'It's the path of the aura—'

<It's not.>

'Pff, what would you know?'

As he scoffed inwardly at the system's obvious ignorance on the topic, both he and Hagakure turned to All Might, who had begun the process of establishing the team matches, sinking both hands into two boxes—one for the villains, and the other for the heroes.

The hero's hands rummaged through each box, his expression pensive, as if gauging which ones he should pull out first.

And as the tension rose amid the class, with each student awaiting to see who they would be fighting—

'Hold on…'

A crazy idea formed in Taka's mind.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Trouble Radar] (ACTIVATED)

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

For a moment, nothing changed.

But then—

"...!"

He felt it. For a moment, an alert had sprouted, vanishing as soon as it came.

It hadn't been of much level—at most, a threat level of 1 or 2.

But that much had been enough to prove Taka's theory right.

'The moment All Might touches my team's ball, it gauges the level of the opposite team's ball his hand is touching.'

And as if to prove that true—

'There goes another one, nearly level three!' Taka's impassive face broke into a small smile.

Instantly, he laid out his plan.

His aura, invisible, expanded and reached the boxes, entering them and covering most of the balls, as well as All Might's hand, without him realizing.

Then, Taka simply waited.

In the meantime, All Might took out two balls, designating the first teams that would fight against each other—Mina and Kaminari as heroes, and Sero plus Aoyama as villains.

Then he went back to rummaging through the boxes, alerts popping up every now and then.

Taka simply remained calm, waiting patiently with a watchful eye… until—

'There it is!'

A level four, nearly five.

That was the highest so far.

Whether it was Bakugo or Todoroki, it didn't matter. Both worked.

He supposed there was a chance it would be Midoriya too—albeit, as he was now, he wasn't much of an opponent, even if the alert said otherwise.

Quickly, he made sure to lock onto it with his aura, discreetly pushing it into All Might's hand along with his team's ball as well.

And, to his delight—

"The second match will be… Team B as heroes, against Team I, as villains!" All Might announced as he showed both balls to everyone.

Both being the ones Taka had chosen.

'And, if my memory doesn't fail me, team B should be…' His eyes darted across the class, until they landed on a particular someone… who was also glancing his way, eyes narrowed.

Todoroki.

The moment the two made eye contact, Taka snorted and glanced back ahead.

For having escaped eye contact, that would have been his defeat, and a loss in aura.

But just before looking away, Taka had shot him a cocky smirk, changing the meaning of it all completely.

Utter disrespect.

Taka didn't quite catch what Todoroki's expression was after that, but judging by his daddy issues, he probably hadn't liked it much… not that anyone would like it.

But that was what he wanted.

The angrier he was, the better Taka would aura farm.

'Albeit, I guess I'll have to take care of her.' He thought as he shot Hagakure a short look. 'That guy does pack quite the punch.'

If Todoroki went on a rampage, the girl wouldn't be able to do much.

'Well, fighting with ease while protecting someone at the same time is even more auratic, isn't it?' Taka mused with a smile.

Hell yeah, everything was coming together.

Now, all he needed to do was bide his time… until his turn came.

…

°

°

°

| Minutes later… |

...

"Hero team, wins!!!" All Might shouted as the image of Mina touching the bomb with a smug look was projected to everyone watching the big screen in the monitoring room.

After a not-so-tough battle in which Aoyama was knocked out quickly—forcing Sero to do most of the heavy lifting, blocking most of the room with his self-produced tape, only for Mina to dissolve it all easily with her acid and Kaminari to stun him just as quickly—the first battle of the day came to an end.

Soon, the two teams made their way into the room, standing at the center for All Might's evaluation of their performance.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, who can tell me who was the MPV of this combat exercise?" the hero asked, scanning the room.

Yaoyorozu, ever the applied student, was the first to raise her hand.

Once given the word, she spoke. "That would be Ashido-san. Not only was she superior in combat against Aoyama-san, taking him out first, but after that, she also proceeded to weaken all the villain's precautions with her Quirk, making it easier for her partner to make the most effective use of his Quirk. On the other hand, the villain team lacked in quite a few aspects; there was no coordination between Aoyama-san and Sero-san, which ultimately led to—"

A minute or so later, Yaoyorozu finished with her profound analysis of each team's performances, leaving even All Might, who was the teacher, a bit at a loss.

Still, nothing of what she had said was wrong, so he simply assented and praised her—albeit a tad intimidated.

With the review over, it was time for the second match.

"Alright, everyone, let's change locations and go onwards to the next match!" All Might announced, and soon, everyone began moving towards the next building to destroy.

Minutes later, the class had gone towards the monitoring room of said building, while the next two teams went to their respective posts on the bottom and top floors.

One of the teams being Taka and Hagakure, the villains.

The heroes—Todoroki and Sato.

'The top, huh? Very fitting for aura farming.' Taka thought as he watched down through the window of the room they were in, a satisfied deadpan on his face.

"Let's do our best, Taka!" Suddenly, someone called out from behind. That being Hagakure.

"Hm." Taka turned, giving her a brief nod.

He wasn't sure about his best, but he for sure would put his utmost into aura farming the heck out of his opponent.

"So, do you have any plans?" Hagakure asked, her tone very earnest and somewhat urgent.

Taka took a bit to answer.

After all, he couldn't just say his plan was to be flexing while Todoroki went all out.

So instead—

"We crush them with overwhelming power."

"So direct!" Hagakure cried out, sounding a bit exasperated.

<[+5 aura!]>

Though it seemed to have done the job Taka intended.

Still, she was right. So he added a bit more detail, so she wouldn't feel so lost.

"I'll take on Todoroki; his Quirk is a bit wild, so I'm gonna have to deal with that first. If I'm not wrong, Sato's Quirk strengthens him when he eats sugar, but he gets slower mentally. So if you sneak up on him, you should be able to apprehend him before he's able to react."

"Alright!" One of her floating gloves did a fist-pumping motion, though her voice clearly denoted a bit of nervousness. Her invisibility Quirk didn't aid much in combat, besides the sneaking aspect.

'Only in the later seasons was she able to weaponize it somewhat.' Taka mused, recalling how she became able to warp sunlight with her Quirk to blind his opponents.

Then, there was also the moment when, after Aoyama shot a laser at her, she was able to redirect it as an even more powerful attack towards some villain he couldn't bother to remember.

And it happened again when she tanked a full-blown city-destroying laser from the final boss.

Albeit, in doing so, her Quirk bugged out, and she became visible temporarily, revealing herself as she was born to the world.

'Hey… system, if I shot her a full-powered aurabeam of pure luminic energy… would she—?'

<Host, I thought you had moved past that already. What were these past twelve months for?>

Taka clicked his tongue. 'It's called intrusive thoughts. And it's quite difficult not to have them when she's literally naked next to me and I have an idea of how she looks from my memories.'

<...>

'Besides, I was asking for a moment when she isn't naked. That'd allow her to turn off her Quirk for a moment, right?'

<I'm not very informed about the specifics of Aoyama Yuga's Quirk, nor the properties that All For One's laser had at that moment, but in theory, it should work.>

Taka hummed at the thought.

He was pretty sure that after both incidents, they were eventually able to develop a suit for her that would turn invisible along with her.

—That, or her Quirk bugged out so much from that last laser that she got pressured into finding a solution, given her random spasms of visibility.

Either way, he could help her get herself a suit for her condition, or at least be able to turn off her invisibility if she wanted.

<Why would you do that, host?>

'Are you seriously an aura farming system?' Taka asked in disbelief.

<What'd I do?>

He rolled his eyes.

'Shouldn't an aura farmer be able to do anything? Even helping seemingly unhelpable cases?'

<Hmm, indeed.>

Snorting, Taka gave Hagakure a brief look.

'Not now, though. That's not gonna end well.'

Putting the idea for later, he glanced at the door, waiting patiently for All Might to give the announcement of the exercise's start.

Hagakure did the same, calmly standing in silence.

Then—it happened.

"Now… let's start the second combat match of today!" All Might's loud voice rang in their earpiece, snapping both teams into alert.

—RAAAAAANG!—

Then, the loud honk that announced the match's start dropped, setting them into motion.

"Bear with this for a moment."

"Eh?"

Taka's red flaring aura wrapped around Toru, forcing her afloat without warning, earning slightly panicked sounds from her.

Just as she was about to ask what that was about, however—

—Tssss…!—

In an instant, a wave of frost razed the whole building, covering walls, floor, and ceiling.

"Eh?! What's this? What the…?"

Hagakure, who had been floating, remained untouched save for the low temperatures that dropped with the coat of ice that now surrounded the building.

Taka, however, got hit directly by the wave, and ice had crept up to his knees, trapping him to the ground.

"Taka, are you okay?!" Seeing his state, Hagakure asked panickedly from the air, squirming in panic.

But Taka simply nodded, and then—

-Crack!-

He snapped apart the ice trapping him with sheer strength.

With that done, he set Hagakure down and cracked his neck.

"That should have done it for the first attack." He mumbled, eyes narrowing. "Given the big-range attack, Sato is probably out of the building right now, so there's no need to worry about him for now."

Saying so, he began walking toward the room's door.

"Where are you going?"

Taka didn't answer right away.

He opened the door and shot her a small look.

"To force a direct confrontation."

…

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-To Be Continued...-

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(A/N: I am become author, creator of cliffhangers.)

 

[The Synonym]

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[Aura vs Frost… and Punch]
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…

-Crunch, crunch, crunch-

Todoroki's heavy steps crushed the crystalline layer of ice coating the floor as he advanced through the mock building, swallowed by near-total darkness, save for the few occasions a window appeared amidst the multiple corridors.

Misty breath escaped his mouth with each exhale. With the ice now all around, the temperature in the whole building had dropped. However, he was resistant to cold—this level of temperature drop wasn't enough to faze him yet.

Such were the benefits of his Quirk.

No, this was but the result of his own progress.

Even freezing an entire building was effortless, and under normal circumstances, it would have been enough to deal with almost anyone.

Yet, even after such a grand display of power, Todoroki hadn't lowered his guard.

On the first day, he hadn't paid much attention to his classmates. U.A.'s prestige, aside from being the best school available to him, didn't impress him. So, he hadn't expected much of a challenge from them either.

He wasn't being arrogant. That mindset was simply the result of the relentless training he'd endured—training meant to ensure he wouldn't have to rely on that.

To become the number one hero and to prove his damn old man wrong, he had forced the ice side of his Quirk to stand on its own, to make it powerful enough to stand as a sole Quirk by itself. So when he rose as a hero, he would need only it, and not the other part.

And for a long time, he'd believed he had succeeded. His ice output dwarfed that of similar Quirks recorded throughout recent years.

But it was during the Quirk Assessment Test that he realized he'd miscalculated.

Someone posed an actual threat to his objective, someone with an absurdly powerful Quirk.

And that same someone was now his opponent.

Even after that initial wave of ice—fast and strong enough to catch almost anyone off guard—he wasn't certain it would have been enough to deal with him. Still, he hoped it could have accomplished something.

He didn't know the specifics of the other boy's ability, but from what he'd gathered, it was a telekinetic-type Quirk.

A frighteningly potent one.

But that meant the weak point was the user himself.

This ice attack should have caught him by surprise. It was just that fast.

It should have pinned his feet to the ground—at least momentarily.

The telekinesis was strong enough to pull him out for sure. He didn't have a doubt about that.

But as for protecting his feet from the damage that pulling them out from the burning cold ice would do? He wasn't so sure it'd be able to accomplish that.

So, either the boy was still trapped after realizing the damage he would inflict on himself by trying to escape… or he had already broken free, regardless of it all.

Todoroki wouldn't know until he reached the top floor.

But hopefully—

'Nevermind.' Todoroki scoffed.

The stairway to the next floor had just come into view when a figure appeared, descending calmly toward him. Not a speck of ice on it.

Shrouded in darkness, the figure looked like a vengeful ghost. The aggressive design of the costume and the mask, which hid most of his features, only worsened the effect.

The only proof that the figure was human was the eyes beneath the brim of his hat—eyes currently looking down at Todoroki as he finished descending the stairs. Each step echoed sharply through the ice-filled hallway.

Soon, they stood on the same level, meters apart, silently gauging each other's level.

At least—

"You aren't coming?"

Until the figure raised an arm and curled a finger toward himself

A blatant invitation to attack.

"..."

Todoroki didn't hesitate.

-Bang!-

He stomped the floor, and waves of ice surged forward in unison, completely flooding the hallway as they rushed toward his opponent, looking like a violent flood of raw ice.

Yet—

-Swish!-

—SHATTER!—

A single palm thrust from his opponent obliterated the oncoming ice before it could even reach him. The sheer wave of red telekinetic energy sent the shattered remains back past Todoroki, forcing the red-and-white-haired student to stumble a step as he shielded himself from the storm of frozen debris.

'He disregarded it so easily…!' Todoroki grit his teeth, squinting through the blizzard of his own ice as it flew back at him, refusing to lose sight of his opponent.

Finally, the shockwave died down after a few seconds, allowing Todoroki to steady himself and stand upright once more.

But when his eyes settled forward again… all he saw was another finger beckoning him.

'This guy…' His eyebrows furrowed.

Without hesitation, he attacked again.

This time, with less restraint.

—BOOOM!!!—

A massive surge of ice erupted outward, swallowing the hallway whole and tearing apart the surrounding walls.

The entire building trembled under the sheer force of it, the explosion of ice roaring as it expanded across the floor uncontrolled.

And this time, his opponent didn't block.

The ice surged forward unabated—and, eventually, swallowed him whole.

The dark figure vanished beneath layers of ice, completely encased.

"...!"

For a fleeting moment, a glint of regret flashed through Todoroki's eyes.

Was his telekinetic ability perhaps limited by a cooldown or something else that hadn't allowed him to block?

Had he actually gravely injured one of his classmates because he got too into it?

Those thoughts crept into his mind as he stared at the motionless, frozen figure—

—until a sound reached him.

-Crack-

The sound of ice parting. And soon, it was not only that.

His eyes followed each crack, each fissure.

Until he realized it.

They all came from the guy at the center of it all.

—SHATTER!—

In an instant, most of the ice that had engulfed the hallway—and shattered the walls in the process—exploded outward, blasting chunks of frozen debris clean off the building. Somehow, all missing Todoroki in the process.

And there, amidst the falling shards—reflecting the surroundings like fragments of shattered reality—stood his opponent.

Unshaken and clearly unbothered by such a move.

And he made it clear by raising a single finger.

"You get one more try."

His voice echoed through the now-widened hallway, commanding, despite the clear taunt.

Todoroki's teeth ground together, frustration boiling beneath the surface.

He hadn't come this far for his efforts to hit a wall on the second day of classes.

He couldn't lose.

If he did, then he'd be proving that bastard of a father right. That, without his fire, there was little he could accomplish.

And that—he couldn't allow.

Focusing back on his opponent, anger surged in the depths of his being.

So, Todoroki abandoned all restraint. This opponent was clearly stronger than him.

There was only one answer for this.

He had to go all out.

To prove he didn't need his father.

To prove to himself that his efforts hadn't been in vain.

To prove to everyone that his ice was all he could ever need… to reach the top.

"You want an attack?" he muttered, his usual composure cracking as raw frustration twisted his expression. "Then how about this?!"

He dropped to one knee, both hands slamming against the floor.

-Thud!-

And then, it happened in an instant—

—TSSSSSS!!!—

An ice explosion.

Not one meant to merely coat walls or freeze surfaces.

This was ice meant to consume everything.

The expansion was terrifying—erupting from Todoroki's position and swallowing most of the floor in less than a blink, with no intention of stopping there. The entire building was about to be entombed in sheer frost.

That's what should have happened—

—BANG!—

But the monstrous wave of ice didn't make it far beyond the floor.

As if seized by an invisible force field, the advancing mass slammed into something mid-air—and simply stopped.

The ice groaned like a roaring beast, pushing and agonizing to grow beyond that, but failing completely.

Todoroki's eyes widened, confusion flooding his mind at the sudden halt.

Then, it became even worse.

Like a chain reaction, the compressed ice—straining to expand but denied by the unseen force—began to crack. The sound of what had once been a mighty attack collapsing from inside filled the entire vicinity.

Crkcrkrkckrk—

His head whipped around, watching the ice formation all around become filled with fissures.

One of his most powerful attacks—stopped, and destroyed, just like that?

Then, as if to confirm his disbelief—

—SHATTER!—

—It finally collapsed, breaking apart into several fragments.

But they didn't fall.

Under Todoroki's stunned gaze, tons upon tons of frozen debris hung suspended in the air. Almost mystically.

Then, slowly—

They began to circle around him, forming a swirling storm of ice.

He glanced around, startled by what was happening, danger alarms screaming in his mind.

What was his opponent trying to do?

Was he about to turn all that ice against him?

He had to react—maybe erect an ice wall before he could—

"That was your last try. Time's up."

The voice came from behind him.

Todoroki's eyes widened.

In a flash, he spun around and lashed out, sending a wave of ice forward.

-CRASH!-

The ice barely traveled a few centimeters before shattering in place.

But he didn't stop.

More ice surged forth under Todoroki's relentless lash out as he took his distance.

Each wave… weaker than the last.

And each one was effortlessly crushed by the unseen force before it could even come close to its target, who calmly walked after him.

Todoroki's breathing grew ragged, his muscles trembling as the cold gnawed at him.

He was reaching his limit.

Without using his fire to regulate his body temperature, pushing any further meant crossing into dangerous territory.

'I can't… I must not—!'

He swung his arm once more.

-Tack!-

Only for his wrist to be caught mid-motion.

For a brief moment, silence fell between the two contenders.

Todoroki was too exhausted—and too cold—to say anything.

And the boy in front of him seemed to pause, as if lost in thought.

Then, just as the moment stretched—

The boy in black tilted his head.

"You thought you could half-ass this?"

