Unexpected Encounter

(Kata POV – Class 1-A)

I feel all the stares on me, four particularly intense—Bakugo, Midnight, Izuku, and Todoroki.

I can make an educated guess about most of their thoughts, but Todoroki's gaze isn't one I understand.

'It doesn't matter.'

Having finished my speech, I turn to Midnight.

"So, is my hero name acceptable?" I ask. It'd be a hassle to come up with another one.

She grins, eyes gleaming with excitement as she gives me a thumbs-up.

"Of course! Your hero name is meant to represent you and the kind of hero you aim to become." Her voice shifts, losing its usual playfulness. It becomes softer, more sincere. "And I think it suits you perfectly."

Then, with a warm smile, she adds—

"I'm sure you'll live up to it."

I blink.

Something about the way she says it… unsettles me.

Not in a bad way. But not in a good way, either.

I nod and turn away, heading back to my seat. The weight of my classmates' stares follow me, but I ignore them easily enough.

What isn't easy is shaking off the lingering warmth in my chest.

It doesn't burn, but it's uncomfortably warm... and lingers too long.

I resist the urge to frown.

'Did she really mean that? No hidden meaning or intentions?'

I reach my seat and sit down calmly.

I believe in myself and my potential. That's a given. But someone else believing in me… is unfamiliar and uncomfortable.

I close my eyes and try to push the thought aside as the next person steps up to announce their hero name.

'Her words were nothing special.' I reason.

Given all the power I've shown, it's only natural she believes my words.

'If I were weaker, no one would have believed me.' The thought lingers for a few seconds before I sigh.

'Yeah… I'm probably overthinking it.'

People care only as long as you're useful. Their loyalty ends where the benefits stop.

The warmth in my chest vanishes, snuffed out like a dying ember. Its absence makes me aware of the cold, hollow space it left behind.

'I shouldn't mistake concern about my usefulness and value as a hero for concern about me.'

It's happened before. I could be cast aside and abandoned the moment I'm no longer an asset.

I glance around the class—at the friends I've made over the past few weeks.

'Would they be any different?'

Logically, I know they would. They're kind people. Aspiring heroes… most of them.

'But… I'm neither a real hero, nor am I good.'

I'm a lot of things they aren't. 'What would happen if they ever figured that out? Would they hate me? Try to fix me? Or... accept me?'

The thought almost makes me laugh, but I hold it back.

'It's alright. Things are fine as they are now.'

I shouldn't hope for something as unrealistic as being accepted for who I am. Our mindsets and beliefs are too different for that. Especially with what I plan to do.

With a final exhale, my thoughts quiet, as my emotions are buried beneath reason.

After class, Aizawa informed us that the internships would start in a week. Those with too many offers would receive personalized lists, while everyone could choose from 40 agencies across Japan regardless of their offers.

I skim through my list, noting several well-known agencies. 'Those won't work.'

If the agency is too big, sidekicks will constantly monitor me, limiting my freedom.

'Smaller agencies are out of the picture too.'

Choosing a small agency wouldn't make sense for someone with my abilities, and certain people—namely Nezu—would find it incredibly suspicious.

Then, my eyes land on a particular name—

'Mirko? I didn't expect her.'

She's the perfect choice. No agency. No sidekicks. I'd have plenty of time to myself. And given her personality, she probably sent this offer to fight me rather than train me.

'I'll just beat her so badly she'll need time to recover, then use that free time to finish my plans.'

Without hesitation, I fill out the form, listing Mirko as my top choice. Just in case, I add Ryukyu's agency as a backup.

As soon as I'm done, I'm approached by five people—Mina, Momo, Kirishima, Kaminari, and Sero.

"Hey, Class Pres! Which hero agency are you gonna choose?" Mina asks excitedly. "You had the most offers, so it must've been tough to decide, right?"

"Yeah, man! You probably got offers from the top pros. That's a dream come true for most!" Kirishima adds.

Momo, Kaminari, and Sero nod in agreement.

