Upon returning to his world, Tsutsumi's eyes slowly adjusted. Nothing had changed, the night air was still heavy, the streets untouched, as though only a few hours had passed. Yet he knew, entire months had been carved away from his life, each moment of that long journey now just a shadow only he could remember.
His hand tightened around the strange phone-like device that had appeared after he had obtained the powers of ten Heisei Riders. Its screen glimmered faintly, waiting for his attention, but he barely spared it a glance. Instead, his gaze drifted to the mirror across the room.
What stared back at him was the reflection of his true self, his final destiny, the Destroyer of Worlds, Decade.
"Onii-san…"
The soft call pulled him back. His eyes shifted toward Miyu. She stood there with a trembling smile, her worry written plainly across her face. She could see it, the emptiness, the weight crushing him, and it terrified her.
He opened his mouth, tried to comfort her, to say that he was fine, that she didn't need to worry. But the words snagged in his throat.
Instead, Miyu closed the space between them. Her small hands reached out and clasped his.
"It's okay…" she whispered, her voice steady despite the tears brimming in her eyes. "I'll be by your side."
Her warmth bled into him, fragile but real, a quiet defiance against the emptiness that threatened to consume him.
...
The written exam finally arrived, and Class 1-A was unusually quiet. Pens scratched against paper, and the tension in the air was thick enough to cut. Everyone was focused, faces tight with determination.
Even Tsutsumi, who usually found ways to mess around during tests, sat in silence this time. But it wasn't because he cared about the exam or its results. He was simply too emotionally drained to do anything else. His movements were mechanical, reading, answering, finishing. By the time a few of the class were only halfway through, he had already turned his paper in and walked out of the room without a word.
From the front of the class, Aizawa's eyes narrowed. The Problem Child was many things: loud, annoying, mischievous, but never listless. Yet today, he hadn't even tried to play games. Checking the paper only deepened Aizawa's frown as he took out his pen to grade the paper. A perfect 70 out of 100. Just enough to pass.
He knew Tsutsumi could ace it if he wanted. But the boy hadn't even tried to reach higher.
When the exam ended, the classroom erupted in groans. Students collapsed on their desks, drained, but there was still more ahead. The written test was only half the battle; next came the practical.
Unlike theory, this was the part they all looked forward to. Here, they would prove how much stronger they had grown since entering U.A. Excitement buzzed in the air… except around Tsutsumi.
"Hey, don't you think our class rep is acting a bit… off?" Hagakure's voice floated uncertainly, sneaking a glance at the purple-haired boy who stood staring blankly at the open sky.
"Now that you mention it, he does seem quieter than usual," Ashido added, frowning.
"Jiro-chan, is something wrong with him?" Uraraka asked, worry plain on her face.
Jiro shrugged helplessly. "Beats me. I asked, but he just said he's fine and needs space."
"Still, a quiet Tsutsumi-kun is… odd," Asui said bluntly. Her tone was flat, her words heavier than intended. "It feels like a funeral."
The honesty left an uncomfortable silence hanging in the air.
"Oi! Tsutsumi!" Bakugo broke it, his voice sharp and demanding. "What the hell's gotten into you, huh?"
"Nothing," Tsutsumi said simply.
"Nothing, my ass!" Bakugo barked, storming closer. "You're like a completely different person. What've you been doing when the rest of us were busting our asses studying, huh?"
"Like I said. Nothing." His tone was calm, flat, without its usual bite.
The simmering tension between them was cut off as Aizawa appeared at the front, calling for the class to gather. They all fell silent.
Then, with a sudden pop, Nezu poked his head out of Aizawa's scarf, smiling in his unnervingly cheerful way.
"Do you think you'll be fighting a 0-point robot?" he asked, voice singsong. "Wrong!" His eyes gleamed as he spread his arms. "You'll be fighting us, the teachers!"
As if on cue, figures stepped out one by one. Cementoss, Power Loader, Thirteen, Present Mic, Snipe, Midnight, and finally, All Might himself.
The class froze, mouths dropping open.