The words struck something deep.

"What?" Todoroki snapped, despite his weary condition.

For a moment, silence fell again, the boy's eyes locking with Todoroki's in a sharp gaze. "You're aiming for the top, aren't you?"

Todoroki didn't answer, whether from disbelief or simple refusal, only known to him

Regardless, the boy took the silence as agreement.

And so, he let out a mocking snort.

"You didn't think you'd reach it by half-assing your way through it, did you?"

"What do you even—!"

"An incomplete person can never hope to defeat me."

"...!"

As if Todoroki's response no longer mattered, the boy released him.

Then—

-Wham!-

A surge of telekinetic force slammed Todoroki into a nearby, untouched wall.

Before he could recover, a binding wrapped tightly around his wrist—the one they'd been given for the exercise. His eyes snapped to the binding in bafflement.

Just like that, Todoroki had been disqualified.

Huffing softly, the boy turned away, shoving both hands into his pockets as he began to walk off.

His business here was finished.

Or so it seemed—

"Wait."

Todoroki's voice stopped him.

The boy turned, casting a sideways glance.

"Your name," Todoroki said, forcing the words out. "... What was it?"

"..."

Silence stretched between them once more.

Then—

"Takahashi. Or Taka. Pick whichever you like."

And with that, he turned his back again, heading toward the stairwell leading down.

In search of his next prey.

…

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°

°

| Taka's POV: |

…

'That fucker didn't even bother learning my name?'

I clicked my tongue as I descended another flight of stairs, briefly wondering if I should've gone harder on him.

He'd earned a couple more whacks to the head.

'Forget it. He got humiliated more than enough for today.'

Rolling my eyes, I set my irritation aside and focused instead on the seeds I'd planted.

'I wonder if that worked?'

My thoughts drifted back to the last words I'd thrown Todoroki's way. I'd kinda copie—ahem, I mean, gotten inspired by Midoriya's future talk-no-jutsu—the one that finally got Todoroki to stop caring about his old man and start using his fire.

Of course, mine had been far cruder, shorter, and way more condescending than anything the greenhead would ever say.

But hey, I wasn't about to sit him down and give him a heartfelt pep talk about self-acceptance and daddy issues. That wasn't part of my act—or who I was.

Sure, I could try to improvise something convincing. With True Voice and all, it'd probably sound decent.

But it'd just be random fluff without real meaning.

So I went the competitive route.

Either he stops holding back—Or he never beats me.

My main objective was to get him to drop his limiter fast, so he could start climbing in strength right away.

Why?

Because the stronger he gets, the stronger I look in comparison.

Maybe it was a crude method.

But if it worked, it worked.

'That… or he becomes Endeavor 2.0, and I end up being his All Might.'

…

'On second thought, maybe I shouldn't have done that.'

Maybe this was how villain Todoroki started.

'…Yeah. Maybe I should deploy Midoriya to do his magic, just to be safe.'

I was still mulling that over when I reached the next lower floor—and ran into an unexpected sight.

There he was.

Rikido Sato.

Mr. Diabetes Is My Superpower himself.

The moment he saw me, his expression went flat, followed immediately by a nervous sweatdrop.

"I figured something was going on up there…" he said cautiously. "... But given the scale of it, I didn't dare step in. So… you beat Todoroki, huh?"

I nodded. No point lying about his partner's unfortunate fate.

He grimaced and let out a heavy sigh. "Haaah… then just finish me off. I won't even be able to reach you before you blow me away anyway."

I hummed.

That was indeedfully true, but…

I checked the timer on my phone.

"Five minutes," I muttered.

"Huh?" he asked, confused.

I raised my hand, palm forward, all five fingers extended. "How about this? For the next five minutes, I won't use my telekinesis. Until then, you can show the teacher everything you've got."

I'd let Todoroki attack me three times—not just because of the massive aura gains that tanking all his attacks like nothing would get me, but because this was an exercise.

All Might was supposed to point out flaws, give feedback, all that educational stuff, after this.

One-shotting everyone without letting them show anything would've been kinda mean.

…Even though that was exactly what Todoroki did to the team he fought in the show.

But I was better than him, wasn't I?

So I'd give this guy the same chance.

Let the guy show his stuff, then let All Might handle the critique.

And while I was at it, I could aura farm by proving I wasn't just amazing because of my Quirk.

'Powerful and responsible… Truly, I am an exemplary aura farmer.'

<If someone could hear your thoughts, you'd be losing aura in real time.>

'But no one can. Let me be. This aura farming crap is exhausting—I should at least be allowed to relax in my own head.'

"For real?" Sato's voice snapped me back to reality.

I cleared my throat.

"Yeah."

Saying so, I took off my coat and tossed it aside.

—Clang!—

The instant it hit the metal floor, the surface bent slightly under the impact.

Sato's eyes widened like saucers.

"T-that's weighted clothing?!"

"Indeed."

It wasn't.

I'd just used my aura to force the coat down and slam it into the floor.

But he didn't need to know that.

"I guess even without your Quirk, you're no pushover, huh? Just my luck." Sato smirked nervously, but he didn't back away from the challenge. Instead, he pulled a packet of sugar from the belt of his hero suit and swallowed it without hesitation.

His body swelled, muscles bulging as his strength skyrocketed.

Good.

"Come," I beckoned.

And he did.

"Aaaargh!" he roared as he charged.

His lunge was fast—powered more by brute strength than technique—but compared to Seiji, who had both power and agility, this was easy.

A fist nearly touched my nose by mere centimeters as I took a single step back, already knowing it wouldn't reach.

Another punch followed. I weaved past it, slipped under his guard, and ended up right behind him.

He reacted quickly, throwing a blind punch backward. I dodged by leaning back into a limbo, the blow passing just inches from my nose.

He turned around and threw—

…another punch.

Weave.

Then another.

Weave.

And then another—right, yeah. I'd momentarily forgotten the side effect of his Quirk.

I weaved again and—

—Wham!—

I planted a punch of my own into him, knocking him back a few steps.

As he staggered in surprise, I spoke.

"Snap out of it," I commanded, my voice low and firm. "If you don't think while fighting, you're gonna get folded by the first random villain you find."

Despite being in his dulled state, my words seemed to get through. He scrunched his face, visibly struggling to process them and apply them.

Seeing that, I beckoned again.

So he charged.

Punch. Punch. Punch—

—no, that was a headbutt.

I still dodged it, though it caught me off guard.

'That's an improvement, I guess.'

Another punch. Then another, and again another.

He sure was struggling with thinking in that state.

As the repetition continued, I started punishing him harder for it.

Another punch? I dodged and countered with a strike of my own.

Another? I kicked him before he could even reach me.

Another, and this time I redirected his arm and landed a clean gut punch.

The fight went on like that for a while. Eventually, new attacks started to appear.

He was learning—slowly—but there was progress.

Which made sense, given he was trying to learn how to fight while stuck in a cognitively dulled state.

Still, when I checked the time, I squinted.

Only one minute left. Then, we'd win automatically.

But...

'Winning by default is kinda lame, right?' I thought, noticing something on the current floor that made me decide on how to end this combat properly.

With my decision made, Sato lunged in with an uppercut, and I slipped behind him.

He tried to turn—and to his credit, he did.

But before he could react, I thrust my palm into his chest, this time putting a bit more force into it.

That sent him skidding several steps back until he finally forced himself to a stop.

For a moment, he looked ready to keep fighting—but just as he moved to charge again—

-Click-

The sound of binding bands snapping shut echoed through the room.

"Eeeeeeh?!" Sato yelped, staring at his now immobilized wrists. "You lied! You said you wouldn't use your telekinesis!"

I snorted.

"That wasn't me."

"Huh?"

"Hehehe, it was I, Toru! You forgot I was here, didn't you?!" a voice rang out from midair, near him.

Sato's jaw dropped. "N-NO WAY!"

While Hagakure reveled in her sneak attack and Sato realized how thoroughly he'd been played, I bent down, picked up my coat, and slipped it back on, letting it flap in the process for extra coolness.

The dust it had picked off disappeared instantly.

And just as I finished—

{"V-villain team wins!!!"} All Might's slightly baffled voice came to our earpieces.

I broke into a smile from behind my mask.

'That's what I'm talking about, baby.'

…

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-To Be Continued...-

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(A/N: Day just couldn't be worse, went to my parents' home to stay while on vacation, and not only did I forget my laptop's charger (now it's 500 miles away, so going to pick it up isn't an option) I also slept poorly on the bus, got a leg cramp uponn arriving, and got a rash for some reason. Why God, why!?)

 

[The Synonym]

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[After battle]
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| Minutes later.. |

…

Both teams made their return to the monitoring room not long after All Might's announcement.

Though it was immediately clear that only one of them had been truly successful.

While Toru seemed to vibrate with excitement—even if she wasn't visible—and Taka looked strangely satisfied behind his usual poker face, the other team presented the complete opposite picture.

Sato looked nervous, his eyes constantly dodging All Might's gaze. He was clearly beaten up and exhausted from the fight.

Todoroki was worse.

He wasn't nearly as physically battered as Sato, but his expression was a tangled mix of frustration, dejection, and something close to shock.

And threaded through it all was anger—channeled into a sharp glare aimed straight at Taka.

All in all, it was painfully obvious who the victors were.

Not that Class 1-A needed to guess. They had all watched it unfold firsthand on the big screen—albeit without audio.

It had been an utter defeat for the heroes.

A strange one, however.

Even All Might seemed to think so, judging by the faintly confused look on his face.

Still, he had a job to do.

"Very good work out there, young ones," he praised, stepping forward and giving Todoroki's shoulder a gentle tap. "You fought bravely and showed great promise."

The boy acknowledged the gesture only briefly, glancing up at him for a second before his gaze fell back to the floor.

Sighing softly, All Might turned to the rest of the class.

"Now then—can anyone guess who the MVP was this time?"

Instantly, nearly every pair of eyes turned toward Taka.

He remained impassive, arms crossed, and eyes closed—though he was probably fist-pumping internally.

Yaoyorozu raised her hand, though unlike during the first combat exercise, there was a hint of hesitation in her movement.

"Was it… Hagakure-san, perhaps?"

That answer seemed to surprise everyone.

Everyone except Taka, who didn't react in the slightest.

All Might, for his part, didn't correct her. Instead, he simply nodded.

"Could you explain your reasoning, young Yaoyorozu?"

"Well," Yaoyorozu began, glancing apologetically at Taka, "while Takahashi-san was undoubtedly the one who defeated the hero team and secured victory, I believe he committed several errors that, in any real scenario, would have been dangerous or illogical for villains, or any combatant for that matter, to make."

Taka met her look and gave her a curt nod.

Seeing that he didn't object, she continued.

"First, he allowed his opponents to attack first when, judging by his capabilities, he could have apprehended them in minutes—if not less. Second, he abandoned his role of securing the bomb and his partner to pursue combat. If Sato-san had taken an alternate route or climbed the building from the outside, Hagakure-san would have been forced to deal with him alone, leaving both herself and the bomb vulnerable."

She then turned toward Hagakure, who was a bit startled upon receiving her gaze, pointing at herself baffledly.

"In contrast, Hagakure-san remained by the bomb for a significant amount of time, properly assessing the situation before deciding whether to descend and assist or ambush whatever awaited below. She remained faithful to the objective of the exercise."

Finally, she glanced at the two defeated members of the hero team, her expression turning slightly wry.

"As for Todoroki-san and Sato-san, they both committed notable mistakes. Todoroki-san chose to engage alone, which led to his defeat, when the two of them could have worked together to overcome Takahashi-san. He also risked detonating the bomb by recklessly damaging the surroundings. Sato-san, on the other hand, remained inactive for too long despite the limited time, and in the end committed a similar mistake by engaging in combat when there were only a few minutes more to go by."

All Might nodded thoughtfully, then turned his attention to Taka.

"Those are indeed serious mistakes, young Takahashi. Even if your power allows you to overwhelm your opponents, such overconfidence could easily allow them to seize the advantage in a more serious battlefield, and as a future hero, allowing villains to gain an advantage is a grave mistake. Can you explain why you chose that approach?"

Taka didn't bat an eye before the reproach. Instead, he answered calmly. "It wasn't really part of the initial strategy."

"Then?"

He tilted his head casually. "This was an exercise. Preventing my classmates from being evaluated by ending the battle in a single move would have defeated the purpose of the exercise for them. So I allowed them to show what they were capable of before deciding to end either fight."

He let the words linger for a few seconds, allowing them to sink in.

Even though it had been obvious from the footage, hearing them from Taka himself did stir bafflement from the class. After all, Todoroki had been clearly very strong. Yet, even after their fight, Taka was stating he had allowed the fight to go on of his own volition.

The confidence he was oozing was overwhelming.

"Is he serious?"

"Damn, I'd hate to be Todoroki right now."

"Just what is his Quirk?"

The class was already struggling to take his words in. But then, Taka dropped another bomb.

His eyes sharpened, and his tone grew heavier—his costume amplifying the sudden weight of his presence.

"If this had been real, I would've ended it the instant the alarm rang."

A few surprised gasps escaped the room at the boast.

Yet no one objected. No one called it arrogance.

After the display they had just witnessed, not a single person found it in themselves to doubt his words.

If he had wanted, he could have indeed brought the exercise to an end in a brief moment.

Sato scratched the back of his head, visibly embarrassed at hearing—out loud—that he'd only been given a chance to fight so he could be evaluated properly. Even if he already knew it.

Todoroki, however, reacted differently.

His expression tightened as the true reason he'd been allowed to fight back settled in.

A single question echoed in his mind.

If Taka had attacked first… would he have even been able to respond?

In a real fight, would he have stood a chance at all?

As Todoroki brooded over the thought, his heart heavy, All Might nodded, a wry smile forming as he looked at Taka.

"Taking your classmates into consideration is a wonderful quality, young Takahashi. However, from now on—especially as these tests grow harsher—don't forget to take care of yourself as well. You came to this institution to learn, did you not?"

Taka huffed softly, but nodded.

Satisfied, All Might turned his attention to Hagakure.

"As for you, young Hagakure, just like young Yaoyorozu pointed out, you were the one who remained most faithful to the objective of the exercise. For that, I must commend you."

"Hehehe~! It was nothing." Toru laughed, her index finger brushing under where her nose would be in unmistakable smugness—at least, that's what seemed she was doing. She was invisible, after all.

Then, All Might turned toward the losing team—his expression shifting into something more complex.

"As for you, young men, don't forget that today is only the second day of school. While your performances weren't stellar, that simply means you have plenty of potential left to develop!"

Todoroki nodded absentmindedly.

Sato, however, clenched his fists, his expression pensive as he stared down at them.

"Yes. Today, I realized there's more to fighting than just raw strength."

He then turned toward Taka, who blinked, slightly startled by the sudden attention, and bowed deeply.

"Thanks, man. Without you, who knows how long it would've taken me to figure that out!"

"Uh… sure." Taka waved him off, sweatdropping inwardly. 'I was just aura farming you, man. No need to be grateful at all.'

He might've also released some pent-up frustration from his earlier training sessions with Seiji. Being the one doing the whooping instead of getting whooped was a strange experience—but definitely not an unpleasant one.

'Still, if he feels like he learned something from it, then I guess it wasn't all that bad in the end,' Taka thought, mentally excusing himself.

With the evaluation complete, the next teams soon stepped forward for their respective matches.

Taka could have acted uninterested. With his current level—and his experience in battle—watching the newly appointed heroes was a bit like watching someone with zero experience trying to look like they knew what they were doing.

Not exactly thrilling.

And yet, that was precisely why he watched most of the matches with a sharp, analytical gaze.

'Too weak.'

They were all weaker than he had expected.

Maybe that was only natural. They were just starting school, after all.

…Or maybe this was the real-life effect kicking in.

In anime, everything always looked more epic than it actually was.

And if that were the case, then the same applied to his classmates and their Quirks.

As powerful, prodigious, or outright superhuman as some of them appeared during certain moments in the show, how many of those scenes were simply dramatic exaggeration rather than a reflection of their true capabilities, or what had actually happened?

Crazy techniques. Unnatural speed. Abnormal strength.

That worked in anime, meant to hype up viewers—but nothing guaranteed that those feats translated cleanly into reality.

Of course, he didn't doubt that some of his classmates would eventually scale to great heights.

But from what he was seeing now…

Some of them had been far more hyped than they deserved.

And that bothered Taka.

'I wanted to create a gap, sure… but this is too much, isn't it?' he thought, glaring at his classmates' matches with a wry look. His total aura might have ended up being a bit too much.

As they were right now, they were simply too weak.

Which, on its own, wasn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, weakness makes strength stand out.

But you know what makes it stand out even more?

Collective strength.

Surpassing the weak—no matter how large their numbers—is a given for anyone with enough strength.

But standing at the top among the strong?

That could only be achieved by someone truly powerful.

And right now, they were far too weak for that.

Taka sighed, shaking his head.

His gaze drifted to Sato, who had thanked him earlier for helping him realize his own flaws.

Then to Hagakure, whom he had considered helping unlock her visible form, and thus embark her on a path to develop actual clothes for her Quirk.

Then, to Todoroki, who remained staring at the floor, lost deep in thought. A more delicate case, sure—but Taka had wanted him to reach his full potential for the same reason as the others.

Finally, his eyes shifted to the screen, where Midoriya was currently fighting—fortunately not against Bakugo like in the show.

His form was sloppy.

His physique barely passable.

His combat instincts resembled those of a chuunibyou convinced he could plan ten steps ahead—even as a punch was flying straight at his face.

He—the protagonist—was the biggest future threat to Taka's aura farming.

But he was also the one who could make Taka shine the most, once he proved himself unchallenged even by him, the wielder of One For All.

The Sports Festival would be in a month or two, if Taka remembered correctly.

If he fought a Midoriya like this, it wouldn't be much of a spectacle.