"I chose Mirko as my top option and Ryukyu as my second."

There's a moment of silence. Then, several heads turn in surprise—including the ones who were eavesdropping.

Momo tilts her head, confused. "As far as I know, Mirko never takes interns or sidekicks."

Kaminari and Sero, however, are far more enthusiastic.

"Wow. You got picked by the top female pro hero? Lucky you, man. She's so hot," Kaminari grins.

Mina and Momo shoot him identical looks of disgust.

Kirishima, meanwhile, is laser-focused on something else entirely. "That's awesome, dude! She's super strong and badass. You're definitely gonna see some insane fights!"

The discussion continues as I inquire about their agency choices. The only major change was Momo. Because she did well in the festival, she received an offer from Best Jeanist.

'Which is much better than Uwabami and getting turned into a model.' I note.

We seperate after some chatting. Momo and I stay behind after class to help Aizawa organize the internship forms and afterwards, I'm called to Nezu's office.

Thankfully, this time, it's nothing serious.

He informs me that Toga's situation has been resolved. They gathered enough evidence of child abuse and neglect—her complete lack of medical records, her quirk evaluation never having been done, and, most damning of all, her parents' own confessions.

Apparently, they argued she was a demon, which would've made sense given she attacked a classmate... until they went into detail about their noble attempts to fix her.

'They really thought their behavior was justified and that we'd agree with them.' I don't dwell on it, but I hoped they'd experience immense suffering.

'I'd ensure it happens, but it's not my place to do so.' I sigh internally.

Of course, when Nezu questioned me about Toga's whereabouts, so she could get the news, I denied knowing anything.

Even if she's innocent now, it's better not to be known to have sheltered a criminal.

I then left Nezu's office, thinking about what to do next.

'She'll probably have to go to the police station, get psychologically evaluated, and then be monitored for a while.' I sigh.

But at least she's not a wanted criminal anymore. It will be treated as her having lost control of her quirk, and her parents will face multiple counts of child abuse and neglect.

'Either way, she's free now...so long as she follows the law.'

Just as that thought settles, I sense someone abruptly change direction and rush toward me.

'Was my day too peaceful or something?'

(Nejire POV – U.A. hallway, Evening)

'Oh, that's him!'

I pause mid-step, tilting my head.

'Kata.'

The guy who won the Sports Festival. I didn't watch the whole thing since I was busy, but I saw recordings of some of the important fights. His quirk is strong, and he fights really efficiently, like he's always five steps ahead. But more than that—he's just so weird.

'Not bad weird. Just different.'

Most people, when they fight, they react. They show emotion or effort, get angry, excited, scared or something. But him? He does it clinically. He barely expressed any emotion.

'Even when he won, he didn't celebrate. He didn't even look happy.' What else could he be, if not weird?

I step closer without thinking, falling into pace alongside him.

He doesn't react much, as though unsurprised by my sudden appearance. He calmly looks at me, as though questioning my purpose.

His expression is exactly the same as it was in the tournament. Neutral and devoid of emotion.

'Fascinating.'

"Hey! You're Kata, right?" I ask, stepping right into his personal space. "You won the first year Sports Festival! That's super cool! I watched recordings of your matches. How'd you do all that?!" I ask excitedly.

He pauses for a second, watching me intently. "Yeah... I'm Kata. You're Nejire Hado, right?" He asks, and I nod my head

"Yep, that's me!" I say with a smile.

"Thank you for watching my matches, and congrats on getting 2nd in the sports festival." He pauses. "But I wonder what business one of the Big Three has with me?" He says, his voice sounding as plain as always.

"Thanks! I just happened to pass by and was curious about you."

I tap my chin, moving on. "Also, your voice is so bland. It's like you're bored when you're talking. Is that just how you are? Or do you really not like talking? Oh! And your face! It's been expressionless the whole time! Are you always like this?" I ask, genuinely curious.

'Oops.' I gasp internally. 'I probably sounded rude. Will he get mad?' I wonder nervously.

