Chapter 223 : Echoes, Respect, and New Rules of the Game

The silence that followed the Hero Team's victory in Ground Gamma was heavier than the defeat itself. After returning to the observation room and enduring a tense analysis session from the teachers, the students were finally given a lunch break. The usually bustling and cheerful U.A. cafeteria was now divided into two camps, observing each other in silence. On one side, the U.A. students celebrated their first victory, albeit with a slightly subdued tone out of pity for their rivals. On the other side, the Shiketsu students ate in a cold silence, the defeat a bitter pill to swallow.

Tatsumi found himself sitting at a table with Momo, Uraraka, and Iida, but his mind wasn't fully there. He kept glancing across the cafeteria, to a table in the darkest corner, where Mine sat alone. Her Shiketsu teammates had tried to talk to her, but she had rebuffed them all curtly. She just sat there, staring at her untouched food tray, her shoulders slumped slightly. It wasn't the posture of an arrogant rival, but of someone whose world had just been shattered.

The echo of the soul within Tatsumi ached to see her like that. It was an illogical reaction. His analytical mind told him this was the natural result of a competition; someone wins, someone loses. But his heart—the echo of the other Tatsumi's heart—felt a connection, a strange sense of responsibility. He was reminded of the Mine from his world, how behind her sharp attitude and cutting tongue, there was a fragility and insecurity she always tried to protect.

"I'll be right back," Tatsumi said softly, getting up from his chair.

"Tatsumi-kun, maybe that's not a good idea," Uraraka said worriedly. "She looks really angry."

"That's exactly why," Tatsumi replied, before walking across the cafeteria, ignoring the curious stares from other students.

He arrived at Mine's table and stood there silently for a moment. Mine didn't look up. "Go away," she hissed. "I don't need your pity."

Tatsumi pulled out a chair and sat across from her, an act that made Mine finally raise her head, her pink eyes red with anger and unshed tears.

"I'm not here to give you pity," Tatsumi said calmly, his voice sincere. "I'm here to say... that was a great shot. Incredibly powerful. If I didn't, somehow, know what was coming, I would have been obliterated along with half that building."

Mine stared at him in disbelief. "Know what was coming? What do you mean? You were looking down on me from the start! You were playing with me!"

Tatsumi sighed. This was the hard part. How could he explain a sensation that even he didn't understand? "I wasn't underestimating you. Quite the opposite," he said, choosing his words carefully. "When I saw you raise that rifle, when I felt the energy gathering around you... I felt a different level of danger. Greater than when I fought Todoroki at the Sports Festival. It felt... familiar, in a strange way. My instinct, not my mind, told me exactly what I had to do to survive. It wasn't a strategy. It was a pure reaction."

He looked directly into Mine's eyes. "I didn't see you as an arrogant rival. I saw you as a very serious threat. And I reacted accordingly. That shield wasn't a sign of my arrogance; it was a sign of my respect for your power."

Mine was silent. The explanation was so strange, so sincere, that it broke down her wall of anger, leaving her with confusion. This guy wasn't mocking her. He was complimenting her in the weirdest way she had ever heard.

"Next time," Tatsumi added before standing up. "Don't let your emotions control your shot. Your emotion is the fuel, not the driver. Aim it. Focus it. Then there won't be a shield in this world that can stop it."

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Mine alone with her chaotic thoughts. He didn't know if his words helped, but he felt he had to say them.

That afternoon, all the students were gathered again in the main briefing room. The atmosphere was a little more relaxed, but the competitive tension was still palpable.

Aizawa stepped up to the podium. "Your break is over," he said. "After analyzing the results from all of today's matches, the teachers from both schools agree that while your individual abilities are very high, teamwork, especially in mixed units, is far from satisfactory."

A few students from both schools looked a little ashamed.

"Therefore," Aizawa continued, "tomorrow's scenario will be specifically designed to test your ability to adapt and cooperate under an unusual command structure. Tomorrow's scenario is 'King of the Hill'."