But if he fought an actually trained Midoriya—one who could fight without destroying himself?

And in front of all Japan?

That would be a literal rain of aura.

And the same logic applied to everyone else.

If he stood out as the strongest in their class, it would be a bit awe-inspiring, sure.

But if all his classmates were strong as heck by the time the festival happened, and he stood as the strongest?

Then that could make it much better.

That was enough to form the idea completely in Taka's mind.

He had accidentally made the gap in power a bit too large.

So why not help them narrow it a little—if only to widen it even more later?

'Maybe I'm biting off more than I can chew here. Helping an entire class reach their true potential faster than they did in the show won't be easy… especially since I'm no specialist or anything.'

He paused.

'But giving up the chance to aura farm more isn't something an aura farmer would ever do.'

He huffed, closing his eyes as a small smile tugged at his lips.

'I'm sorry about this, y'all, but…'

His eyes snapped open, scanning everyone with a greedy glint.

'You're all gonna become heck strong—whether you like it or not. For the sake of my aura farming.'

Suddenly, a shiver ran down everyone's spine.

They glanced around, uneasy—but all they saw was Taka leaning coolly against a wall, eyes closed and expression relaxed.

And so, they never noticed the anomaly.

If only they had… they might have been able to skip the suffering coming ahead.

For the Aura Farming path was never easy, even for those unaware of it.

…

°

°

°

| An hour or so later… |

…

Once everyone finished their matches, they received a few general pointers from All Might, and the class came to an end.

After a quick visit to the lockers to change back into their usual uniforms, the students returned to the classroom to await the last lesson of the day.

Taka, of course, was the last to arrive.

—Slam!

The classroom door snapped open as he entered.

Contrary to his expectations, however, no one turned to look. The room remained lively—students chatting, laughing, or busy finding ways to kill time before the final class.

'They're adapting,' he thought grimly.

It seemed he was gonna have to think of other ways to gather attention to himself from now on.

He was just about to head to his seat, slightly dejected, when—

"Yo, Taka! You were amazing out there, man!"

Kirishima's voice rang out, his hand raised in invitation to come.

'... Might as well talk with someone instead of acting like I'm meditating for who knows how long until our last teacher arrives.'

Figuring he had no aura-farming ideas left for the remainder of the school day, Taka shrugged and walked over

Only then did he notice it wasn't just Kirishima. A whole group had gathered around the nearby desks—Mina, Sero, Jiro, Sato, Tsuyu, Kirishima, and Toru.

Before he could even reach them, however, Invisible Girl herself stepped forward.

"Hehe, good job out there, Taka!" she said cheerfully, raising her hand for a high five.

Taka paused for a moment, then indulged her.

He was an aura farmer, not an asshole.

—Tap!

He met her hand cleanly.

"Whoa, that was a really solid high five!" she exclaimed, half excited, half baffled.

Taka gave her a puzzled look.

Seeing his expression, she laughed awkwardly. "Hehehe, I don't usually get such dead-on high fives… or, you know, hand contact in general. Invisibility and all."

Taka nodded, unfazed. "It wasn't that hard."

His aura had somewhat pinpointed the location, after all.

With that settled, he went and joined the rest of the group, Toru following from behind silently.

As soon as he arrived, the first to speak was his opponent from earlier.

"Sup, man. We didn't really get to introduce ourselves earlier. I'm Sato!" The big guy said, offering a fist bump.

Taka met it lightly. "Takahashi. Or Taka."

Sato barely had time to nod before a pink-haired girl popped up between them.

"You were awesome earlier! Just—pshhhh and wushhhh—right through those crazy ice attacks! I'm Mina Ashido, by the way. Nice to meet cha!"

"Likewise, call me Takahashi, or Taka." Taka nodded, fully agreeing with her assessment of his awesomeness.

"And I'm Sero Hanta," another voice chimed in, the boy pointing at himself with his thumb.

Next to him, someone else followed suit. "Denki Kaminari. Nice to meet you, man!"

A girl leaned in. "I'm Tsuyu. You can call me Tsu."

Taka nodded vaguely at each of them.

"Taka." He introduced himself vaguely, starting to get tired of repeating himself.

With introductions out of the way, Kirishima stepped forward again.

"We were talking about the exercise earlier, and your name kept coming up," he said, clenching his fist with passion. "Man, you really made an impression. I've never seen anything like that."

Mina jumped in place, nodding enthusiastically. "Yeah! It was insane!"

"Yeah, just what is your Quirk, man?" Sero asked, eyes wide. "Some kind of crazy, overpowered telekinesis?"

"No, I don't think that's it," Sato chimed in, rubbing a spot where he'd been hit earlier—even though it had already healed. "He hit hard even without using his Quirk."

"We asked Jiro," Toru added, sounding mildly exasperated, "but she said we should just ask you ourselves!"

Taka glanced toward Jiro.

She was leaning casually against a desk, smiling.

"We weren't sure about approaching you at first," Tsuyu said thoughtfully, finger resting against her lips. "You're kind of intimidating. But you turned out to be nicer than expected—Ribbit."

Jiro shrugged, giving the group a told you so look. "See? I said he wasn't all that—whoa!"

She yelped as the desk she was leaning against suddenly shook.

Instantly, her eyes snapped toward Taka.

Taka, meanwhile, was averting his eyes from her, facing Sero.

"My Quirk is called Muscle to Mind," Taka spoke evenly, expression impassive. "It converts physical strength directly into pure telekinetic energy that I can control."

"Eh?!" The gasp was collective.

Tsuyu was the first to recover, tilting her head faintly. "No offense, Taka-kun, but—"

"Just call me Taka."

"Then… Taka," she corrected herself. "But your appearance doesn't really match the level of telekinesis you showed."

Taka nodded in understanding.

Jiro did the same—earning herself another desk shake that made her yelp and shoot him a sharp glare.

He ignored it and continued. "My Quirk also enhances my body's limits. My physical strength isn't bound by normal human constraints… and since my telekinesis scales off that, neither is it."

He lifted a fist, clenching it slowly. A red aura wrapped around it, dense and controlled.

"It wasn't like this at first. But after enough training, both my strength and my telekinesis reached this level."

"That's… crazily manly," Kirishima muttered, a single tear slipping down the corner of his eye.

"So that's why you're so skilled," Sato said, nodding as he recalled the beating he'd received earlier. His expression turned thoughtful. "…Training."

The rest of the group nodded, a mix of awe and dawning understanding settling in.

"So that's why you felt stronger than when we first met," Jiro commented, recalling that peculiar day.

Taka nodded vaguely.

"You two went to the same school, right?" Mina asked, even though she already knew the answer from Jiro. She just wanted to hear it confirmed.

Both nodded.

Something lit up in Mina's eyes. "Hee~h? So how did you two meet?"

That question formed a smirk on Jiro's face. As if she had just recalled something incredibly funny.

"I was walking home one day when I saw this guy—"

—Screech!

Her speech was cut short as the desk she was leaning on shook noticeably this time, like in an earthquake, making Jiro yelp as she grabbed onto it for balance.

As soon as it finished, though, she shot Taka a venomous glare.

Taka, however, ignored her and spoke in her place.

"She butted into something I already had under control. After that, we stayed in contact. As U.A. got closer, we ended up talking more."

Jiro looked like she wanted to argue—but before she could—

"She also kept pestering me obsessively about this guy all the time, like she was his fangi—"

"STOP!" Jiro screamed, panic flashing across her face.

Taka narrowed his eyes at her, his meaning crystal clear.

'Mind what you say… or I won't mind what I say.'

She sweatdropped and shot back a silent "got it" look.

Satisfied, Taka huffed.

He couldn't let the beating he'd taken that day stain his current reputation—even if the punks involved had ended up far worse.

And as for Jiro, while she still followed Rockinesis' account religiously, she absolutely couldn't let her new classmates see her as some kind of unhinged fangirl on the second day of school.

Still, it seemed the topic wasn't quite over yet.

"You two are from Shizuoka, right?" Mina asked, curiosity lighting her eyes.

They nodded once more.

"Then—wait, are you talking about Rockinesis?!" Mina suddenly exclaimed, visibly excited. "I heard he's from there!"

The question startled Jiro. She'd assumed they would just gloss over Taka's earlier words.

Had she been caught?!

"Rockinesis?" Kirishima repeated, eyes lighting up. "That guy's super manly! You listen to him too, Ashido?!"

Kaminari cut in, equally excited as he looked between Kirishima and Mina. "Wait, you guys are fans too?"

"Of course!" Kirishima pumped his fist. "That guy's basically the embodiment of manliness!"

"I wasn't a huge fan at first," Mina admitted, rubbing the back of her head shyly. "But his music kinda grew on me over time."

"I think I've heard of him," Tsuyu said thoughtfully, tapping her chin. "Wasn't he a vigilante who got popular recently?"

"Oh, that guy!" Sato nodded, suddenly animated. "I didn't really follow him, but I remember liking that song that blew up."

"Ah, that Rockinesis guy, I've got all his songs on my playlist!" Toru cheered, excitedly.

"Yeah, same," Sero added, squinting as if digging through his memory. "I feel like I hear his stuff pretty often."

This time, Jiro, who had seemed completely reserved about the topic, leaned in instead, eyes wide in excitement.

"So you all like him too?!" she said, grinning. "That's sick!"

Just like that, the conversation derailed completely, turning into an impromptu discussion about Rockinesis.

Leaving Taka standing there, feeling more than a little awkward.

'How do I walk away from this?' he wondered grimly. 'I really don't want to hear people talk about me like this…'

Sure, he loved to hear people praising him and all. But the thought that these people didn't know they were talking about a guy who was literally standing right beside them was giving him some serious second-hand embarrassment.

So much so that some must have slipped through his poker face.

"...?"

Noticing the slight discomfort, Toru tilted her head —to the unawareness of everyone—and asked Taka.

"What's wrong, Taka? You don't like him?"

"Ah." Taka snapped out of his daze, realizing his blunder.

Instantly, all eyes had settled on him.

Scratching the back of his head, he lied through his teeth.

"I don't care much about him." He said, not looking particularly interested in the conversation.

"You don't?!"

That caused outrage in the group—of those more passionate, at least.

"How can you not? His music is godly!" Kaminari asked, exasperated.

"Yeah, and besides, have you seen the moves he pulls off in his shows? They're crazy!" Mina chimed in, looking at him as if he were a lunatic.

"Not liking him is, like, unmanly, man!" Kirishima struggled to come up with a proper protest.

Jiro simply shook his head.

'I should have gone to my seat...' Taka thought grimly.

Fortunately, soon his saviour appeared.

—Slam!

The door opened, and a familiar, unkept figure stepped into the classroom.

"Silence. All of you, to your seats, now." Aizawa commanded, making everyone instantly scramble back to their desks.

'I will never forget this, teacher.' As he escaped the torture, Taka thanked him in his mind, settling on his seat with a content poker face.

…

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-To Be Continued...-

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(A/N: Lots of interaction this chapter, so it was a pain to write. Hopefully, nothing seemed off. Maybe just that I repeated myself a bit too much.

Also, it ended up extra long. Hopefully, that doesn't mean it ended up boring as well. Luckily, with the plans I set in Taka's mind, it wasn't.

Anyway, my leg still hurts, and see you next chapter.)

 

[The Synonym]

Join my Patreon to get access to more chapters, and you'll help me make ends meet while doing so.

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[Class Representative]
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| Two days after yesterday… |

…

—Collective sigh—

"Why the heck are you all sighing?" Taka asked flatly, glaring around the room with a deadpan expression.

Scattered across his room, several clones were sprawled wherever space allowed—on the bed, at his desk, and even on the floor. Each of them held a book on a different subject: math, biology, Quirk History, and more.

Their expressions, however, were anything but pleasant.

"Why else? You're making us do the boring stuff."

"Yeah, why the heck do we have to study?"

"We could be doing so much more, yet here we are, forced to do your responsibilities."

The clones raised their fists in collective protest.

Taka's eyebrow twitched. "You're my clones. Why are you all so damn pesky? You're literally me—you should know exactly why this needs to be done."

"Yeah, yeah. You can't afford to fall behind."

"Mr. Aura Farmer almost got his ass handed to him by a math question yesterday."

"Boohoo."

Taka pinched the bridge of his nose, massaging his temple.

"Do I secretly hate myself or something? Why is it that every time I make clones, they immediately start roasting me?"

One of them smirked. "It's just fun to mess with you, man. Since you're the original, we feel entitled to blame you for every cringe thing we've ever done."

"But you're literally me."

"Yeah, but since we're external now, we can finally bully our worst enemy since we were born. Ourselves—as in you."

Taka gave them all a dead-fish stare.

'System, are you sure my clones aren't faulty or something?'

<Clones are an exact copy of you. Whatever it is that being aware of their existence as a clone is doing to them, that's on you.>

"Whatever." Taka shook his head helplessly, waving the system off, before turning to the clones. "I'm heading to school now. Y'all better study properly—or at least go mess with Seiji together. I'm sure that'll be a fun memory for me to receive later."

"Hoho, the original has a point."

"Wouldn't that be funny as heck?"

"He's still sleeping, isn't he? Imagine his reaction if we swarmed his room with all of us."

As his clones began seriously considering swarming downstairs to gang up on Seiji, Taka grabbed his backpack and opened the window.

—Swoosh!—

In the next second, he shot upward into the sky.

As his figure sliced through the open air like a distant blur, unnoticed by most, mistaken for a bird by others, his thoughts drifted toward what awaited him today.

'Third day of U.A… what was supposed to happen today, according to canon?' Taka rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

The first two days had stuck clearly in his memory, given their relevance in aura farming. Not long after them was supposed to happen the USJ incident, which was literally THE aura farming moment.

But what happened in between?

Taka couldn't answer outright. It wasn't memorable enough.

Actually… when was the USJ incident supposed to happen?

Next week?

Tomorrow?

'Troublesome.' He clicked his tongue.

He regretted not having written the plot down somewhere to keep it fresh.

A full year had passed since his old life had merged with this one, and the show's minor details were slowly blurring with time.

Humming irritably, he pressed a finger to his temple and continued flying, searching his memory as best he could—occasionally getting distracted by the scenery below, or by passing birds that shot him confused glances.

A few minutes later, he reached Tokyo, descending swiftly yet silently into a sparsely inhabited area suitable for landing.

Seconds later, as his feet kissed the earth, Taka sighed, realizing he'd completely lost track of whatever he'd been thinking about.

'Well, I guess I'll figure it out as it goes.' He shrugged it off.

Whatever was supposed to happen today clearly hadn't been important enough to stick in his memory.

So, whatever it was, he'd just do what he always did best.

Aura farm.

With that resolve, Taka began speeding toward U.A., sticking to empty alleyways to avoid trouble, or worse, awkward questions from the police about why a student was moving at inhuman speeds.

Eventually, he reached the building.

However, instead of the usual open gate leading inside with a few students passing through, a massive crowd stood clustered beside it, completely blocking the way.

'The press.' Taka recognized them instantly, eyes squinting. He'd had more than enough encounters with them as Rockinesis, never direct, but certainly unpleasant enough.

Though it wasn't like those meetings were needed to recognize them. The cameras, microphones, and scared students being interrogated made it obvious enough.

He huffed quietly, already anticipating the annoying pestering that would inevitably come his way if he tried to walk through them. For a moment, he considered how to avoid drawing their attention altogether.

But then he blinked—a cold realization settling in his heart.

'I don't need to do anything.'

His eyes narrowed at the thought.

His aura—though invisible—flared outward, oozing raw intimidation. The air itself seemed to tighten as his red eyes gleamed faintly, light trailing within them.

'They'll move on their own.'

With that thought, he stepped forward.

—Step

The sound of that single footstep drew the reporters' attention immediately. Like hungry wolves, they all turned toward him, cameras lifting, mouths opening—ready to pounce and unleash a barrage of questions.

But the instant they took a step toward the approaching Taka—

They froze.

All the courage and practiced insensitivity they'd built over years of trampling boundaries as reporters vanished in an instant. Apprehension crept into their bodies as they watched the figure of a seemingly ordinary teenager approach, his expression utterly dismissive.

Some of them stepped back without realizing it, instinctively clearing a path.

Others struggled against their terror, forcing their legs to move, ordering their mouths to speak and to do their job.

But to no avail.

The youth simply walked straight through the stunned crowd, calm and unbothered, his gaze never wavering.

And then, before they knew it, he had already passed the gate. Gone from there completely, leaving only baffled murmurs and shocked curses.

'Heh, easy peasy.'

Having passed through the army of reporters, Taka smirked and calmly made his way toward his classroom, all while keeping a careful eye on the time to ensure he'd still arrive last.

His classmates might have grown used to it, but that didn't mean he had to stop with the theatrics.

So, a minute or so later...

—Slam!

He opened the door and strode inside.

Unlike yesterday, however, this time a few heads turned.

Not because he was especially imposing today, but likely because he'd grown more familiar with his classmates after yesterday's events.

"Yo, Taka!" Kirishima waved enthusiastically from the middle rows.

Sato did the same from the back of the class.

Others reacted more subtly. Jiro glanced at him with mild amusement. Kaminari attempted some strange, awkward arm gesture that didn't quite qualify as a greeting. Mina, Tsuyu, and Sero offered short waves.

Taka acknowledged them all with a single nod as he moved down the front of the classroom toward the last row of seats.

At the front of that row sat Hagakure.

As he passed her seat, he gave a brief nod. Her sleeve fluttered in response for a moment—most likely a wave—before settling again.

A few steps farther in was Bakugo.

Taka walked past him without so much as a glance.

Bakugo, on the other hand, was not so calm, sending a glare that most likely would burn one thousand death threats in paper if it had been heat vision.

Taka, however, didn't even spare him a glance.

Next came Midoriya.