"…"
"Um, Sensei, what about the robot?" Yaoyorozu finally spoke, hesitant. She had gotten information from Kendo in 1-B, and this wasn't lining up.
Nezu tilted his head, all innocence. "When we considered your situation, we felt it would be far more useful for you to face people rather than mindless machines. After all, your enemies won't be robots."
No one argued. Deep down, they all knew he was right. U.A. was never simple, never safe. Their time here had been anything but peaceful. This was just the next step.
"You'll be divided into pairs," Nezu continued cheerfully. "Each group will face one of us."
The students swallowed hard. Complaining would be pointless. Their only option was to fight, and win.
"Now then," Nezu clapped his paws together. "Let's not waste time."
Team Sato & Kirishima vs. Cementoss
Team Asui & Tokoyami vs. Ectoplasm
Team Ida & Kaminari vs. Power Loader
Team Midoriya & Yaoyorozu vs. Eraser Head
Team Uraraka & Aoyama vs. Thirteen
Team Ojiro & Jiro vs. Present Mic
Team Hagakure & Shoji vs. Snipe
Team Mineta & Sero vs. Midnight
Team Todoroki & Bakugo vs. All Might
Team Ashido & Tsutsumi vs. Nezu
As the names were read aloud, the classroom shifted from nervous silence to murmurs of anticipation. Excitement, fear, and determination tangled together in the air.
But Tsutsumi remained still, unreadable, eyes distant. Even paired with Ashido, who glanced at him with concern, he showed nothing.
The practical exam began. Teams moved to their assigned zones, nerves and adrenaline buzzing under skin.
Sato and Kirishima went first and fell fast. The two muscleheads charged Cementoss with nothing but momentum and bravado. Cementoss's Quirk shaped concrete into hard walls and traps; the pair smashed into barriers and were buried under hardened cement before their raw strength could do anything but slow the inevitable. Their muscles strained uselessly beneath the weight.
Asui and Tokoyami did better tactically, but still failed. They worked well, shadow and tongue coordinating to trip Ectoplasm's clones, but they only managed to clasp one cuff on the teacher's ankle while ending up captured.
Normally, that might count, but because of Tsutsumi, the difficulty was increased: a cuff had to actually immobilize or fully capture the teacher, or the team had to escape within thirty minutes. A dangling cuff on an ankle wasn't a victory.
Ida and Kaminari's match with Power Loader went sideways, too. Ida's Reciproburst shoved them forward, but Power Loader dug open a large pit the size of a room, and they fell in.
The terrain favored the robot-teacher; Kaminari's lightning was absorbed by its built-in lightning rod and redirected. Ida's speed got them temporary space, but not escape, leading to their capture.
This failure caused Ida to grow more resentful toward Tsutsumi.
After Tsutsumi beat him up and sent him to the hospital, his parent were originally angry with Tsutsumi, but after hearing the full story, Ida was the only one getting a long lecture on how disappointed they were with him.
Stubborn and bruised, Ida swore to prove Tsutsumi wrong by showing him that he can become a great hero.
"This is all his fault… Everything is Decade's fault." he murmured, fist clenching with rage and helplessness.
Midoriya and Yaoyorozu suffered next. Both relied on Quirk support over raw combat experience.
Aizawa loomed, scarf ready, having Yaoyorozu snared and suspended as he addressed Midoriya: "What are you gonna do now, when your teammate is captured and your Quirk erased?" The question landed like a blade.
"I-I will fight!" Midoriya shouted, charging Aizawa with a punch.
Aizawa: "..."
Isn't the more logical decision to retreat, wait for an opening, free Yaoyorozu, and work together to take him down?
Of course, when it comes to Midoriya, who idolized All Might, he believed heroes do not retreat. Like how All Might never runs away from danger. So after receiving his Quirk, One for All. Midoriya has dedicated himself to being a hero like All Might, showing the world that he is here and he can save everyone.
It is this mindset of trying to replicate his idol that is holding Midoriya back; even now, he still views One for All as All Might's Quirk, so he should use it similarly to how All Might would use it.
Normally, Midoriya would use his brain a bit more to think of a way, but after failing over and over again to show All Might that he didn't make a mistake in choosing him as his successor, Midoriya has grown desperate.
