"Live from Morning Palate!" The TV Anchor roared. "Today's topic is — Is sexiness necessary for Hero Work?"
Luke, Rikuya, Aina, and Nyx sat on a long table, having their breakfast.
No one said anything or made any comment as Midnight and Mt. Lady arrived on the TV screen, representing the sexiness among the Hero Industry.
Rikuya's eyes kept shifting toward the TV Screen, though.
Something that Nyx would have never let go without passing a taunt, if she weren't feeling so tired.
One Plus Ultra had left her almost dead. Even after recovering from the frozen state, she continuously felt exhausted. It was like someone had tied heavy, metal chains to her legs and then dared her to fly above the clouds. Her Stamina was down by 50%, and it was rising extremely slowly.
One Quirk above Moderate Complexity any time soon, and she would have to say bye-bye to this life as well.
Suddenly, Rikuya tsked, seeing Midnight chiding Mt. Lady live on the TV.
That was the last straw.
Nyx couldn't keep it in anymore.
"… Have some shame," she cawed, looking at Rikuya. "She's of your mother's age. Not even old enough to be called a MILF."
Food splattered out of Luke and Aina's mouths as Rikuya's face went red in anger and shame.
"Nyx!" Luke gasped, gaping at her. "Can you not…"
"I am keeping an eye on TV because it's a lesson for all Heroes on how not to act in public," Rikuya countered, fuming. "Only your brain is so rotten that you can't think straight. Perhaps that's why they call idiots Birdbrains…"
Nyx's feathers twitched.
"And you know what they call morons who think they stand a chance with women twice their age?" she hissed, grinning. "… Virgins."
"I am gonna…"
"Come at me, you bastard…"
By the time Luke separated Nyx and Rikuya, Aina was picking her feathers off the breakfast table.
Rikuya fumed as he noticed tiny, bloody scratch marks on his face and hands.
Opposite him, between Luke and Aina, Nyx panted as if she had just flown around the earth.
"Look at you two…" Rikuya hissed. "Wherever you two go, a tragedy happens. But the real tragedy is that every time you, and this idiot, are out of the picture and others are praised all over the world…"
"Hey!" Aina snapped. "You leave Luke out of this. He acted like a real Hero should. Didn't you see him on TV? Everyone was shouting his name…"
Rikuya, Luke, and Nyx's lips twitched as they saw Aina's dreamy expression.
Around a week had already passed since they returned from the Hero Site Visit.
The incident from the I-Island had gone viral since then, with All Might, Midoriya, and Todoroki's faces trending all over social media platforms.
That hadn't surprised Luke.
What did surprise him was his father's reaction.
This Dr. Blessed is taking an odd liking to you, Mr. Reijirou Saionji had said with Sand by his side. After having a meeting with the Police and other Hero Agencies, we have decided to put you under surveillance. Now that he is an International Criminal, the sooner he's behind bars, the better it would be for society.
And that's how Luke learned the most bitter truth.
It hadn't been Conformity who had made Dr. Blessed an International Criminal and a Terrorist.
It was Reijirou Saionji — the Chairman of the Saionji Group — singlehandedly flaunting his influence across the world.
That's why Luke had decided to lie low until the Final Exams, despite Knuckleduster and Pop*Step contacting him daily.
Luke couldn't afford to even go to the secret lab using Descorrer.
Even now, his Spiritual Intuition was telling him that there were eyes on him.
"You have a Midterm today, right?" Aina asked, finishing her breakfast. "Good luck."
Luke nodded with a smile. "You were with father last weekend, no?" he asked suddenly. "Did you hear where they are shifting Dr. Samuel Abraham?"
Saionji Group didn't have the highest shares on I-Island, but it was still among the top five.
Dr. David Shield had already been confined to the Island for the rest of his life. But Sam was sentenced to jail time because of direct involvement with the criminals.
Aina furrowed her brows. "I did hear something… about an American Prison Facility…"
Luke nodded as if he had just asked about it casually.
Opposite him, Rikuya's eyes narrowed. "Oi, you nutcase…" he hissed. "You aren't thinking what I think you are thinking, right?"
"Huh?" Luke and Nyx looked up, both stunned.
Even Aina frowned at Rikuya, not getting his meaning.
Realizing that he had blurted out something he shouldn't have, Rikuya suddenly threw himself off the chair and walked off, grumbling under his breath.
"What was that about?" Aina asked.
Luke shrugged, returning to the steak.
…
"Okay, that's it for class," Erasure Head said after distributing the answer sheets. "There's only one week left until the final exams. You are studying properly, right? I know you all had a hard time during the Hero Site Visit, but you are aiming to be Pros. You can't let such stuff hold you back…
"I am sure you already know that it wouldn't be just a written exam. You have grown a lot since the last term. So, expect a tougher Practical Exam as well. Make sure you are mentally prepared. That's all."
As Aizawa walked out of the class, the entire classroom erupted.
Kaminari fell to his knees, holding his head, while Mina laughed hysterically.
There was just too little time left to prepare for the Final Exams. Because of the Hero Site Visit, many hadn't even studied well for these midterms as well.
It wasn't just the low scorers, though.
Even Midoriya, known to remain in the top 5 in the exams, had slumped to the double digits, but for an entirely different reason.
Luke stared at his 3rd rank, thinking of how to ditch the surveillance on him.
Suddenly, a hand landed on his shoulder, making Luke and Nyx look up.
It was Todoroki, eying him with a serious gaze. "… We need to talk."
*****************
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