The green-haired boy stiffened as Taka passed, fingers fidgeting against his desk. His eyes flicked up for half a second before snapping back down. Taka's eyes remained on his own desk throughout it all.

Finally, the aura farmer reached his seat, the second to last in the row.

As he sat down, he tilted his head just enough to acknowledge Yaoyorozu behind him.

"Good morning, Takahashi-san," she said with a polite nod.

"Sup." He replied curtly, maintaining his poker face.

With greetings done, he dropped into his seat and let out a quiet sigh, closing his eyes and preparing to wait calmly in mock meditation for the start of the class.

—That was, until he felt a gaze from his side.

"…?" His eyes opened in confusion.

Turning his head, he found Tokoyami shooting him a sideways look.

'The hell?'

Taka was about to ponder if he had done something to offend the bird-headed classmate, but before he could even consider it, Tokoyami gave him a short nod before facing forward again.

And just like that, their first interaction since school started was over.

'What's this guy's deal?' Taka thought flatly, not quite understanding what that exchange had been about.

Still, he returned the nod just in case Tokoyami was watching from his peripheral vision, then stared ahead again.

And thus, with most of the class greeted, Taka went back to his mock meditation, closing his eyes—or that was the plan, until he caught sight of a messy green head of curls blocking most of his view of the front rows.

As his eyes lingered on it, the plans he'd considered yesterday resurfaced.

So, with no aura to farm until class started, he decided to check on them again.

'Right, I said I was gonna make this class stronger than in the show, didn't I?' He thought, eyes going to the side in thought. '... but how the hell do I even start?'

Midoriya wouldn't be much of a problem. Taka already knew the paths through which he improved in the series. All it would take was to drop a hint or two in brief conversations, and the greenhead would figure out the rest himself, speedrunning his progress in the show.

He didn't need to get friendly or anything.

But everyone else…

He hadn't had many interactions with the others, so he couldn't just go up to them and say, "I'm gonna make you strong, and you're gonna like it."

Well, he could. He just wasn't sure that'd end well.

'Maybe I could crush them so thoroughly in a future exercise that they'd inevitably want to learn from me.' He mused, wondering if there were combat exercises like yesterday's that the show had skipped over as filler, and that he could use to give the students some proper motivation.

Unfortunately, he didn't get to pursue that scary line of thought for long.

—Slam!

Because just then, the classroom door opened, and you know who walked in.

"To your seats, now," Aizawa commanded as he stepped into the classroom.

Everyone was already seated, though. So he was only met with silence.

Still, he didn't seem fazed in the slightest, simply walking to the podium and dropping his things onto it before straightening up. Once settled, his tired gaze swept across the class.

"I reviewed all of yesterday's combat exercise footage," he said flatly.

The air immediately grew tense. Several students stiffened, already dreading what their strict homeroom teacher was about to say.

Rumor had spread that Yaoyorozu had confirmed that the current second years had indeed been expelled back in the day by Aizawa.

—meaning the so-called rational deception of the first day hadn't been a deception at all. They had been pretty close to having someone expelled.

Everyone shuddered as Aizawa's gaze swept through the classroom, seemingly searching for someone.

'Was someone about to be expelled?' That was the collective thought.

But then, to their surprise—

Aizawa's eyes stopped on Taka.

"Takahashi, you better start taking this seriously. Consideration is fine, but you're here to become a hero. You'd better start giving your all from now on." His eyes narrowed slightly. "Plus Ultra. Remember that."

A collective sweatdrop followed.

So it was just advice.

Still, as most processed his words, several students glanced at Taka with silent pleas for him not to take that advice to heart.

The last thing they wanted was to face a serious Taka after witnessing what he'd done yesterday without even trying.

Taka, however, only gave a half-hearted nod, his expression unreadable.

That somehow made it worse.

Had he actually listened… or not?

Ignoring the class's unease entirely, Aizawa shifted his gaze to Todoroki.

"Todoroki. Pull yourself together next time. You can't afford to let your emotions control you in combat."

"Yes…" Todoroki replied quietly, his usual stoic expression intact, though something somber lingered beneath it.

Aizawa moved on.

"Bakugo. The same goes for you. You're not a child anymore—stop throwing tantrums."

"Tch."

With that, Aizawa addressed the class as a whole.

"As for the rest of you, you certainly weren't perfect, but you're still learning. Don't get discouraged. You'll have plenty of chances to get the knowledge smashed into your brains."

No one liked the way he phrased that.

But no one dared comment on it either.

Satisfied with their silence, Aizawa glanced down at a paper on the podium, then looked back up with a bored expression.

"Anyway, with that out of the way…" His eyes sharpened slightly. "Let's move on to today's main activity."

The class collectively tensed.

Except for Taka.

So far, it had only been intense activity after intense activity since they got to U.A. They couldn't help but feel nervous about what was to come now.

Fortunately—

"You'll be deciding your Class Representatives." Aizawa declared.

And the instant he did—

"Me me, choose me!"

"I want to be class rep—pick me!"

"Me too!"

"I'll do it!"

"I'll be the leader!"

"LET ME DO IT, ME!"

Pandemonium erupted.

Hands shot up like rockets all around the classroom, voices overlapping into a single wall of noise as enthusiasm ran rampant.

Every single student raised their hand.

Every single student—save for one quiet, black-haired teenager seated by the window.

'…Right. Now I remember,' Taka thought, massaging his forehead as future events clicked back into place. 'The class representative thing, and then the whole press panic mess.'

In the show, it had been Iida's quick thinking during the student stampede—caused by reporters trespassing onto school grounds—that earned him the class's respect. Despite not being the initial favorite, he'd ended up as Class Representative.

And that was it.

Everything else that day had been relatively calm.

Too calm.

Because the press invasion—something that shouldn't have happened given U.A.'s level of security—had been nothing more than a prelude to the USJ incident.

'Which means… Shigaraki is somewhere out there right now.'

Taka's eyes narrowed as he glanced through the window, toward the streets beyond the school grounds.

The source of most of the future chaos was out there. Somewhere.

If he went now and beat the crap out of him, there was a chance he could prevent everything.

Or—

He'd just invite Potato Head to personally knock on his door.

Either way—

'I won't be doing it,' Taka decided, pulling his gaze away from the window.

Why?

Because Shigaraki had a purpose to fulfill. One greater than whatever All For One had planned for him.

A very important purpose.

'To help me aura farm,' Taka thought, a faint smirk tugging at the edge of his poker face.

"THEN IT'S DECIDED! WE WILL CHOOSE THE REPRESENTATIVE VIA VOTING!"

Iida's sudden announcement snapped Taka out of his thoughts.

By the time he looked back, Iida was already at the board, writing names as the rest of the class watched with anticipation.

'Focus, Taka. Focus,' he reminded himself, eyes narrowing slightly. 'Shigaraki's future ass-whoopings are a problem for another day. Today, worry about today.'

And first of all—

Taka's eyes sharpened as his name appeared on the board.

Without his consent.

That raised an important question.

Did he even want to be Class Representative?

Being in a position of authority was auratic, sure.

But Class Rep?

No matter how hard he searched his memories, the role mostly boiled down to organizing things, keeping classmates orderly, and dealing with paperwork. Not exactly prime aura-farming material.

On top of that, with all the studying and training he already had his clones doing, adding more responsibilities meant all of that boredom, exhaustion, and stress would come flooding back into his head once they dispersed.

'Yeah. Hell no.'

Taka snorted quietly, closing his eyes and shaking his head wryly.

Still, it wasn't like he had to worry.

He'd barely talked to most of the class. Even if he was undeniably cool, no one was going to vote for someone they hardly knew. Especially not when everyone was just gonna vote for themselves, save for a few.

With his worries gone, he stared at the multiple names written across the board, jaw shifting while deep in thought.

'Maybe I'll vote for Yaoyorozu, she was elected in the original as vice representative, so one more vote for her won't matter much.'

Minutes later, the votes were tallied.

Iida stared at the results written on the board, his expression sullen.

"Zero votes…"

His name stood alone, completely untouched—not even by his own vote, having given it to someone else.

On the other hand—

[Takahashi Fukumoto: 6]

[Momo Yaoyorozu: 3]

[Izuku Midoriya: 2]

A total defeat.

Taka stared at the board, deadpan.

Slowly—rustily—his head turned as he scanned the classroom.

Immediately, he spotted Sato and Kirishima flashing him enthusiastic thumbs-ups.

His eyebrow twitched.

He continued scanning.

And the first thing that caught his eye was right next to him.

Tokoyami met his gaze for a brief second, gave him a curt nod, then averted his eyes and stared straight ahead, stiff as ever.

'You can't be serious…' Taka felt a curse rise to his lips.

Then his eyes shifted forward.

Toru was waving at him from the front of the row, her sleeve fluttering cheerfully.

He kept looking—but couldn't immediately identify the rest of the bastards who had dared vote for him.

Still, one thing was absolutely certain.

'Congratulations,' Taka thought, eyes narrowing vindictively. 'You just became the first ones I'll be personally training.'

Ahead of him, a certain green-haired boy shuddered for no apparent reason.

And behind him, a certain rich girl felt an inexplicable chill run down her spine.

…

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-To Be Continued...-

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(A/N: Sorry for the wait, I'm trying to restart my old rhythm, but the demons of procrastination are taking over my mind more than I'd like.

Also got a forest fire pretty close to my parents' house the other night, fortunately it didn't seem to extend much nor last too long, as a few hours later it was gone for good, although there's always the risk of embers reigniting it, but with the storm that came after, I'd say it's good as dead.

My leg has healed, also.

I guess that means I'm immortal.)

 

[The Synonym]

Join my Patreon to get access to more chapters, and you'll help me make ends meet while doing so.

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[Press Attack]
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…

"Then, the class representative will be Takahashi, while the vice representative will be Yaoyorozu," Aizawa announced lazily from inside his sleeping bag.

The two students stood at the front of the classroom, accepting the nomination with outward grace and dignity.

'I'm going to make you all suffer unimaginably,' Taka thought as he glared at the culprits behind his newly acquired responsibility.

Kirishima and Sato cheered enthusiastically from their seats.

The rest of the class seemed content with the result.

As for the others who had voted for him—those he still hadn't identified yet—they could hide for now.

That wouldn't stop him from finding them eventually.

"Let's do our best, Takahashi-san!"

Yaoyorozu's bright, enthusiastic voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

He turned toward her, sweatdropping internally.

'She looks way too excited about the mountain of work waiting for us.'

Deadpanning, he gave her a small nod.

"Sure."

With that, he faced forward again and let out a quiet sigh.

What was done was done. Even if he hadn't wanted this, there was no denying reality.

He was the class representative now.

And he couldn't exactly call himself an aura farmer if he got cold feet at this point.

'Very well. Let's do this shit,' he thought, eyes narrowing as his resolve hardened.

"Here."

Aizawa's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

Taka turned—and froze.

A thick stack of papers was being held out to him.

"...This is?" He eyed them as if they carried some kind of contagious disease.

Aizawa smirked faintly.

"Paperwork. Registering your positions, basic information, and—after lunch, during our next period—you and Yaoyorozu will be selecting additional class officers. Make sure to file that too once you're done."

He continued casually.

"Some of those forms also require your classmates parents' signatures. They're related to future training exercises, Quirk usage permissions, and various legal matters."

Taka took the stack without a word, his expression unchanging, and nodded.

Yaoyorozu stepped closer, curiosity written on her face. Taka split the papers and handed part of them to her so she could look them over.

As she did, Taka stared down at his own share and pondered the future.

'Should I just reveal that I can make clones right here and now?'

…

°

°

°

| Lunch Period |

…

After waiting in line and choosing from the many dishes Lunch Rush had prepared—the spiciest—Taka scanned the cafeteria for a place to sit.

Not long after, he found one—or rather, it found him.

Not too far away, Kirishima was waving him over with a friendly grin.

Sighing and shelving his vengeful plans for later, Taka walked toward the table.

Kaminari, Mina, Sato, and Jiro were already seated there.

'So much for a quiet lunch to calm down my stress,' he thought as he sat down.

"Well, if it isn't our new class representative!" Mina exclaimed as Taka joined the group, slamming her palms onto the table inquisitively. "So? How is it? Feeling the power going to your head already?"

'The only thing going to my head is a headache,' Taka groaned internally, but merely nodded without answering.

"You don't look very pleased," Jiro commented, studying him curiously.

"Did you vote for me?" Taka asked, eyes narrowing as they locked onto her.

She stiffened. "N-no. I figured you were going to get elected anyway, so I voted for myself..."

"I did!"

"Me too!"

Sato and Kirishima both raised their thumbs proudly.

"I figured as much," Taka muttered, fingers tapping impatiently against the table.

"Not me—I wanted to be class representative!" Mina stuck out her tongue, then immediately grinned. "Still, I think you're gonna do a great job! You've got that broody, serious vibe. It kinda fits."

"Yeah! I thought so too!" Kirishima added, pumping a fist.

Sato nodded along, arms crossed and eyes closed in agreement. "You helped me improve during the combat exercise, so I figured someone like you wouldn't be bad at the job."

'So these are the consequences of my actions… once again,' Taka thought as he stabbed a bite of food and ate it without enthusiasm.

"I voted for myself too," Kaminari admitted shamelessly before flashing Taka a thumbs-up. "But honestly? I think you'll do great, man!"

"You all really think so?" Taka asked, his gaze sweeping around the table.

They nodded in unison.

Taka smiled gently.

—Then, seemingly out of nowhere, he pulled out a thick stack of papers and began distributing them.

"Alright. Fill these out with your personal information, sign a few of these forms, read the rest carefully, and I want everything completed and returned by the end of the day," he said calmly. "If not, I'll be informing Aizawa-sensei of your impunctuality and making sure you're properly reprimanded."

"…"

The table fell silent as everyone stared at him.

"What? You don't like it?" Taka asked flatly, shooting them a sharp glare. "You're the ones who chose me. So why are you looking at me like that?"

Immediately, everyone averted their eyes.

"Why does it feel like he's angry?" Kaminari whispered to Jiro.

"Why should I know?" she shot back.

"D-did we do something wrong?" Kirishima added nervously.

"Maybe it was the broody and serious comment?" Mina asked, a bead of sweat rolling down her forehead.

Taka simply watched them with narrowed eyes while going back to eat.

'You wanted me to be class rep? Fine. I'll be the most class-rep class rep to ever class-rep. Even Iida will fear my name.'

As Taka steeled his resolve, Sato tucked the papers into his bag with a firm nod. He then stared at his half-eaten food, brows knit in thought.

"Hey, Takahashi…" he finally spoke, cutting through the lingering tension as he looked up with a serious expression. "There's something I wanted to talk to you about."

"What is it?" Taka lifted his gaze from his meal, raising an eyebrow.

"I know it's kind of weird, asking this from someone I've only known for a few days, but…"

A brief silence followed.

Then Sato straightened, eyes burning with determination. "Could you help me train?"

The table went dead silent again.

Everyone's eyes darted between Sato and Taka in disbelief.

Until—

"Sure," Taka replied calmly, not a hint of surprise on his face.

"What is this sudden development?!" Mina yelled, standing up and slamming her hands onto the table.

Kirishima turned to Sato, completely baffled. "Dude, are you serious? Why so suddenly? I mean, yeah, you said he helped you during the combat exercise—but so much you're even asking for training now?"

Sato shook his head, fists clenching tightly. "You don't get it. When we fought… I felt it. Takahashi, his fighting skills are incredible, even without using his Quirk!"

His gaze locked onto Taka.

"It might not have looked like much to you guys watching from the monitoring room, but I felt it firsthand. After that fight, it was like I'd taken a step forward in my combat ability." He took a breath. "And seeing how serious Aizawa-sensei is—how he's even willing to expel us if we don't meet his standards—I want to be ready for anything. Takahashi's the only one I know who can help me with that."

"For real…?" Kaminari muttered, stunned by how intense things had suddenly become.

Silence fell once again as everyone processed Sato's words.

At least, until—

"Then… could I join too?" Kirishima chimed in, the fire of manliness lighting up in his eyes. "I don't really get it, but if you trust Taka that much, then I wanna see what the fuzz is all about!"

"Eh? What's this?" Mina perked up, excitement rising. "It suddenly turned into some kind of training session. Can I join too? It sounds fun!"

Taka nodded simply, not looking particularly bothered by the extra people joining in.

"What's with these guys…?" Kaminari muttered, no longer sounding nearly as enthusiastic.

Jiro shared his confusion, glancing between the suddenly energized group with an odd expression. It was only their third day of school.

Granted, it was the hero course—but still. Weren't they being a bit too intense already?

To their dismay, Mina suddenly turned toward them with a bright, inviting smile.

"What about you two? Wanna join us?"

Both of them visibly hesitated.

On one hand, they didn't share the excitement buzzing around the table.

On the other hand, outright refusing for no real reason felt awkward.

So, after a moment, Jiro sighed. "Maybe… just to watch for a bit. I'm not good with physical training like that."

"Eh?" Kaminari turned to her, baffled.

But finding no solid reason to back out either, he sighed as well, scratching the back of his head helplessly.

"Then... I guess I'll go too."

And just like that, an after-school training session had been decided out of thin air.

As for Taka—

His internal smirk stretched as wide as it could possibly go.

'Didn't even have to suggest it myself. Does the universe love me or something?'

His plans were already moving forward before he'd even taken the first real step. How could he not be pleased?

Now all that remained was figuring out how to help this bunch step up their game—and he'd be set.

However, while Taka calmly mapped things out in his head, Mina turned toward him.

"So, class representative—where should we meet?"

That snapped Taka out of his thoughts, realizing he hadn't actually planned that far ahead.

Fortunately, someone else had.

"We could use the same gym where we did some of the Quirk assessment tests on the first day," Sato suggested. "We'd need permission first, though."

Taka nodded, unfazed. Sato had very obviously voiced exactly what he had been thinking.