But his expression remains the same. "I don't see a reason to overreact to things," he says.

'I guess not?' I think and continue.

I hum, circling around him a little as I keep thinking.

"Hmm, but people usually react naturally, right? So if you don't, does that mean you learned not to?"

I stop, looking up at him. He remains unfazed.

'He's really hard to read!' I think, ready to take on this challenge.

Then my eyes trail lower, falling onto his neck, and eventually his hands, and I frown.

"Oh, you have scars and burns," I say, staring without thinking. "A lot of them." They're barely visible since the uniform covers most of his body, but I can tell the injuries must've been quite serious.

My curiosity spikes. Where did he get them? Training? A fight? 'No, the way they're shaped and distributed is more like—'

"Do you find them unpleasant?" He tilts his head and asks simply. But from his look, it feels like he's analysing my reaction.

Oh.

'…Oops.'

I might've asked something I shouldn't have.

'But now that I see them, I can't not ask. Because scars tell stories, right? So what's his story?'

I shake my head. "No. I was just curious. You don't have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable." I say, my energy slightly dimmed.

He doesn't answer immediately. Just looks at me for a second.

"I was a bad child when I was younger. I kept getting into trouble and by the time I learned better, it was too late. These scars are the result." He says in the same monotone voice.

Maybe it's just my imagination, but his voice sounded distant. As though the words weren't addressed to me.

He doesn't say more and descends into silence. Which probably means he doesn't want to talk about them anymore.

'I really want to know the story behind them...But! I do know when to back off' ...Most of the time.

So instead, I tilt my head and ask, "Does it bother you? When people see them?"

"No," he replies immediately. Way Too quickly.

'Liar.'

I grin. "Okay! Then you won't mind if I keep staring, right?"

His lips twitch slightly, but he says nothing.

'Oh, that's fun.' Seeing him react to something is more fulfilling than I expected.

I giggle. "Anyway! I don't get you at all," I declare. "You don't act like a normal high schooler. You don't react like one, either. Even now, you're so calm, but I don't think you're actually calm."

I tap my chin. "Hmm. Do you think emotions are a weakness?"

"Not a weakness. There's just no point in freely advertising my feelings and letting them dictate your actions. You can avoid a lot of trouble that way."

'Why would he link showing emotions to trouble?' I start to link things together... but it's bad to make assumptions.

I squint at him. "But you don't let yourself express any of them!"

"I do. You just haven't had the chance to see it."

'Oho! So that's how it is?'

"Alright then!" I beam. "I'll look forward to that day."

He doesn't respond, which I half-expected.

'Time for a topic change!'

"Oh! That's right!" I light up. "My Quirk is super cool! You should totally ask me about it!"

"…You're asking me to ask you a question?"

"Yep!"

"…Why?"

"Because I love answering them, duh!"

He just stares at me.

Then, finally, he exhales. "…What's your Quirk?"

"Wave Motion!" I spin slightly, floating a few inches off the ground just to show off. "I can convert my stamina into energy and shoot it in spirals! And I can fly, too! But it's super exhausting. What about yours?"

"Is that what you were after?"

I giggle. "I have no idea what you mean."

He probably doesn't buy it, but answers anyway. "It's Telekinesis. I can move things without touching them."

I narrow my eyes, a smile on my lips. "That's really cool. But you can do more than that, right? I saw all the stuff you pulled in the tournament. Making plasma and those gauntlets. How'd you do that?"

"…You ask a lot of questions."

I smile brightly. "And you answer them! Most people usually ignore me after a while, but you haven't."

He shrugs. "I like your energy, so I wasn't too bothered."

'Oh wow! I didn't expect that.'

"Well, I'm definitely gonna talk to you again," I decide. "I have way more questions, but I'll save them for next time! It's getting quite late."

"…There will be a next time?"

"Obviously!" I grin. "You're interesting."

As I walk away, I wave back at him.

"I'll see you soon, Kata!"

'Yup. This is gonna be so much fun!'