Same day,
Dinner
Luke chugged down a mouthful of meat, many of Class 1-B students eyeing him oddly.
Opposite him, Lemillion stuffed his mouth with food as well, his eyes never leaving Luke, as if they were competing.
"Here!" Aina refilled Luke's plate. "Eat more… Hehe!"
"… Th@nk tu!" Luke blurted while chewing. "Whre wrt ui tn ght vorng?"
"Oh, I was with another member of Wild, Wild Pussycats," Aina said, elegantly eating next to him. "Just taking some random snaps…"
Jaws dropped, disbelieving that she truly understood that.
"Man…" Kirishima, seated next to Midoriya, who was sitting to Luke's right himself, said, "… Pros are scary…"
"Snappy is not a Pro, though," Midoriya corrected. "She's only a third-year student at UA."
"Still…" Mina, seated opposite Midoriya and very close to Lemillion, added. "… She is already a Sidekick. All she needs to do is graduate, and she will be a Pro, no?"
Mina looked at Mirio, as if demanding an answer.
But the Pro was just too busy trying to keep up with Luke, already waving at Pixie-Bob to give him more food.
Mina pouted and was just about to push Mirio even more when Aizawa appeared behind her.
"Those who failed Final Exams," he said, looking at Mina, "must attend extra classes at night…"
Mina's eyes popped out. "No!" she gasped, throwing her arms around Mirio's arm. "I need Mirio's advice…"
A white strip of cloth wrapped around her and dragged her off the dinner table, Sero, Kirishima, Sato, and Kaminari following Erasure Head with downcast expressions.
When Mina's screams had faded, Luke looked at Midoriya, whose mouth was twitching.
Even before Luke opened his mouth, Deku understood what he was going to ask. "I was with Pro Hero Tiger," he explained. "He is training all Power types from 1-A and 1-B. I heard he also gave extra lessons to Uraraka and Toru in the evening."
Luke gulped. "… Yeah?" he commented. "Is he stronger than you?!"
Midoriya knew he was talking about the 15% Full Cowl. "Yeah," he nodded. "Much stronger. Well… I am a touch faster, but… I couldn't land one punch on him, and couldn't properly defend any of his attacks."
Luke nodded. "You do know that strength is not the only thing you need to work upon at the Training Camp, right?"
Midoriya was about to put another spoonful of food in his mouth when he heard Luke's offhanded comment and paused.
"… Yeah…" Deku mumbled after a while. "Yeah. I know."
"Also…" Luke said, leaning toward Deku's ear. "Be careful when you go out in the forest. A wild rabbit is roaming around, I heard."
"Huh?" Midoriya stared at him, puzzled.
Luke winked and mimicked a silly, evil-looking, wide grin, which made Mirio instantly throw up food and begin laughing.
However, Midoriya realized instantly who this wild rabbit Luke had talked about, as he had already met it.
No way… Deku thought, surprised, returning to dinner. Mirko's here?!
…
After dinner, near the main building, Momo sat on the stairs, eying the students from 1-A and 1-B as they arm-wrestled with each other.
Well. Not with each other, exactly.
On one side was Luke, who was yet to be defeated since the very first match.
Next to him, behind another table, was Mirio, giving all those who lost to Luke another chance.
A BANG resounded as Luke slammed Tetsutetsu's hand on the table, making splinters fly.
Tetsutetsu had the Steel Quirk that hardened his body, similar to Kirishima. Despite the hardening, not only did he lose to Luke first, but he also lost to Mirio a few seconds later.
Then, from the crowd of 1-B's tired and defeated students, Itsuka Kendo stepped up, her right hand bulging enormously as she used her Quirk — Big Fist.
She and Luke grinned at each other as she sat down opposite him.
Luke must have made a joke as Kendo, and others burst out with laughter in the next moment. Then, smiling, she grabbed Luke's hand with her hand that was thrice as big as his.
Momo frowned.
"Wasn't she your Internship partner?"
Momo's body shook as her head snapped to her right. "Don't spook me like that?" she said, sighing.
Kyoka Jiro sat down next to Momo and looked toward the crowd, too.
Unlike before, Luke's entire face had scrunched up as he struggled against Kendo, the size of her hand getting bigger and bigger.
Then, with a bang, the girl slammed Luke's hand on the table, winning the match.
Instantly, Mirio fell into the earth and disappeared, making all mouths twitch.
"What's going on?" Kyoka asked. "You have been acting… a little weird…"
Momo didn't try to hide her frown, her eyes never leaving Luke.
Kyoka's eyes widened. "No way!" she gasped. "Did you pro…"
"What?!" Momo's face went red. "NO!"
Kyoka sighed, shaking her head. Momo would never admit to how she truly felt about Luke, she knew. Especially now, when all the teachers were counting on them to work on their Quirks and prepare for the Provisional Hero License Exam next semester. Still…
"I am just saying," Kyoka said, trying to put it in another way. "If you cannot focus, then isn't it better to just talk to him…"
Momo glared at her, going red again.
"It's not that," she said after a while. "I… I must work upon myself. People are counting on me… on us. Not all of us grow at the same pace, and… I don't want to be left behind."
"Don't give me that bullshit."
Momo gaped at Kyoka. "… Wha…"
"Yeah," Kyoka scoffed. "Give that Hero speech to someone else. Now, tell me. What's going on?"
"…" Momo pouted at Kyoka for a while. Then, letting out a defeated grunt, she rubbed her face hurriedly. "I am having dreams…"
When she took her hands off, she found Kyoka gaping at her, her eyes wide, and her face as red as a cherry.
"Ew!" Momo elbowed her. "Not that! Jeez!"
Kyoka's mouth twitched. "… about Luke?"
Momo found it extremely hard to admit, but she nodded. "Not something specific… but… Argh… I don't know!"
Something stirred to their left.
As their heads snapped in that direction, they saw Kota, standing silently while looking at them.
"… And you two want to be Heroes…" he commented, walking away.
Then, after judging the two girls and leaving them dumbfounded, the boy disappeared into the forest.
********************
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