"I see… Well then, we'll leave that to you, class representative!" Mina said cheerfully, passing the responsibility off without hesitation.

Taka opened his mouth to respond, but before he could—

RIIIIIING!—

A piercing alarm echoed throughout the cafeteria, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

{"Attention. A Level Three security breach has been detected. All students, please evacuate outdoors immediately."}

"Eh?! What's going on?!" Kirishima jumped to his feet, panic flashing across his face.

The others followed suit, standing up and glancing around at the increasingly restless crowd.

Only Taka remained seated, calmly finishing his meal, his eyes quietly scanning the rising chaos with complete composure.

Jiro snapped her head toward him.

"Oi, Takahashi, what the hell are you doing? We've gotta—"

Before she could finish, Taka raised a hand to calm her down and stood.

His expression was so utterly calm, so unshaken, that the panic welling up inside her faltered.

And as the others turned to look at him, that same strange calm spread to them as well.

Their racing hearts began to slow.

Regardless of what the alarm actually meant, with Takahashi here, none of them felt like it could truly be that bad.

Such was the presence of the genuinely strong.

As the group gradually calmed, Taka lightly tapped his tray once, then looked at them evenly. "Make sure no one steals my food. I'll go deal with that."

His tone left no room for argument.

Turning away, he walked calmly toward the cafeteria exit, where clusters of panicked students were already beginning to pile up.

Within moments, chaos had already bloomed.

Students pushed against one another, voices rising in distress as bodies were squeezed together, all of them trying to force their way into the hallways leading outside.

Taka stopped just behind the writhing mass and snorted softly at the sight.

'Wouldn't want anyone to be trampled to death, so—let's do this quick.'

Not willing to let this drag on any longer, his aura expanded.

Invisible—but absolute—it washed over the crowd in a single, overwhelming wave.

Then, he took a step forward and called out.

—Step.

"Hey."

The effect was immediate.

Just like with the press earlier that day, dread rippled through the crowd the instant he spoke.

An instinctive certainty spread among them: if they didn't turn around and acknowledge the speaker, they would be making an unforgivable mistake.

So they did.

The pushing stopped. The noise died down. Every single student turned.

Confusion flickered through their faces when all they found was a teenager standing there—hands in his pockets, posture relaxed, expression cool and detached.

Some of them were upperclassmen. Third-years, even.

And yet—

No one questioned him.

No one scoffed, no one spoke, and no one dared to disregard him.

The moment their eyes settled on him, there was no doubt he had been the one who spoke, his presence repressing any kind of diminishing thought from their minds.

So, they waited for him to speak. Like kids before a greater authority.

"..." Seeing he had gathered their attention, Taka slowly removed one hand from his pocket and casually hooked his thumb to his side, pointing toward the hallway windows next to them.

Only then did he speak again.

"It's the press," he said flatly. "Behave yourselves."

Heads turned as one.

And there, just beyond the glass, the distant mass of reporters finally came into view.

The panic that had been brewing vanished almost instantly.

Relief spread through the crowd as understanding set in, and their gazes naturally returned to the teenager who had resolved everything so effortlessly.

Only—

He was already gone.

Just as mysteriously and imposingly as he had appeared, he was gone. Like a ghost.

Of course, in reality, he was just back at the table, calmly taking his seat and resuming his meal as if nothing had happened.

He ignored the stunned stares burning into him from his classmates around him, focused solely on finishing his food.

It wasn't until he set his utensils down that he finally looked up.

Seeing the disbelief plastered across their faces, he cleaned himself and raised an eyebrow slightly.

"What?"

...

────────────────────────

-To Be Continued...-

────────────────────────

(A/N: The plans are developing, and, of course, Taka Aura Farms once more using his future knowledge.

I'm not gonna put how much aura he gains every time, since it's a bit annoying. But since the number of people was kinda big this time, let's say he earned some good 400 aura in one go.

Pretty good for a day where not much happens.

Of course, the day ain't finished yet. There's still the training session to attend. But I'm gonna make it just one chapter long to not stay on it too much.

Anyway, see you guys next chapter.)

 

[The Synonym]

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────────────────────────
[Training Session]
────────────────────────

| Nezu's office |
…

Taka stood before Nezu, his expression impassive as the large rat tilted his head, amusement gleaming in his eyes.

"So, you wish to occupy one of the gyms for a while for a training session with your classmates?"

"Yeah," Taka answered without batting an eye.

Nezu nodded thoughtfully. "Hmm. Well, that shouldn't be a problem. There should be no classes today using it."

"Thanks."

And so, having obtained what he came for, Taka turned to leave.

—Or at least, that's how he wished it would end. But as expected, a meeting with the omnipresent rat was never that simple.

"It's been a while since we've seen each other. Well, you saw me a month ago on your acceptance letter, but for me, it's been quite some time," Nezu said from behind him, forcing Taka to halt mid-step.

"I suppose…" Taka muttered, not quite sure how he was supposed to respond to that.

"How has school been so far? You ended up in Aizawa-kun's class, didn't you? That must be rather troublesome."

Taka neither denied nor agreed. Aside from Aizawa's clear dislike of him holding back, there hadn't really been many issues.

"It's alright, I guess." He shrugged.

"Hahaha, alright, you say? That's the first time someone's spoken so calmly about his classes!" Nezu chuckled. "Though, considering the level you're at, I suppose it's hard for Aizawa-kun's usual strictness to feel all that concerning."

Taka nodded absently, a faintly lost look crossing his face. 'Where is this even going…?'

"Still," Nezu continued, "if he ever goes too far, don't hesitate to tell me. I can't allow the best prospect of this year to be expelled over something trivial, can I?"

Now that was weird. Why did this suddenly feel like a mafia meeting, with Nezu offering to "take care" of his problems?

"No need," Taka said, shaking his head faintly. "I'll be fine on my own."

"Is that so?" Nezu smiled, whatever thoughts running through his mind remaining known only to him.

A brief silence followed. Taka wasn't sure if he was free to go, while Nezu seemed content to let his thoughts speak before his mouth did.

Eventually, Nezu broke the quiet.

"I reviewed some of your hero class matches from yesterday. Your prowess seems higher. How much has that energy you hold grown since we last met?"

Taka paused, eyes unfocusing slightly as if running calculations.

"It's about twice as big."

Of course, it was closer to four times—but Nezu didn't need to know that just yet.

'Gotta save the surprise factor for the perfect moment.'

"A twofold increase in just over three months, hmm?" Nezu scratched beneath his muzzle thoughtfully. "And considering it's been over twelve months since your Quirk awakened… I suppose that energy of yours grows exponentially."

"Ah… yes."

Taka sweatdropped. He hadn't expected Nezu to infer that much from a single statement.

He nodded carefully, worried even that small motion might risk giving something else away.

"What about other abilities?" Nezu pressed on. "Have you developed any new ones?"

Taka considered the question.

'This much, I can show.' Taka nodded inwardly. His previous wariness fading slightly.

He knew Nezu would likely help smooth the process of officially registering future Quirk evolutions, and now that U.A. was starting, there was no better time to start unlocking some of those abilities for future use.

And perhaps, if he revealed a bit here… Nezu might help with something else he had in mind.

"There are a couple."

So, he began with the demonstration.

First, he tore a sheet of paper from one of his notebooks. Then he picked up a pencil—one that had accompanied him since his days as a vigilante, and had tasted blood once in the past—and tightened his grip.

His usual red aura began to bubble around him, like still, tranquil water.

Then a frown crossed Taka's face.

The aura flared.

The room shuddered faintly under the sudden pressure, though Nezu remained calm, observing from his seat without so much as blinking.

Abruptly, the aura began to condense around the pencil, sharpening and compressing… until it formed a blade of light along its length—longer than the pencil itself, and far deadlier.

With the preparations ready, Taka tossed the paper into the air.

And slashed.

—Swish!

In the next instant, the paper split cleanly in two, drifting helplessly to the floor.

As it did, the aura receded.

Nezu stroked his snout, curiosity clear in his gaze.

But Taka wasn't finished.

This time, he released the pencil, letting it float several meters away within the office.

Then, he raised a palm.

The moment he did, his aura surged forward from his hand, stopping a few centimeters ahead—

—and solidified.

A literal wall of hardened aura formed in midair.

The pencil, which had been floating motionless, suddenly snapped into alignment with Taka.

Then it shot forward like a bullet.

CLANG!—

All of its momentum died the instant it struck the barrier. The wall didn't even ripple.

Taka huffed softly as he ended the demonstration, pulling the pencil back to him and slipping it into his backpack in one smooth motion.

"That energy of yours is truly a mystery," Nezu said, his tone openly entertained. "Both abilities appear to stem from a solidification function… coupled with your laser beams, which imply conversion into light and heat, and then with its main function as Telekinesis, there truly doesn't seem to be an end to its versatility. Its potential truly appears limitless. I find myself quite curious to see how you'll develop over the next three years, Takahashi-kun."

Taka shrugged.

Nezu chuckled at the reaction, then waved him off. "Well, I merely wanted to check in on you. You're free to go now, if you wish. Your friends are likely waiting."

"Actually…" Taka said calmly, stopping before turning away. "There was something I wanted to ask of you…"

…

°

°

°

| Minutes later… |

…

Taka walked out of the building calmly, his poker face carrying a faint trace of contentment.

'Success.'

The smug thought lingered as he adjusted his bag.

'I'll have to deliver the official petition to the Support Course later, but it should be done within a week at most…'

He didn't know exactly when the USJ incident would happen, but judging by canon, it wouldn't be far off.

So, if luck was on his side, what he had asked the Support Course for would be ready before then.

And if not?

Whatever. He could always improvise.

Snorting softly at the thought, he shifted his attention inward, reviewing the two abilities he had just demonstrated to Nezu—skills that would likely become part of his "official" arsenal in the near future.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Aura Projection - Even A Stick Is Enough Mode] (Active)

Description: What makes a swordsman? His sword? His skill?

The question can be reduced to something far more basic:

Does the sword define the man, or does the man define the sword?

In most cases, a blade grants the ability to cut.

But for the truly exceptional, it is not the sword that gives power—It is the man who lends the sword its edge.

For one who truly commands the blade, even a simple stick may cut the heavens.

▸ Converts aura into a coating that grants a cutting property to objects.

▸ The more aura condensed, the sharper the resulting edge.

▸The bigger the object, the more aura it consumes.

▸Leaner and longer objects provide a more efficient expenditure in aura.

▸ It is highly recommended that the host learns swordsmanship, lest he accidentally bisect his own allies.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[Aura Projection - Hardening Mode] (Active)

Description: The aura of the truly cool is malleable like clay—yet hard as steel.

Let imagination shape your aura, and let that imagination impose itself upon the world.

But please, unlike many solid energy manifesters, if you form a barrier, do not lose consciousness when it breaks. That is extremely unauratic.

▸ Allows the shaping and solidification of aura into arbitrary forms.

▸ The more aura poured in, the sturdier the construct becomes.

▸ The more aura poured in, the more complex constructs you can make.

▸The more aura poured in, the bigger the constructs.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Just as Nezu had said, both abilities stemmed from the same core concept: solidifying what was once an ethereal and intangible energy.

After recalling several characters capable of reinforcing weapons to cut through materials normally deemed uncuttable, Taka had begun experimenting with forming an aura blade around pointed objects.

It hadn't come naturally as telekinesis did—but it also hadn't been that difficult.

After a few failures and adjustments, he unlocked the skill without much trouble. He could now act like a mystical swordsman, splitting mountains with a stick. Albeit at the cost of losing a chunk of his usable aura until he changed tactics.

From there, the leap in thought for the next skill was obvious.

If he could form a blade… why not other solid constructs?

That line of thought led to the second skill.

This one had been trickier. Solidifying energy itself was a far more abstract concept.

Still, with persistence, he eventually grasped it.

His healing skill did use a similar concept, after all—only, turning his aura into actual matter instead of just solidifying it.

Still, this would be quite good for aura farming in the coming events.

—Provided the Support Course finished his request before USJ.

Even if they didn't, he could still make use of these abilities later, so it wasn't a real loss.

'I wonder how that'll turn out…' Taka thought, excitement slowly building at the prospect of the literal day his school got hit by a terrorist attack.

But hey.

That's just how it goes.

Everything for the aura.

"Class rep, how'd it go?!"

Mina's voice snapped Taka out of his thoughts as he stepped into U.A.'s backyard—the same field where they'd done their Quirk assessment days ago.

Not too far, his classmates waited for him, with Mina waving at him.

As he approached, he gave the group a simple, curt nod.

"Good."

Sato let out a relieved sigh. "For a moment, I thought they weren't gonna lend it to us. We are first-years, and it's only our third day."

"As expected from our class rep!" Kirishima bellowed, pumping a fist. "He pulled it off anyway!"

'It wasn't even that hard,' Taka deadpanned inwardly, but outwardly, he merely nodded again.

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Mina bounced on her heels, already fired up.

Not long after, the six of them made their way to the gym, unlocking it with the keys Nezu had handed Taka.

The place was spacious and impeccably maintained—exactly what one would expect from an elite school like U.A. Still, at its core, it was just a gym. Nothing extravagant.

Once everyone had changed into their gym uniforms and settled in, they gathered in a loose circle at the center.

"So…" Jiro glanced around, arms crossed. "What now?"

"Takahashi, let's spar!" Sato said immediately, slamming a fist into his palm, eyes already blazing.

"It would have to be a spar without Quirks, as we don't want to damage the gym." Taka clarified.

Sato nodded, looking very eager.

"Eh? But then the rest of us would just be watching," Mina complained, pouting slightly.

Kirishima scratched his cheek, conflicted. "I don't mind, but yeah… it kinda feels like a waste of the time they gave us."

"Doesn't sound that bad to me," Kaminari shrugged. Jiro nodded along with him. They preferred to be spectators.

Taka seemed to think for a moment.

Then—

"How about five against one?"

"…?!"

All five of them stared at him.

'So full of himself!' Even if no one said it out loud, the thought was written all over their faces.

Still, despite the arrogance, that didn't take away the fact that even with such a hindrance, the match was still leaning in Taka's favor.

"That's totally unfair!" Mina protested, raising a hand. "Sato and Kirishima might manage, but the rest of us aren't very good close-combat fighters! We'd just get steamrolled!"

Taka, however, remained unfazed.

"My Quirk lets me convert my physical strength into telekinesis," he explained calmly. "That means I can convert most of it into telekinesis and leave a normal level of strength in my body. That way, that'd leave you all an equal chance."

"…So arrogant!" Mina shot back as she pointed at him accusatorily, though there was more amusement than offense in her tone.

"How normal are we talking bout here?" Kaminari asked, interest creeping into his voice.

"No superhuman strength," Taka replied flatly. "Just as strong as I look."

Taka was fairly lean, if that meant anything.

—When he wasn't flexing, at least.

That did it.

Everyone's eyes lit up.

"Then…" Sato muttered, clenching his fists, "You'd be beatable."

"I don't like it," Kirishima said firmly. "It's manlier to fight you at your strongest!"

"First," Taka replied evenly, "you should prove you can fight me at my weakest."

Kirishima froze.

Then his teeth flashed in a grin, competitive fire igniting in his eyes. "Don't underestimate me! Fine—no take-backsies! That'd be totally unmanly!"

"Sure." Taka nodded.

He walked away from the group, stopping on the opposite side of the gym, hands on his pockets in calm, and eyes closing as he waited patiently.

Sato, Kirishima, and Mina began stretching immediately, eagerness clear on their faces.

Kaminari and Jiro exchanged glances—still hesitant, but undeniably intrigued.

Seeing that, Taka spoke up to them, opening one eye. "Try to last a bit."

"Hah?!"

Those words were enough to make any hesitation they had left evaporate.

Soon enough, the remaining two joined in on the stretching.

Meanwhile, Taka went back to closing both eyes, his posture calm and composed.

At least—externally.

'I might be pushing it here,' he admitted inwardly, sweatdropping. 'I'm confident in my fighting skills, but five against one might be a bit much… This ain't a movie, after all.'

Then again—maybe not.

Ever since acquiring the Let's Dance skill, his battle IQ should have improved. But aside from Seiji, he hadn't had many chances to properly test it.

The same applied to his fight-dance skills. He practiced with his clones from time to time, and sparred with Seiji as well—but Seiji was a professional. That made it hard to tell how much he'd actually improved against less experienced opponents.

And his clones... well, it was weird to spar against himself.

Now, though, that opportunity had finally appeared.

Albeit in a rather annoying format. Keeping track of five people at once was going to be a pain.

'But if I can't handle this,' he reasoned, 'can I really call myself an aura farmer?'

Either he lost aura today—or he upheld his title.

Opening his eyes, Taka saw the group finishing their stretches.

He took his hands out of the pockets.

And took his stance.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: 2000 → 167

▸ Defense: 3595 → 334

▸ Aura Projection: 35632

─────────────

Total Aura: 36032 → 35632 (98.92%)

1st Clone's aura: 100 (0.27%)

2nd Clone's aura: 100 (0.27%)

…

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

With preparations complete, he beckoned them forward.

There was no need for a referee, nor a countdown.

"Let's begin."

The battle started just like that.

While some hesitated, unsure about rushing their classmate all at once, others didn't bother with restraint.

"Raaaaagh!"

Kirishima moved first.

The redhead lunged forward and threw a punch—one clean and practiced. It looked like Kirishima had some basics in boxing.

But he clearly lacked before Seiji.

Even with his stats heavily suppressed, Taka had no trouble following the motion.

He tilted his head slightly, rolling his shoulder just enough to redirect the punch so it grazed past him. Using the momentum of that deflection, he stepped in and snapped an upward elbow strike into Kirishima's shin.

One meant to shake him, rather than truly hurt him.

"—Whoa!"

Kirishima stumbled, forced several steps back as his balance broke.

