{Fixed that mistake back in chapter 10. Sorry for the confusion.}
U.A. had a way of feeling different every morning. Despite the sleek hallways and reinforced windows, there was a subtle energy in the air — the hum of potential, of ambition thickening like dew on glass.
Takuma Itsuno stepped into Class 1-A's homeroom with his usual silent grace. He moved past early-arriving students without much fuss, heading for his desk near the window. The seat behind him was unoccupied, and for a moment, he let his gaze drift outside. The trees swayed under the rising sun, golden light filtering through leaves like shimmering ash.
He reached for his notebook, flipping to a clean page. Today, he'd study again. Not just Quirks — people.
Voices filled the room gradually. Laughter. Groans. The squeak of chairs. He noted them all in passing. Kaminari slumped over his desk with a sigh, muttering about how his brain still felt like scrambled eggs. The tape-armed boy — Sero, he'd learned — flicked a roll of tape between his fingers with practiced ease. Lida was organizing his books again with military precision.
Then a quiet voice beside him.
"…You're always writing something. Is it notes?"
Takuma turned his head slightly. The girl with the short, dark purple hair stood a little stiffly beside him. Earphone jacks hung from her earlobes, twitching slightly as if reacting to her heartbeat.
"Kyouka Jirou," he recalled quietly. "You sit behind me."
"Yeah," she said, a little caught off guard. "I guess I do."
A pause.
"I take notes," Takuma replied eventually, holding the notebook up slightly. "Patterns. Weaknesses. Strengths."
"Sounds intense."
"It is."
She smiled a little at that, amused. "You ever listen to music while you write? Helps me think sometimes."
"…Not really."
Jirou hesitated, then pulled out one of her jacks. "Wanna try?"
He blinked, surprised by the offer. Most people didn't approach him, let alone casually offer a connection like that. Slowly, Takuma reached out and took the other jack. As it plugged gently into his ear, low, rhythmic bass rolled through his senses — a haunting, instrumental guitar riff. No lyrics. Just sound.
It was… grounding.
He didn't smile. But he did glance at her and give a faint nod.
They sat like that for a few minutes, the rest of the room blurring into background noise. For once, Takuma didn't feel like an observer outside the system. He was part of it. However briefly.
Then came the thunder.
The door burst open with theatrical flair.
"I AM HERE...TO EDUCATE!"
All Might's booming voice filled the room as he strode in with a gleam in his eye, his golden locks gleaming as brightly as ever. A few students sat up straighter. Others flinched.
"And walking through the door like a normal person!" He beamed at the class. "Good morning, my young heroes! Today we'll be testing your ability to use your Quirks in combat!"
A large screen lit up behind him with a roster list.
"You will all be divided into teams of two — one team playing the villains defending a 'nuclear weapon,' and the other as heroes trying to stop them. You'll be judged on teamwork, creativity, and how well you apply your Quirks in the heat of battle!"
Takuma scanned the board as names flicked across the screen, pairing students randomly.
Midoriya vs Bakugo — An explosive pairing. He didn't envy either of them. He could just smell an ugly past somewhere in there.
His own name appeared alongside a broad-shouldered boy with multiple limbs and a mask over his mouth.
Team D: Takuma Itsuno and Mezo Shoji.
A calm pairing, perhaps. Shoji's quiet demeanor reminded him of his own. The potential for coordination was high.
But Takuma wasn't focused on that just yet. He watched the first few matches intently, eyes narrowed as teammates tried to find rhythm in the chaos of mock battle. Some succeeded. Some tripped over each other, their strategies unraveling under pressure.
Kaminari, partnered with Mineta — a disastrous combination — short-circuited too soon and slumped against a wall with a dopey grin. Jirou, paired with Momo Yaoyorozu, had fared much better, using stealth and sound in tandem with Momo's rapidly generated tools.
Each bout became a case study.
He noted coordination patterns, body language tells, hesitation gaps. He tracked the effects of overuse, latency between Quirk activation and output, and signs of trust—or lack thereof—between partners. Every fight painted a clearer picture.
Midoriya's match came and went like a thunderstorm. Takuma didn't miss a thing: Bakugo's raw aggression, Izuku's reactive agility, and above all, the subtle restraint in Midoriya's use of power. Even when he landed a powerful blow, it was controlled. Careful. Too careful, like someone walking a tightrope in a hurricane.
Takuma's pen danced across the page. The cracks were showing. He just didn't know what was beneath them yet.
"All right!" All Might's voice cut through the air once again. "Next match — Team D, you're up! Takuma Itsuno and Mezo Shoji, please report to the training floor!"
Takuma stood with a practiced calm, closing his notebook.
Jirou caught his eye as he passed.
"Try not to be too cool out there," she said, a small smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth.
He blinked — and then, just barely, the corner of his lips twitched upward in return.
And then he was gone, stepping out into the faux battlefield, where silence waited to be broken.