So he tried to replicate his idol's bravery, roaring toward Aizawa with clenched fists and a desperate cry of "Smash!" thinking that with All Might's Quirk, it would somehow overpower Aizawa's and activate.
Of course, this was only hopeful thinking. One for All didn't reactivate to help him pull an epic comeback. Without One For All, his blows were child-sized against a grown man.
Disappointed for putting his hope up, Aizawa swiftly captures Midoriya and ends the test.
Aizawa glanced at the defeated pair, and a private thought flickered through him, maybe Tsutsumi's brutal methods would have taught Midoriya something practical, like how to block and throw a punch. He allowed the thought to pass without voice, watching his students slump.
Uraraka and Aoyama were against Thirteen, with both of them lacking proper combat experience and a method to deal with Thirteen; they were both captured and failed their test.
Ojiro and Jiro's test actually finished with both of them passing. Thanks to the training Jiro received from Edgeshot, she was able to move around fast and undetected by Present Mic while Ojiro became the distraction.
This led to her getting the jump on him, a precise throat strike that neutralized the teacher's Quirk, which ended with the blonde English teacher being captured.
Hagakure and Shoji managed to pass their test, with Shoji being the bait, and Hagakure, using her invisibility, managed to place the handcuff on both her hand and Snipe, signaling a successful capture.
Mineta and Sero's team did not end so great, with Midnight now taking this test seriously and not fooling around, leading to another failure.
While inside Tsutsumi and Ashido's designated test zone, chaos unfolded in every corner. Ashido sprinted wildly, her pink hair flashing as she dodged collapsing pipes and tumbling debris.
Nezu, perched comfortably with his usual mischievous grin, manipulated a massive wrecking ball that smashed through buildings, generators, and anything unfortunate enough to be in its path. Each swing set off a chain reaction of destruction, forcing Ashido to keep running for her life.
"You're not going to help your teammate?" Nezu asked lightly, though his whiskers twitched when he felt the sharp edge of a fang blade press against the fur of his neck.
Using Invisible to slip away, and by the time Nezu had figured out where he went, the student already had him hostage.
"I'm just waiting to see how she handles it," Tsutsumi said evenly, eyes following Ashido's frantic movements below. "I won't always be there to drag my classmates out of tough spots."
Nezu chuckled, unfazed by the blade at his throat. "Well, aren't you a bit pessimistic?" he teased, still gleefully guiding the wrecking ball to cause more chaos.
"Maybe," Tsutsumi admitted, his tone calm but firm. "But honestly? I'd rather my classmates get hurt learning here than get killed later by villains who actually mean it." With that, he drew the fang blade back and pulled out the handcuff.
Nezu's beady eyes twinkled. "Ah, so we do share a little common ground," he said, still enjoying himself as the destruction continued.
Tsutsumi frowned at the cuff, too large for Nezu's tiny wrist. With a shrug, he clipped it around the principal's neck instead, holding it like a leash.
Nezu: "…"
A beat later, he sighed, taking off the cuff. "No wonder Aizawa always complains about you."
The match technically ended the moment Tsutsumi cuffed him, but since the boy seemed content to let him keep playing with Ashido, Nezu happily carried on. The wrecking ball smashed through another structure, rubble crashing down as chaos reigned in the zone.
And in Bakugo and Todoroki's test arena.
Both boys stared down All Might, the idol looming before them, cast now in the role of a villain. When his massive foot slammed into the earth, the impact tore a shallow crater beneath it and sent a concussive pulse through the air; dust whipped outward in a ring, and the hairs on their arms stood on end as the sound hit like a drumbeat.
"If you think this is a simple exam, you'll be sorry. I am a villain, heroes." All Might said dramatically, his blue eyes glowing brightly as he stared down the two boys.
Bakugo pulled his hand close to his chest, fist clenching tight. "I'll let my passion burn, and crush you!"
Todoroki calmly spread his arms out. "You're going to be a sacrifice for the greater good."
All Might swallowed his amusement; even he couldn't hide a flash of approval.