Before he could fully recover, Sato charged in.

Even without his Quirk, the guy was built like a tank. More importantly, without Sugar Rush clouding his mind, he was actually thinking.

Sato threw a solid combination, mixing punches while avoiding the obvious counters.

For a moment, he held his ground.

"Oof—!"

Then a heavy kick slammed into his chest, pushing him backward.

Again—controlled. Enough force to move him, but not hurt him.

"What did I say about only using punches?" Taka remarked calmly.

Sato frowned as he steadied himself, clearly annoyed at having that pointed out mid-fight, but knowing he was right.

Next came Mina.

Unlike the others, she didn't rely purely on strength. She was light on her feet—fast, agile, surprisingly technical.

She lacked Sato's raw power, but she made up for it with movement and pressure.

"Why—won't—you—stay—still?!" she complained, throwing out rapid strikes as she darted around him.

Unfortunately for her, Taka had dealt with worse.

Even as she dipped under his guard and circled to disorient him, Taka evaded each attack with minimal motion—small shifts, subtle pivots.

Compared to that damn monkey—who never stopped moving—this was practically tutorial level.

Still, something about her style felt familiar.

'It's like a basic version of me using dance movements in combat...' Taka mused as he dove under yet another blow, noticing a certain grace in her movements.

Which meant he also knew its weaknesses. After all, he'd sparred with his clones enough times to recognize them.

And one of them was—fast movement could just as easily disorient the user if the opponent used it to add onto his speed.

"Take this... Huh?!"

As Mina dove in again, Taka's footwork sharpened.

In the blink of an eye, he was gone.

At least, that's what it felt like.

A split second later, Mina felt her foot snag mid-step.

"Uwah—!"

She stumbled as Taka's foot locked briefly against hers, throwing her balance off. Still, she recovered quickly, hopping back and putting distance between them.

She laughed nervously, eyes fixed on Taka as he stood there calmly—utterly composed.

With Mina reassessing her approach, that left only two to attack.

Jiro and Kaminari.

Both were still hanging back.

"Nevermind, can we call this off?" Kaminari muttered, watching how easily the others had been handled.

Jiro, however, inhaled deeply.

Then—

She dashed forward.

And like the others before her, Jiro did her best to land a hit on Taka.

Her movements were noticeably rougher. Clearly, she hadn't focused much on hand-to-hand combat compared to the rest.

It faintly reminded him of his early days training with Seiji.

'I've come a long way since then, huh?'

Snorting quietly at the thought, Taka sidestepped another attack, then subtly redirected her momentum, pushing her forward just enough to nearly make her stumble.

She managed to keep her footing, but—like the others—ended up halting once she realized she couldn't land a single hit.

That left only Kaminari.

All eyes turned to him.

He looked… nervous.

"I guess it's my turn to get kicked now, huh?" he muttered.

Still, comforted by the fact that everyone else had already been handled without much trouble, he dashed forward.

Just like Jiro, Kaminari lacked real hand-to-hand skill.

After a brief exchange, he was sent rolling across the floor before scrambling back up, swaying slightly.

"What's with this guy…?" Kaminari complained, rubbing his side. "Is he really not using his superhuman strength?"

The others looked just as frustrated.

Taka, on the other hand, remained composed beyond measure.

At least—that's what they thought.

Soon, they noticed the faint frown creasing his face.

"I thought I said this was a five against one," Taka said calmly. "So why are you attacking like it's a movie—one at a time?"

The five hesitated.

Ganging up on someone didn't feel very heroic.

Their doubts vanished when Taka beckoned them forward with one hand.

"Come on. You're heroes. One day, you'll have to fight in groups," he said evenly. "Better learn now—where I won't hurt you too much."

That settled it.

The five launched at him together.

…

°

°

°

| Thirty minutes later… |

…

'I might've bitten off more than I can chew…'

Taka's eyes flicked rapidly from one opponent to the next, constantly assessing incoming threats.

At first, handling all five hadn't been much of a problem. Their coordination was terrible, and while some had decent technique, it wasn't enough to overwhelm him.

But as the minutes passed, something changed.

Their affinity began to rise.

The bunch were learning to actually work as a team!

Gone was the easy rhythm where he could repel them one by one.

Now, Taka was dodging for his life as five determined hero students came at him with growing coordination.

'I may have gotten them too fired up…' Taka thought as he dove and slipped through a flurry of attacks, his body swaying rapidly away from Mina's swift barrage.

Kaminari and Jiro flanked him from either side, one throwing a punch, the other snapping out a kick.

With a sharp twist of his torso, Taka narrowly escaped both and skidded backward—

—only for Sato to appear behind him, swinging a heavy arm down.

Taka ducked under it at the last second, sliding past the overly burly student.

"Oryaaaa!"

Then Kirishima charged in, ferocious and fast, lunging straight for a tackle.

This time, without his aura-enhanced movement, Taka couldn't escape.

The redhead wrapped him up and slammed him to the floor.

But at that very moment, something snapped inside him.

'I'M NOT GONNA LOSE AURAAA!'

The aura farmer within him roared to life as he teetered on the edge of aura loss. His thoughts accelerated.

In an instant, he forced the fall into a roll across the gym floor—using the momentum to kick Kirishima away once he gained the upper position.

The impact gave him just enough space.

Taka sprang backward in a long, powerful jump, barely landing before the others were already rushing him again.

However—

'Time to kick it up a notch.'

Taking a deep breath, Taka stepped forward...

—And charged at them.

The sudden shift in pace startled the group, but already coordinated, they didn't think it would matter. They had the numbers, and now they were overwhelming him.

Or so they thought.

Just as the two sides were about to collide—

Taka dropped flat and slid beneath them.

Now out of their eyesight, his legs snapped into motion. Swift, precisely, and, of course, stylishly, they entangled on theirs in a fluid maneuver.

Then he swept.

All at once.

"Agh!"

"Eh?!"

"Wah?!"

It caught them completely off guard. Most crashed to the floor before they could even react.

Mina, however, managed to recover, planting one hand and springing away, eyes shining.

"Woah—what the heck was that?!"

Taka ignored her.

'Yeah. This is what I'm talking about.'

As he pushed himself up into a stylish sky kick and landed cleanly on his feet, he felt it.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
[Let's Dance!] (ACTIVATED!)
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

His passive skill kicked in.

Instantly, his reflexes sharpened. The world seemed to slow down—yet somehow remained just as fast.

It was a strange sensation.

One that nearly made him smirk.

It felt like his brain had been kicked into a higher gear.

And it showed the moment the five regained their footing and charged again.

Taka didn't blink.

He surged forward to meet them, and under the storm of incoming attacks, his body flowed effortlessly—dodging with full-body movement as kicks lashed out in rapid succession, his breakdancing skills fully unleashed.

Before they even realized what had happened, each of them was sent flying—struck somewhere, shoved aside, or knocked off balance.

Moments later, Taka spun up from the ground and landed on his feet, barely winded.

"You can't be serious…" Jiro panted, bracing her hands on her knees once she stood back up.

"W-what's with this guy?!" Kaminari stared at Taka, eyes wide with frustration. "Just when I thought he was looking vincible…!"

Sato nodded, equally exhausted and annoyed.

Kirishima, meanwhile, was crying. Whether from emotion or frustration, that was only known to him.

"What the hell, what the hell?!" Mina, on the other hand, looked thrilled. Her grin widened as she bounced in her spot. "That was sick! What were those moves, hey, Class Rep?! They almost looked like breakdancing—don't tell me you know how to dance?!"

Taka winced inwardly.

His desperation not to lose aura had made him get carried away, and show more than he should have.

It was just his breakdancing skills, so it wasn't that big of a deal, but the fewer connections he had to Rockinesis for now, the better. That was why he had fought normally up until this point.

Sadly, he'd just added another one.

"Ahem… I know a bit," Taka said calmly, trying to downplay it as much as possible, hoping they wouldn't make a fuss over it.

He had miscalculated.

"That didn't look like a bit!" Mina shot back immediately. "You were outright fusing breakdancing with martial arts! It was crazy—I could barely follow your movements!"

Taka sweatdropped at the sheer enthusiasm the pink-haired girl had for dance.

'Was she a fan of that in the show?' he mused, wincing as he tried to remember.

His mind jumped ahead to the school festival, the only arc where hobbies like that should have had a place.

And indeed...

'Ah… right. Mina was the one in charge of directing the dance team.'

Taka groaned inwardly. He would've slapped himself on the spot if doing so wouldn't cost him aura.

'I really need to start writing a notebook with all this useful info before I screw up again…'

"You gotta show me that sometime, Class Rep!" Mina beamed, already fired up and ready to go another round.

Seeing her enthusiasm, the other four subconsciously prepared themselves as well.

'Crap.' Taka winced, not quite feeling like fighting anymore.

Fortunately—

RING!—

The alarm on Taka's phone cut through the tension, snapping everyone out of it.

In his mindscape, Taka let out a long, relieved sigh.

He silenced the alarm, then turned the phone around to show them the time. "Sadly, we need to get going. Our time in the gym is over."

"Eh?! No way!"

'Yes way.'

"Argh, that was insane!" Kirishima exclaimed as he dropped onto the floor, sitting heavily while catching his breath. He turned to Sato, who was slouching forward now that he'd finally relaxed. "Dude, you were right. I feel like I improved a ton just from that fight!"

"Right?" Sato replied with a faint smirk.

Mina bounced over, still brimming with energy despite the sweat on her brow and her slightly ragged breathing.

"It's so frustrating that we didn't land a single proper hit—aside from that tackle, and even then, he shook it off almost immediately! Argh!"

Despite her words, her smile was wide.

Jiro clicked her tongue, clearly less pleased. "We were this close to dragging him down from his high cloud," she muttered.

Mina swept her gaze across everyone. "We should totally do this again sometime! What do you guys say?"

Kaminari was sprawled on the floor, panting like he was on death's door. Still, he weakly raised a thumb.

"Wheh…!"

"Of course!" Kirishima declared. "It wouldn't be manly to give up after just one defeat!"

"Alright…" Sato nodded as well. He had come here to train, and he clearly wasn't done yet.

Jiro hesitated, conflicted—but eventually nodded too. She couldn't deny how much their coordination had improved in a single spar.

One by one, the five—save for Kaminari, who remained horizontal—turned toward Taka, waiting for his answer.

He sweatdropped.

'This is just the consequences of my actions…' He laughed wryly to himself.

Still… it wasn't all that bad.

After today's spar, he could clearly tell what each of them lacked—at least physically. Quirk training could come later.

And since this had been his plan from the start, backing out now would be ridiculous.

"Very well."

He nodded.

The group instantly lit up at his agreement.

As Taka watched them chatter excitedly among themselves, he let out a soft huff.

'My life sure is getting busier and busier…'

Still, that only meant his aura-farming future was shining brighter than ever.

And as his thoughts drifted ahead, one event loomed clearly in his mind.

'USJ… I'll be waiting patiently.'

…

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-To Be Continued...-

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(A/N: Extra-long chapter since I wanted to finish this sparring part fast. How was it? Hopefully it wasn't boring.)

 

[The Synonym]

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[Terrorist attack incoming!]
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…

After the day of the press invasion, the rest of the first week at U.A. passed without much of note.

Aside from the now-recurrent after-class training sessions, aura-farming opportunities dropped dramatically. After all, the in-between events of the show were mostly composed of long, boring classes.

Sure, there were occasional chances to shine—like answering questions no one else knew—but even those were scarce.

And worse yet, a rival had emerged to take those away from him.

Yaoyorozu, of course.

Time and time again, she stole his chances to answer first, responding with terrifyingly fast, almost robotic precision. After several such incidents, Taka officially reassessed her threat level to be comparable to Midoriya's.

One was a threat to his aura-farming moments during major events.

The other was a threat during filler arcs.

Truly, U.A. was a dangerous place to be an aura farmer.

Still, he wasn't one to accept defeat that easily. With his clones arduously studying at home so the chance of him looking like a dumbass would never come to happen, the classes' contents became fresh in his mind, and he even began getting ahead a bit.

With such academic prowess at his disposal, Taka managed to beat Yaoyorozu in answering first seven out of ten times on average.

A total victory, as far as he was concerned.

However, while their academic rivalry intensified—at least within Taka's competitive mind, who couldn't allow the spotlight to go to anyone else—they were also forced to cooperate closely as class representative and vice-representative.

Hero Basic Training class reports had to be documented and handed to Aizawa. Schedules had to be organized and last-minute changes announced. Information about anything particular needed for classes needed to be relayed daily to their classmates, and they were also the ones who were in charge of the class's chat, often reminding everyone about stuff the teachers had asked for or homework.

Truly perilous tasks.

Tasks that Taka abhorred with every fiber of his being.

What was worse, he couldn't create clones to handle them while at U.A., and barely any of the class rep work reached his home since they stayed as long as required to finish them at school—meaning his clones couldn't help even there.

For a brief moment, he even considered sending a clone to class whenever nothing important was happening while he instead remained home to relax for a bit.

But the mere thought of letting paperwork defeat him made his blood boil.

He was above that.

Besides, considering his clones' strange tendency to be wilder than himself—something even the system couldn't explain—who knew what they'd do if he let them roam his prime aura-farming grounds?

They'd probably reveal all his secret powers just to flex.

No. Unacceptable.

Thus, Taka swallowed his frustration and handled the paperwork with grim determination.

Thankfully, Yaoyorozu took care of half the burden, which made it a tad more tolerable.

Beyond that, the rest of the Hero Basic Training classes they had after the first were disappointing to say the least. They had focused almost entirely on disaster control and logistics, with zero combat involved.

Which meant zero worthwhile aura farming, much to Taka's further dismay.

As for the after-class training sessions he had every once in a while with his new classmates, the group became far more coordinated than on the first day, displaying excellent teamwork in their attempts to finally beat him.

Unfortunately for them, after the first session, Taka no longer hesitated to activate Let's Dance.

Thus, even as their coordination improved by leaps and bounds, without Quirks involved, Taka remained decisively superior.

And so, the first week at U.A. came and went without anything truly important happening.

Then, at last, arrived the weekend.

Now with some time off from aura farming at school in his hands, Taka focused on composing new songs, reading fun stuff online, and exercising a bit. Meanwhile, his clones continued grinding away at everything he didn't want to get rusty in—namely, his fighting skills, breakdancing, and mastery over his many instruments.

Of course, he didn't forget to experiment a little amidst all that. Just because he was already at U.A. didn't mean his abilities had to plateau.

His aura had proven to be incredibly versatile, after all. Who knew what else he had yet to discover?

So, sitting in his backyard, Taka stared at the flaring aura in his hand with narrowed eyes.

"Where am I even supposed to start?"

His current objective was to unlock some form of astral projection.

Or at least something that would let him observe things from afar—like an aura-based drone.

Anything that could give him an edge in sensory abilities. He was quite lacking at that right now.

At present, he could spread his aura and get a faint sense of what lay around him, since it worked like some sort of ethereal sense of touch.

Not quite like a touch, but weirder. Still, it was effective.

That was how he'd focused on the balls from each team during the combat exercise to rig his own match—Don't laugh.

But that wasn't enough.

He didn't want blurry impressions or vague shape awareness—he wanted to see beyond the limits of his own eyes.

Unfortunately, connecting the concept of aura to something as precise and seemingly unrelated to it, such as vision, was proving difficult.

A few minutes later, Taka scratched the base of his chin in deep thought and decided that sitting there just wasn't leading him anywhere.

So he tried the first thing that came to mind.

"Let's see… how about this?"

He severed a tiny speck of aura, which formed into a small bubble of red light that slowly floated away. Then, he attempted to connect with it—really connect with it.

"Hmm… oh!"

For a split second, it worked.

Only—

—Pop!—

The moment he tried to actually do something through it, the bubble exploded.

There wasn't much aura in it, so all it produced was a soft breeze before dissipating entirely.

Still, Taka didn't look displeased. Instead, he blinked in mild disbelief.

"…That's not what I was aiming for, but at least now I know I can give my energy attacks a delayed effect."

He glanced around, raising an eyebrow.

"Doesn't that count as an extra skill?"

<That is merely an additional feature you have discovered. It is not sufficient to become an independent skill.>

"Whatever. It's still useful," Taka replied flatly. "Now I can copy that technique I've had in mind for a while."

A sphere of pure energy rose from his palm, humming ominously—

—only to fizzle into nothingness the very next second as Taka went deadpan.

"…But trying that in my backyard probably isn't the smartest idea."

Letting out a wry chuckle, Taka shelved the matter for the next week, or rather, tomorrow. It was already Sunday after all.

He could always ask Nezu for access to one of the disposable city facilities to test destructive techniques properly. He recalled that class 1-A had been given access to them before the sports festival to train, and probably other classes too, albeit off-camera.

So there shouldn't be any reason for the rat to deny him access.

'But that's for tomorrow-me.'

Saving the matter in his "to-do" folder inside his mind, he returned to his original objective.

To become omnipresent.

So, he got to work.

"Alright… how about I try forming an eye or something?"

The lightwork was very pretty—but it didn't go beyond that.

"Aura shooting from my eyes?"

Nothing came out.

"Connect to my very essence and open my third eye!"

He spent about ten minutes sitting in a lotus position. Then his ass started to hurt, so he stopped.

His weekend continued like that: flimsy attempts, half-baked theories, and a lot of trial-and-error focused on something he wasn't even sure his aura could actually do.

Perhaps he was overestimating his own potential.

Or perhaps, in the end, it would all prove to be worth the effort.

Either way, until next weekend, he'd have to wait.

Because just like that, his weekend ended—and Monday came knocking the next morning… along with the workload that followed as a class rep.

…

°

°

°

| The next day, class time… |

…

"Very good, Takahashi. You solved it quite fast," Ectoplasm said, nodding as he eyed the board now filled with advanced calculus all over it.