A layout of Ground Beta—a larger, more diverse training area with a forest, a river, and an industrial zone—appeared on the main screen. A communication tower in the center was marked in red.

"Your objective is simple," Aizawa explained. "You will be divided into two large factions: Team Alpha and Team Bravo. The goal for each team is to capture and maintain control of that communication tower for fifteen uninterrupted minutes. The first team to do so is the winner. All-out combat is permitted, but using lethal force is, of course, forbidden."

The students began to whisper among themselves. This was going to be a large-scale battle.

"And to make this more interesting," Aizawa added, and a faint, creepy smile appeared on his face. "The teams will not be divided by school. To test your loyalty and your ability to adapt to an enemy's command, some of you will be 'exchanged'."

The room erupted in shocked murmurs.

The screen behind Aizawa displayed the team lists.

Team Alpha (Commander: Momo Yaoyorozu): Most of the Class 1-A students, including Todoroki, Iida, Uraraka, and Kirishima. Team Bravo (Commander: Inasa Yoarashi): Most of the Shiketsu students, including Seiji and Camie.

And then, at the bottom of the screen, under the title "Exchange Agents," two names appeared.

Assigned to Team Bravo (Shiketsu): TATSUMI (U.A.) Assigned to Team Alpha (U.A.): MINE (SHIKETSU)

It took a few moments for everyone to process the information. Then, chaos erupted.

"WHAAAAT?!" Bakugo roared, leaping from his seat. "WE HAVE TO FIGHT WITH THAT DAMN PINK PIGTAILS?! AND THAT DRAGON GUY IS FIGHTING FOR THEIR SIDE?! THIS IS A JOKE, RIGHT?!"

The other U.A. students looked at Tatsumi with expressions of disbelief and slight betrayal. They had to fight one of their strongest members.

On the other side, the Shiketsu students looked just as shocked. They had to cooperate with the U.A. student who had just defeated them.

Mine, who had returned to the briefing room, stared at the screen with wide eyes. She had to work with Bakugo and the others... to fight against Tatsumi. A slow, determined, predatory smile began to form on her face. This was her chance. A chance for revenge.

Tatsumi, in the middle of it all, remained calm. But inside, his mind was racing. This was a scenario he had never considered. He had to fight against his friends. He had to use his deep knowledge of their Quirks and strategies against them. And he had to do it while trying to earn the trust of a new team that clearly hated him or at least didn't trust him.

That night, as the students returned to their dorms to rest and plan their strategies, Tatsumi found himself invited to an emergency meeting by his new team. He entered a room filled with Shiketsu students. The atmosphere was very cold and awkward.

Inasa Yoarashi was the first to break the silence, bowing deeply. "ALTHOUGH I DO NOT LIKE THIS ARRANGEMENT, AS A HERO, I WILL ACCEPT YOU AS A TEAMMATE! I WILL FIGHT WITH THE SAME SPIRIT BY YOUR SIDE!"

Seiji Shishikura just snorted. "Hmph. So our victory now depends on a student from a rival school."

Tatsumi ignored the scorn. He walked straight to the table in the middle of the room, where the layout of Ground Beta was displayed. He looked at the new, doubtful faces around him.

"I'm not asking you to like me, or even to trust me," he said, his voice cold and analytical, leaving no room for emotion. "I'm only asking you to listen. I know every strength and every weakness of almost every Quirk in Class 1-A. I know how Bakugo thinks. I know the range of Todoroki's ice attacks. I know the limits of Uraraka's Zero Gravity."

He looked into the eyes of each Shiketsu student, one by one. "Give me tactical command, and I will give you victory. Refuse me, and we will all lose. The choice is simple."

A tense silence filled the room. The Shiketsu students looked at each other, surprised by this young man's cold confidence and authority.

To win, Tatsumi thought to himself as he waited for their answer. I have to betray everything my friends know about me. This game... just got a lot more complicated.