Taka nodded plainly, a bored expression on his face, chalk still in hand.

Then, receiving permission to return to his seat, he calmly walked back and sat down. His movements and attitude were fluid and calm, like still water.

At least externally.

If he hadn't possessed such strong self-control, he might've turned around and sent Yaoyorozu a smug smile.

But he was an aura farmer. Mocking an already defeated opponent wasn't auratic.

'Hmph.' He snorted inwardly.

After that, the class continued without a hitch. Ectoplasm carried on with the lesson before shifting to a more practical approach, handing out a set of exercises.

Which Taka, of course, finished in record time. He couldn't afford to be some lame second place.

Soon enough, the hour passed, and the recess alarm rang throughout the school.

His classmates immediately began standing up from their seats, some lingering behind to chat or eat something quick.

Taka, however, seemed intent on staying where he was, calmly waiting for the next class with his usual arms crossed and eyes closed.

That plan didn't last long.

"Takahashi," Ectoplasm called out, snapping him out of his very serious meditation, and forcing one of his eyes open—barely.

"Yes?"

"Power Loader asked me to tell you to stop by his office," Ectoplasm informed, "He says he finished what you requested, and that you can go retrieve it right away."

Taka's eyes snapped open, a faint glimmer of excitement slipping through his otherwise unreadable poker face.

With a nod, he stood and made his way out of the classroom.

His classmates stared after him, baffled.

What would someone like him even need? He already seemed practically invincible.

That was the collective thought.

Leaving behind a thoroughly confused class, Taka stepped into the hallway and headed toward the support workroom.

It took him about two minutes to arrive, stopping in front of a massive door that rumbled with the sounds of machinery—and the occasional explosion—coming from inside.

Without hesitation, he opened it.

And immediately—

—Swoosh!—

—Clank!—

A blunt chunk of metal came flying straight toward his face.

Fortunately, he caught it with ease in his palm before it could hit him.

"Sorry!" a pink-haired girl with messy dreadlocks apologized—turning for a second, probably to check whether he was dead or not, before snapping back to her work, disregarding him completely.

Taka sweatdropped as he recognized her instantly, despite barely getting a brief second to see her face.

The best support equipment creator—or at least in the distant future: Mei Hatsume.

He would've thought the world was small to have met her already, but he was literally standing in the one place she was most likely to be, so her presence wasn't exactly surprising.

Still, getting greeted by a flying chunk of metal wasn't very nice.

'Should I throw it back at her when she's not looking…?'

Before he could entertain the thought further, someone else spoke up.

"Oi, Hatsume! How many times have I told you to be careful of your surroundings? If you make the same mistake again, I'm restricting your access to this room for an entire week!"

The girl froze instantly, like a statue.

Ignoring her horrified expression, the newcomer turned his attention to Taka.

It was Power Loader, the instructor of the Support Course.

"Takahashi, was it? Come. I have what you asked for."

With a nod, Taka followed him deeper into the workshop.

They soon arrived at a large table cluttered with all kinds of equipment—devices of wildly different shapes, purposes, and frankly confusing designs. Power Loader knelt beside a large storage box and rummaged through it for a moment before finally pulling something out.

"I have to ask," Power Loader said, eyeing Taka curiously, "what would you even need this for? I read about your Quirk. It doesn't seem to mesh well with this—at least not in a way that isn't redundant or unnecessary."

"I discovered another application for my Quirk," Taka replied calmly.

"Is that so?" Power Loader hummed. "Well, in that case, no problem. Though, good thing you specified no sharpness. Otherwise, I might've thought you were planning a murder or something."

In his hands lay a strange weapon—something between a massive cleaver and a grotesquely uneven saw. Its handle was long and bendable, allowing it to shift between longer reach and close-quarters use.

A saw cleaver.

Taka couldn't stop a small smile from forming the moment he saw it.

'This shit is so cool.'

As Power Loader handed it over, Taka felt the sheer weight of the raw iron settle into his grip, his eyes glinting with excitement as he inspected it.

He had already taken inspiration for his hero suit from a certain game character from his previous life. Borrowing yet another piece from that same source felt only natural.

Of course, unlike in the game, the weapon in his hands had no sharp edge whatsoever. Any cutting or piercing capability had been completely removed. What remained was pure aesthetics—and an absurd amount of weight. A blunt replica made of solid iron.

But that hardly mattered to Taka.

After all, he had a skill that could grant sharpness to anything.

Even if the weapon itself wasn't lethal, in his hands, everything was.

'And what better test subject than the Nomu?' Taka smirked inwardly at the thought, already looking forward to seeing whether that abomination would be able to stand his ground, with everything he had prepared for it.

Maybe three months ago, he might've struggled fighting it. Maybe he would've even lost.

But now?

Now—he didn't know for certain.

Still, considering his performance against Gigantomachia three months ago, when he'd been three times weaker than he was now… he liked his chances.

The thing supposedly had a monstrous regeneration Quirk, along with another that allowed it to absorb All Might's punches like they were nothing.

That sounded intimidating.

To most people.

To Taka, though, it sounded more like: "I'm a very durable punching bag."

No—scratch that.

To Taka, it sounded more like: "I'm a very durable piñata!"

And instead of candy spilling out, it'd be aura. Lots of aura.

'Hehehe…'

As Taka laughed creepily inside his mind, Power Loader handed him a belt attachment designed to integrate the weapon into his hero suit.

Accepting it with grace, Taka bowed faintly before turning and leaving the room, heading back toward his classroom.

Just like before, the walk didn't take long. Only a few minutes later, he stood once more at the classroom door.

The moment he stepped inside, however, all eyes turned toward him.

—Or rather, toward what he was carrying.

"W-what the hell is that?" Kaminari blurted out first, seated near the front and getting a clear view.

"What's with that big-ass saw?!" Mina exclaimed next, eyes wide as she stared at the weapon in Taka's grasp.

In the next instant, nearly everyone stood up and crowded around him.

"D-dude… that's sick…" Kirishima muttered, his hands trembling as they hovered near it. "C-can I hold it?"

Taka nodded curtly and handed it over.

Kirishima accepted it eagerly—

"Ugh—!"

—and almost buckled under the weight.

It was, after all, made of raw iron. Just because it lacked sharpness didn't mean it wasn't dangerous. One solid hit could easily crack a skull.

Of course, Taka had no intention of being that crude with it.

"W-what the hell?! This thing's heavy!" Kirishima exclaimed, struggling just to lift it properly, let alone swing it.

The others leaned in closer, inspecting the weapon with fascination.

"Huh?" Kaminari squinted at it. "Why doesn't it have an edge? And what's with the saw teeth if it can't even cut?"

The confusion spread.

Jiro narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Taka. "More importantly, why do you need this? Isn't your whole thing telekinesis? This seems kinda unnecessary."

"Yeah, can't you just crush everything with it?" Sato asked, scratching the back of his head in confusion.

Asui chimed in, placing a finger on her mouth in curiosity. "Taka, do you plan to swing it around with your telekinesis? Like a remote-controlled blade?"

"Couldn't he just swing other things if that was the case? With how blunt it is, debris or anything else could have done the job." Sero pointed out.

"This blade reeks of darkness, a blade of the void, perhaps?" A certain Tokoyami muttered from amidst the crowd, eyes glinting like stars despite the serious tone he was using.

By then, curiosity had reached its peak. Everyone was waiting for Taka's answer.

However, just as he was about to offer either a dramatic reveal or a very convenient excuse—

"To your seats, you irrational kids."

His savior arrived once again.

The voice alone sent everyone scrambling back to their places. Kirishima hurriedly handed the saw cleaver back to Taka before sprinting to his seat.

Aizawa snorted, then glanced at Taka, frowning faintly.

"What's with the blade, Takahashi? As far as I know, you don't need it."

The class tensed.

Their perpetually grumpy teacher had actually voiced everyone's question.

Unfortunately, less than a second later—

"Well, whatever. Go back to your seat." Aizawa waved him off, already losing interest.

Taka nodded calmly and did as instructed.

The rest of the class deadpanned in unison.

Unfortunately, they didn't even have time to sulk.

"For today's Hero Basics class, it'll be a joint lesson with three instructors. All Might, myself, and one more." Aizawa announced from the podium.

Several heads tilted at once. Three teachers for a single class? That alone was enough to grab everyone's attention.

Sero raised a hand. "Uh—excuse me, sensei. What are we doing today?"

Aizawa slipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out a card, much like All Might had during their very first lesson.

Unlike back then, however, this one wasn't about combat.

It read something that made Taka's previously calm expression twitch for the first time.

"Today, we'll be doing rescue training," Aizawa announced.

That was all it took.

'This is it… It's finally here.'

His heartbeat quickened, blood beginning to boil in his body.

His gaze flicked to the weapon resting against his desk.

'And just in time.'

For once, his mouth curled up into a faint smile.

USJ was coming.

...

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-To Be Continued...-

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(A/N: Now our dear protagonist has an equally edgy weapon to combine with the rest of his aesthetic.

After this, though, I think I'm gonna start making him drift toward a more personal style, rather than just let him cosplay as a game character. Maybe I'll get him to take some of the stuff off, or add stuff that might help with aura farming further.

Anyway, that's all for this chapter, bye bye.)

 

[The Synonym]

Join my Patreon to get access to more chapters, and you'll help me make ends meet while doing so.

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[USJ]
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…

After Aizawa announced today's class dynamic, everyone left the classroom and headed to the parking lot, where they waited for the bus to arrive. Since the USJ was located outside the school facilities, transport was necessary.

Students naturally formed small groups as they waited, chatting idly to pass the time. Taka was no exception.

Sato, Jiro, Kaminari, and Mina stood together, talking as usual, with Taka contributing his signature stoic silence.

They talked about whatever came to mind. The training sessions and better strategies to beat Taka, everyone's favorite foods, everyone's favorite Rockinesis' songs—something Taka smoothly ignored—, which teacher was their favourite, with Kaminari's choice being of course the Modern Hero History teacher, among many other topics Taka just half-heartedly nodded to, or answered curtly.

His mind was simply not on their conversation.

Noticing it, Kirishima turned toward him, raising an eyebrow as he came up with an idea of why that might be.

"Don't you get hot in that, bro?" he asked, eyeing Taka's full hero suit as the aura farmer stood with his arms crossed.

The others glanced over, curiosity sparked.

After a faint snort, as if he had heard something funny, Taka shook his head calmly. "Temperature is meaningless to me."

Kirishima laughed. "Man, you really are all-rounded, huh?"

Taka nodded in agreement.

Though—

'Shit, I'm fucking dying in here…'

Inwardly, he was suffering. Who would've thought that his suit's greatest weakness would be a sunny day?

'This suit is gonna need some modifications after this. Seriously, the moment summer hits, I'm gonna be soaked, and I'm pretty sure that's not very auratic… except for those who got some weird kink for it, I guess.'

Standing under the sun in black clothing, with a bandana covering his mouth and nose, made the heat almost unbearable. The hat helped a little by shading his face, but it also absorbed warmth like a sponge. With it pressing down on his head and trapping the heat there, it wasn't doing him any favors.

Such was the reality of hero suits. Cool on the outside. Absolute hell on the inside.

'I could fix this with that,' he mused, 'but if I mess with that now, I'll lose possible aura gains later when I reveal it—and that's a no-no.'

Taka's eyes drifted toward Todoroki, who stood off to the side, waiting patiently and not speaking to anyone. A devious glint crossed Taka's gaze.

'Should I ragebait him into blasting me with some ice?' he hummed inwardly, already imagining the conversation.

"Yo, Todoroki. Remember how I beat you last time? bet I could do it again, and while at it, not get hit even once by your ice."

Surely those words would make the emo teenager angry enough.

Thankfully—for both Todoroki and Taka—before the aura farmer could try anything, the bus finally arrived, pulling around the corner before parking nearby.

With the wait finally over, Yaoyorozu and Taka quickly took charge, organizing everyone into a line to avoid clustering.

Soon enough, everyone boarded the bus, Aizawa included.

Minutes later, the vehicle was already on its way to the USJ, with everyone joyfully eyeing the landscape and chatting with their seat neighbors.

Taka, for his part, sat at the back of the bus by the window, his edgy persona clearly not allowing him to coexist with the rest of the mortals—or engage in something as mundane as social interaction.

In summary, he was being asocial.

Still, even in solitude, one could find company.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Albeit a very quiet kind. One that matched him almost perfectly.

Somehow, he had ended up sitting next to Tokoyami, their deep and thunderous conversation filling the entire bus for the duration of the ride.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Truly, very serious matters were being discussed here.

Eventually, though, someone had to break the silence, and Tokoyami was the one to do so—mostly because he'd noticed the rather heavy and hugeweapon resting beside Taka's feet.

"I see you brought the accursed blade along."

Taka, who had been staring out the window with stoic intensity, shifted his gaze toward the bird-headed student without changing his relaxed posture.

"Yes."

"For what purpose, if I may inquire?" Tokoyami continued. "This is rescue training. A weapon does not seem especially useful in such a scenario."

Taka exhaled slowly, as though the answer should have been obvious.

But still, he took a few seconds to respond.

Obviously not because he hadn't come up with an excuse yet. Of course not.

After a few seconds, though, it seemed he was finally ready to reveal the answer.

"Evil lurks constantly, and peace is but a fragile illusion upheld for too long. To leave myself unarmed because of such a lie would be a fool's errand."

Tokoyami blinked, then nodded solemnly.

"I see. Even under the brightest sun, darkness yet dwells unseen, and we remain ignorant of it. As you say, preparedness is the mark of the wise. I apologize."

"There's no need," Taka replied calmly. "The illusion of peace is often the most dangerous trap."

"Indeed," Tokoyami agreed. "As one who walks the path of darkness, I shall remain vigilant against the evil hiding in the shadows."

'This guy is way too into it…' Taka sweatdropped inwardly.

Still—much to his annoyance—he was having a bit of fun.

Not that he would ever admit it, though.

If anyone ever asked, he was being edgy out of obligation to farm aura. Nothing more and nothing else.

Unfortunately, their exchange was cut short when another conversation rose above the murmur of the bus, drawing everyone's attention.

"Your Quirk is kind of like All Might's."

From the front rows, where the seats faced each other, Tsuyu glanced at Midoriya as she spoke.

The green-haired boy instantly panicked.

"H-huh?! Y-you really think so?!"

To be fair, he was already skittish by nature, so his reaction didn't raise too many alarms, even if slightly suspicious.

Except for Taka, whose eyes narrowed at the greenhead's reaction.

'Man, this guy sucks at keeping secrets. If we even become friends, I'm never telling him shit.'

Though "suspicious " wasn't quite the right word. He already knew everything.

Luckily for Midoriya, though, before he could continue screwing up, Kirishima jumped in.

"Hold on, Tsu. All Might doesn't get hurt when he uses his Quirk. They're just similar, that's all."

Midoriya let out a quiet sigh of relief as Kirishima unintentionally saved his ass.

Kirishima continued, scratching his head. "Still, it's pretty cool to have a simple enhancement-type Quirk. You can do lots of flashy stuff… kinda like Taka over there."

All eyes turned toward Taka, who blinked at the sudden attention.

"Yes," Tsuyu said thoughtfully, studying him. "He is kind of flashy."

"Too flashy," Jiro added flatly from her spot.

Sato scratched the back of his head. "Is he? I didn't really notice."

Kaminari shot him a look. "Dude, you didn't see him fight Todoroki. If that wasn't flashy, I don't know what is. He put quite the spectacle back then."

A faint frown appeared on Todoroki's face, but no one paid it much attention.

Mina chimed in to defend him. "Who knows? Maybe it was just unconscious showmanship. He knows how to dance, after all—maybe the instincts are still kicking."

"Dance?" Tsuyu tilted her head.

Mina threw a playful punch into the air. "Oh yeah! He's got some crazy moves when he fights. They kinda look like if breakdancing and martial arts had a baby. And they're super effective, we get our asses kicked every time we fight, and we can barely follow his movements when he pulls them out!"

Iida pushed up his glasses, looking intensely inquisitive. "As far as I am aware, we have not held any combat exercises since Tuesday of last week. What exactly do you mean by 'kicking your asses'?"

Kirishima answered this time, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish grin, before pointing at their group. "Ah, that… well, one thing led to another, and we ended up training together at the school gym after classes."

"I'd say it's more like Taka training us, though," Sato added dejectedly. "Even after several sessions, we haven't landed a proper hit on him."

"You've engaged in unauthorized Quirk usage?!" Iida gasped. "Not only that, but you fought amongst yourselves?!"

Kaminari grinned and jerked a thumb toward Taka at the back of the bus. "Relax. Class rep over there handled everything. He even got permission from the principal and all. And it's all hand-to-hand combat with no Quirks involved."

"I-is that so?" Iida froze, clearly caught off guard.

It seemed nothing truly illegal was going down here.

"So you know how to dance?" Tsuyu suddenly asked, turning toward Taka—apparently that being the most important detail she'd taken from the entire conversation.

Taka stared at her for a moment, his silence heavy and ominous.

"A bit," he finally said.

-Snort-

A certain blond snorted, a mocking smirk forming on his face.

Almost immediately after, the bus jolted over a bump that the driver for some reason wasn't able to see in time, and somehow Bakugo slammed his head a bit too hard against the window.

It ended with him clutching his head while everyone else promptly ignored him.

"Didn't take you for someone who could dance, Taka," Tsuyu said, blunt as ever.

Taka took a slow breath.

'Consequences, consequences… always catching up to me. When will I be the one to catch up to them instead?'

Still, this wasn't an unsalvageable situation.

"It gave me an edge in hand-to-hand combat when I needed it," he said with an enigmatic tone—only making everyone more curious.

Even so, the way he worded it, and with him being vague about it, it felt too personal for anyone to pry. So they moved on.

If only they knew it was to beat up a monkey.

"So you guys are training together?" Ojiro, the incredibly memorable classmate, asked.

"And why didn't you invite me?!" Toru added from beside him, her sleeve waving furiously.

"Well, we've only met up three times so far," Jiro replied, scratching her cheek. "And to be honest, the only thing we do there is get beaten up while Takahashi dodges everything we throw at him. So yeah, you're not missing much."

"We've become crazy strong, though!" Kirishima added, pumping a fist. "I'd say our coordination's practically pro-level now!"

"Alright, let's not get that crazy," Kaminari cut in with a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead, trying to rein him in.

From his seat, Iida slumped forward, his body trembling as his clenched fists rested on his knees. "I see… all of you engaging in additional training, on top of our already demanding Hero Basic Training classes… How admirable!"

"C-chill, man, it's not that intense," Kaminari said quickly. "It's honestly kinda fun. Like karaoke… but more U.A.-ish... And with way more punches and kicks."

From the front of the bus, Aizawa observed the conversation quietly, a faint snort escaping his nose.

"Still, I never took Taka for someone who'd agree to something like that," Toru said, earning several nods from nearby seats.

"He's surprisingly friendly once you get to know him!" Kirishima added. "So if any of you wanna join us, feel free to ask. Honestly, we could use all the help we can get. He's just too strong!"

A few eager nods followed from those interested.

'Why the hell are you nodding?!' Taka deadpanned internally as he saw Tokoyami nodding as well from his peripheral vision.

Eventually, he sighed, turning his gaze back toward the window, his poker face barely concealing his irritation.

'It seems the unseen wounds from my poor aura farming are starting to show. At this rate, my aura might actually be in danger.'

If the class kept going down the path of realizing he wasn't as edgy as he appeared, there was a real risk that his future aura-farming moments would get dismissed as meaningless boasting.

Which was just another way of saying aura loss.

He was losing respect in exchange for friendship power.

Unacceptable.

Friendship power was for boring bums—like Midoriya.

A true aura farmer relied solely on the power he cultivated himself.

—And the system, but that part didn't count.

Either way, the problem was clear: he needed to regain the respect he'd lost. Something easier said than done. It was easier to lose than to gain respect.

Yet, for the briefest moment, a faint smirk tugged at his lips.

'Fortunately, we're heading exactly where I need to be.'

After today, there would be no doubt left in this place—

That he was just naturally cool.

Nothing artificial about it.

…

°

°

°

| Minutes later… |

…

After a while of incessant chatter, the bus finally came to a stop.

The students disembarked, and their eyes were immediately drawn to the massive structure before them.

A circular edification the size of a stadium, if not even bigger, and with a giant cupule working as a ceiling.

USJ.

And all of it was property of U.A.

'Seriously… And I remember they had even more places like this in the show… Just how rich are these guys?' Taka sweatdropped.

This… this was a different kind of aura.

The aura of pure, crushing economic power.

'Heh. Not bad, rat.'

Snorting at the mental image of Nezu surrounded by a swirling aura of floating bills, Taka walked alongside his classmates toward the entrance, Aizawa leading the group.

As they drew closer, a figure was already waiting for them in front of the massive doors.

"Everyone, I've been expecting you!"

Instantly, recognition spread through the class.

"It's the hero Thirteen! The Space Hero who's rescued tons of people from disaster zones!" Midoriya exclaimed, launching into one of his ever-convenient hero explanations, because of course he did.

Uraraka, beside him, looked just as thrilled—clearly a fan.

Taka, however, was not.

He remembered her Quirk being impressive, at least on paper.

But her role in the show had been minimal. Even Ojiro—the most influential and famous guy in 1-A—had more screen time than her, and that said a lot.

"Achoo!"

Someone sneezed from within the group.

Ignoring it, Thirteen turned toward the entrance and waved them forward. "Come, let's head inside without delay."

The class followed obediently, soon passing through the doors and marveling at the sight within.

The place almost looked like a theme park, given the sheer variety and scale of the structures inside. Some students even pointed out its resemblance to a certain famous amusement park franchise.

The difference, however, lay in what those structures were meant for.

That being—rescue work.

A landslide zone.

A shipwreck.

A fire-ravaged cityscape.

A violent windstorm area.

Disasters of all kinds, recreated in massive detail.

All of it designed for training.

That was the Unforeseen Simulation Joint.

As the students nodded along to Thirteen's explanation, Aizawa stepped closer, his eyes sweeping the area with visible displeasure.

"Thirteen. Where's All Might? He was supposed to meet us here."

The astronaut-like hero shook her head. "About that… it seems he did too much hero work on his way here and ran out of his daily time. He's resting in the lounge for now. He said he should be able to join us later, once he recovers a bit."

Aizawa clicked his tongue. "That man is the very peak of irrationality."

From his spot, Taka narrowed his eyes.

He didn't need to hear the conversation to know exactly what it was about.

And because he knew that—

He knew what was coming next.

Immediately, his gaze swept across the environment, sharp and alert.

He wasn't afraid—but the idea of dozens of villains attacking at once was hardly calming.

Aura flowed quietly toward his back, where the saw cleaver rested in its scabbard, secured to the belt Power Loader had given him. Ready to be drawn the moment things went south.

Aizawa had given him a weird look earlier when he tried to bring it along, saying it wouldn't be necessary given the nature of today's class.

Taka had simply shrugged it off, stating it was his hero equipment, and that learning rescue work while carrying it should be a given.

While not the best of arguments, fortunately, Aizawa's care for the matter wasn't big enough to bother trying to come up with a comeback. So he just let Taka go after that. Thus, allowing Taka to continue with his plans for his new weapon, and bringing us back to the present.

"..."

Patiently, he let the time pass as Thirteen explained the contents of the class, and how the dynamic would be going.

Which Taka, of course, didn't even bother to listen.

Minutes passed. Questions flew, and answers returned.

And eventually, his heightened alertness began to itch.

'The timeline didn't get screwed up or something… right?' he thought, sweatdropping internally at the very noticeable lack of villains.

As more time passed, his vigilance wavered, replaced by mild bafflement.

There was no way the USJ incident just… wouldn't happen, right?

Not to him.

Not after all his preparations.

Only a bum would miss something like that.

Unfortunately for him, he had no way to know... That the USJ incident would never happen.

—Bzzzz—

—Nevermind, my bad.

A portal suddenly tore open at the very center of the USJ.

Taka's fading calm reignited instantly.

'Finally.'

A smirk spread beneath his mask.

The first grand aura-farming event—

Had begun.

…

────────────────────────

-To Be Continued...-

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(A/N: I'm gonna have to fire that narrator, misleading you guys like that. It's not cool.

Damn that narrator, who may he be?

Anyway, next chapter we are starting right away with the action, so look forward to that. It's an order.)

 

[The Synonym]

(A/N: Phonk went incredibly hard while writing this, dunno about reading with it, but I'd say it's pretty epic. In case anyone here wants to hear my recommendation, put on Slava Funk near the end, when something epic happens... Or read the whole chapter while listening to it on repeat. Both work, I think.)

────────────────────────
[USJ Incident 1]
────────────────────────

…

As the portal opened, Aizawa's until-then bored expression snapped into sharp alertness. His head turned toward the center of the facility, where swirling purple mist churned violently—and where several threatening figures began stepping out of it.

Without wasting a single second, he slipped on his goggles and prepared for action. There wasn't a shred of doubt in him about what was happening, nor was there hesitation.

"Everyone, don't move from where you are!" he barked. "Thirteen, protect the students!"

Both parties reacted instantly.

Thirteen moved in front of the class, ushering the students behind her as she stared at the steadily growing crowd of villains in the distance. The students, meanwhile, froze in place, confusion rippling through the group.

Who could even consider the possibility of villains attacking at the literal start of their second week of classes?

Who could even imagine villains daring to raid U.A.—a school crawling with Pro Heroes, and with All Might himself on staff?

At first, it was simply illogical.

"What's this?" Kirishima tilted his head, squinting to get a better look at the figures emerging from the mist. "Is it like the entrance exam? With robots or something?"

Midoriya and a few others instinctively stepped forward to see better.

"Do not move!"

However, Aizawa's sharp shout cut them and their carelessness off immediately. There was none of his usual laziness in it—no hint of casual detachment.

That alone was enough to instill in them the realization that something wasn't right.

And when he spoke again, that realization cemented even further.

"Those are real villains."

The word hit like a physical blow. Bodies stiffened as dread finally seeped in, ignorance no longer shielding them.

The people that most of them had always seen from afar, as something only heroes dealt with, were now here, in front of them.

And realer than ever.

"Villains?! What?!"

"There's no way they could get into the school!"

"Where's All Might?!"

Yaoyorozu, standing the closest to Thirteen, reached for her. "Sensei, what about the trespasser sensors?!"

"We have them…" Thirteen muttered, her tone grim. "But it appears they aren't working."

"... If the sensors are down, then they must have someone with a Quirk capable of blocking them," Todoroki said, eyes narrowed as he observed the enemy numbers. "And for them to appear now, during class, in a facility isolated from the main campus… This was carefully planned and with a specific goal in mind."

That realization sent a chill through the group.

The idea that this wasn't a random attack, that these weren't brutish villains—that there was intent behind their appearance here—only worsened their dread.

And when someone actually answered the remaining question, it only became worse.

The villains' goal was...

"To kill All Might, huh?"

Taka's voice cut cleanly through the group, making several students widen their eyes at the realization.

Todoroki spared him a brief glance before nodding slowly.

With numbers like those, no other objective made sense.

They were here to bring an end to the Symbol of Peace.

—However, unconcerned with the villains' motives, Aizawa refocused on immediate priorities.

"Thirteen, begin the evacuation and try to contact the school. If the sensors are blocked, they likely have a radio-wave interference Quirk."

His gaze flicked briefly to Kaminari, landing on the communication equipment built into his costume. "You too, Kaminari. Try reaching the school using your Quirk."

With that, Aizawa started walking forward.

His scarf—his capture weapon—rose into the air as he prepared to engage.

Midoriya, however, called out after him, panic slipping into his voice. "You're going to fight alone, sensei?! Eraser Head's fighting style relies on erasing Quirks and capturing opponents—there's no way you can win a frontal battle against that many villains!"

Aizawa waved the concern off without stopping.

"You can't become a hero with just one trick, kid."

Then he glanced back at Thirteen.

"I'm leaving them to you."

And with that, he leapt—skipping the stairs entirely as he descended straight toward the approaching army of villains.

-Bam!-

The ground cracked as he landed before the approaching army, but despite the harsh descent, Aizawa stood back up unbothered.

Then, tightening his grip on his capture weapon, he began walking toward the ground of villains—before, soon, his walk turned into a full-on sprint. Something the villains reciprocated, dashing at him too.

"Sensei!"

The students watched with dread as Aizawa dove straight into the swarm—alone.

But as the villains surged forward to meet him, the scene that unfolded was nothing like what they had imagined.

-Whack!-

-Bam!-

-Thud!-

The attackers were clearly inexperienced. Most relied entirely on the raw power of their Quirks, with little to no actual combat training to back it up. Against Aizawa—whose Quirk was the literal antithesis of theirs—they were nothing more than reckless children waiting to be beaten up.

Even when heteromorphic villains joined the fray—those whose Quirks couldn't be erased—Aizawa proved himself far more dangerous than he had first appeared. He fought physically enhanced opponents with nothing but sheer skill, speed, and ruthless efficiency. His capture weapon moved like an extension of his body, snapping, coiling, and tightening as he swung villains around like ragdolls, using them as blunt instruments to smash into others mid-charge.

No matter how many came—one, three, five—Aizawa's eyes snapped from target to target with frightening precision. He erased Quirks in perfect tandem with his movements, all while engaging three or four enemies at once. Villains were seized, kicked, punched, slammed, hurled, and discarded, their own numbers turned against them.

His control over the battlefield—its pacing, its numbers, and the constant prioritization of which Quirk to erase first—was immaculate.

'Badass…' Taka raised an eyebrow, quietly reassessing his earlier thoughts about All Might being the sole aura farmer at U.A. 'Not bad, Aizawa-sensei.'

His observation was cut short when Thirteen ordered the students to retreat toward the entrance and begin evacuation.

Taka didn't protest or comment. He simply followed along, calm and compliant.

Everything was proceeding exactly as planned.

The entrance was only seconds away—

When it happened.

A thick dark purple mist poured into existence directly in front of them, spilling from the air itself and blocking their escape. The group was forced to halt as the fog swirled violently.

Then, the mist began to take shape.

"Nice to meet you, students."

A towering body of black mist rose before them, two glowing yellow eyes forming within its mass.

"We are the League of Villains," the figure continued smoothly. "It may be presumptuous of us, but we have invited ourselves into the home of heroes—U.A. High School—to make All Might, the Symbol of Peace, take his final breath."

Its gaze swept over the students, sharp and assessing.

"…Unfortunately, it seems he isn't here at the moment. Was there a change in the schedule?"

Silence was the only thing that he received. Not that the students or Thirteen were gonna answer him anyway.

He snorted. "No matter. My role here is another."

The misty body began to expand, tendrils of vapor creeping outward as if threatening to engulf them all.

Thirteen tensed, clearly preparing to unleash her Quirk, Black Hole, to absorb it all.

But before she could act, two figures burst forward.

Bakugo and Kirishima.

One was eager to prove himself, and probably held a grudge against villains after what had happened a year ago.

The other refused to remain frozen in fear while a villain did as he pleased, as he had done months ago.

They moved in a blur, fast enough to catch the villain off guard.

Then they struck.

—BOOOM!—

A thunderous explosion erupted from one side, while from the other came a forward thrust—palms straightened and hardened into spear-like points.

Against the villain's misty body, the explosion was clearly the more effective attack. Still, even the blunt, hardened strike forced the villain backward, colliding with something solid hidden within all that vapor.

The blast kicked up a thick cloud of dust, giving the two students just enough time to pull back after their opening strike.

"Didn't expect to get beaten by us first, did you?!" Kirishima shouted, a nervous smirk stretching across his face.

But as the dust thinned, restoring visibility—

"Oh dear. That was dangerous."

The villain's voice drifted through the settling haze, calm and almost amused.

"For a moment, I forgot that while you're students… you're still the golden eggs of this school. You must possess some talent to be here in the first place."

The mist reformed seamlessly, as if nothing had happened. Two glowing eyes narrowed within the dark mass.

"But now, it's time for me to fulfill my role."

The fog swelled violently.

"To separate and scatter you all… and send you to your deaths."

-Swooosh!-

Then, the mist exploded outward in every direction, a violent surge of black vapor that made everyone widen their eyes and cover themselves out of instinct.

Amidst the students, Thirteen's eyes widened as her suit's finger gloves shifted open, preparing to unleash her Black Hole to stop it.

—but that's when she noticed, Kirishima and Bakugo stood directly in front of her.

There was no clear line of fire.

"You two, move awa—!"

But by then, it was too late.

In the blink of an eye, the wave of darkness swallowed them.

First Kirishima and Bakugo.

Then Thirteen, and those close to her.

And then the rest of the class.

One by one, they were consumed, pulled into a storm of dark mist that curved inward, forming a sealed dome that encased them all. A space meant to trap them, teleport them, and scatter them across the facility to face the villains that had already taken their positions, waiting for them.

That was how it was supposed to go. It was a seamless plan, with none of the students' documented Quirks in the villain's intel being something that should have been able to deter their plans.

But then—

-Shiiiin!-

A single ray of crimson light pierced the darkness from within.

Thin. Focused. Like a laser cutting through the night.

But against all that darkness, it didn't do much.

—Until the next seconds.

-Shiiiin!-

Another followed.

-Shiiiin!-

And another.

Then many more.

Crimson rays tore through the mist from every direction, carving glowing seams into its domain.

Until—

—BAM!—

The darkness was blown apart.

Light burst outward like molten lava escaping a shattered shell, flooding the space and violently pushing the mist back. The cupule collapsed, torn open from the inside, and the mist receded to its origin.

"W-what is this?!" The villain staggered as he reformed, staring forward in disbelief.

In another timeline, most of them would have been warped away—scattered across the facility and forced to fight for their lives against villains.

But not in this timeline.

Not with him here.

"This red light…"

"T-this is…?"

"Whoa, what the hell?"

"…Hahaha. Should I say as expected?"

The class remained where they stood, frozen in disbelief, their bodies bathed in radiant crimson light. Some laughed wryly, others glanced down at themselves, examining the glow that surrounded them—protected them—still dumbfounded.

Normally, such an ominous color inspired fear. It was the color of peerless power. Of dominance. Of inevitability.

But now, wrapped in that light—shielded from the villain's mist—everyone shared the same realization.

It was warm.

Like a thick mantle resting on their shoulders.

As one, they turned toward its source.

The villain did the same, following the crimson glow back to its origin.

And there, at the center of it all—

"Seems like you miscalculated."

—stood a single teenager.

The red light condensed around him, bubbling into a dense, roiling aura. His normally black eyes now shone with an imposing crimson glow, gazing at the villain as though he were nothing more than a minor inconvenience—not a real threat.

Then, the youth lifted an arm calmly, like a commander issuing an order.

The light surrounding the students responded instantly, surging outward and shooting toward the villain.

This time, not as a shield.

"Ugh—!" The villain grunted as invisible pressure crashed down on him, locking his movements in place, crushing in from every direction.

But as a captor.

"Now."

The youth rose a few centimeters off the ground, as though even walking was beneath him. In a blink, he stood directly before the villain, meeting his glowing eyes without a shred of fear.

"How about we talk," he said calmly, "about those plans of yours?"

...

────────────────────────

-To Be Continued...-

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(A/N: Reading it again, maybe the edge was a bit too much. Nothing I can do until Taka gains some development, though.

Anyway, it was a bit short, but I liked the way this chapter went.