The doors to the monitor room slid open once again.
All Might stepped inside first.
Ren followed close behind.
The class turned immediately—some still shaken, some excited, some unable to process what they had just witnessed.
Bakugo stood stiff near the back, fists clenched, head lowered.
His expression was a tangled mess of shock, anger, disbelief.
That power…
That punch…
Midoriya Izuku had done that.
Uraraka, meanwhile, looked pale, one hand pressed against her mouth. Her knees trembled slightly—she'd pushed her Quirk far past her comfort zone.
All Might clapped his hands once, drawing everyone's attention.
"Alright! Excellent effort from everyone!" he boomed.
Then—unexpectedly—
"The best performer in this challenge," All Might continued, "was Iida Tenya."
Silence.
"What?" Iida blurted out, stiffening so hard he nearly saluted.
Several students exchanged confused looks.
Tsuyu tilted her head. "But… didn't Ochaco and Midoriya win?"
"Mmm! That's correct," All Might replied, nodding. "They achieved victory."
He crossed his arms.
"But then—why do you think I say this?"
No one answered.
Then—
"Because only Iida respected his role."
Ren spoke calmly, not even raising his hand.
Everyone turned to him.
"Midoriya and Uraraka used attacks that were far too risky," Ren continued evenly. "They both acted in ways that could've triggered the bomb."
Uraraka swallowed.
Ren went on, his voice sharp but controlled.
"Bakugo blatantly used a wide-range attack in a confined space—an idiotic decision that disregarded any form of tactical thinking."
Bakugo's shoulders twitched.
"And on top of that," Ren added, "he failed as a villain. Villains who hide don't cause massive destruction that would immediately draw hero attention in real situations."
Ren glanced briefly at Iida.
"Iida is the only one who fully upheld his assigned role."
The room was silent.
Then—
"YES! Exactly!" All Might laughed loudly. "That's it, young Ren!"
He turned to Iida and gave him a huge thumbs-up.
"Excellent work, Iida! You maintained discipline, positioning, and objective focus!"
Iida's eyes sparkled.
"T-T-Thank you very much!!" he said, nearly vibrating with pride.
Bakugo grit his teeth.
All Might clapped again.
"Now then!" he announced cheerfully. "On to the next challenge!"
He lifted the two boxes marked HEROES and VILLAINS, shook them dramatically, and drew two balls.
"Heroes: Team B! Yaoyorozu and Ren!"
Momo blinked.
Ren didn't react.
"And villains: Team J! Kirishima and Sero!"
Kirishima and Sero looked at each other.
Then slowly…
They looked at Ren.
The memory of Ren's instability—the crackling lightning, the cold gaze, the hospital incident—lingered heavily.
"…Man," Sero muttered under his breath. "That's rough."
Kirishima swallowed but forced a grin. "W-Well… gotta man up, right?"
All Might gestured toward the exercise building.
"Heroes, villains—move out!"
The two teams separated.
At the entrance to the mock building, Momo and Ren stood side by side, facing Kirishima and Sero as they prepared to enter.
The air was tense.
Then—
Ren stepped forward.
He placed a hand on Kirishima's shoulder.
"Good luck, guys."
Kirishima blinked. "Huh?"
Sero tilted his head. "Uh… thanks?"
Ren stepped back beside Momo, expression unreadable.
Kirishima and Sero exchanged confused looks before heading inside.
...
The interior of the mock building was quiet.
Too quiet.
Ren and Momo walked side by side down a narrow hallway, their footsteps echoing faintly off the walls. The silence between them was… awkward—thick with unspoken words.
"Hey, Momo…" Ren finally started.
Momo, who had been replaying his unfinished sentence from earlier over and over in her mind, snapped out of her thoughts.
"W-What?" she asked—
And then—
She gasped.
A strong arm wrapped around her waist as she was suddenly lifted off the ground.
"R-Ren?!"
Before she could process it, Ren had jumped upward, one hand gripping her firmly while the other stuck to the narrow hallway's ceiling. Long white streams of tape whizzed past beneath them, slicing through the space they had just occupied.
Momo's face turned completely red.
Ren's grip was firm—secure—but the closeness made her heart pound uncontrollably.
Below them, Sero clicked his tongue as he reeled the tape back in.
"Tch… didn't work," he muttered before vanishing deeper into the corridors.
Ren released the ceiling and landed lightly, setting Momo back on her feet and immediately letting go.
"You should be a bit more careful, Momo," he said calmly.
"Y-Yeah…" she replied, still flustered, cheeks warm.
Ren walked a few steps ahead.
Momo lingered behind—
Then clenched her fists.
"Ren!"
He turned around.
Her embarrassment was gone. Her expression was clear—resolved.
"What is it, Momo?"
She took a breath.
"What were you… about to say before?"
Ren scratched the back of his neck.
"Ah… right."
He met her eyes.
"Momo… I'm—"
CRASH!!
The wall in front of them exploded inward.
Debris flew everywhere as a hardened figure burst through—
Kirishima, arms crossed in an X-shape, his entire body coated in jagged stone-like armor.
"Since plan A didn't work," Kirishima shouted, "here's plan B!"
The impact slammed straight into Ren.
He was crushed into the rubble—
His shoulder twisted unnaturally.
His leg bent the wrong way.
Momo's eyebrow twitched.
…Interrupted again.
Kirishima looked down, panic immediately replacing his battle spirit.
"Oh crap! I exaggerated—are you okay, Ren?!" he blurted out, rushing forward.
Then—
Crack.
Ren's shoulder shifted back into place.
His leg straightened with a dull snap.
White light pulsed briefly across his body as he slowly stood up, dust falling from his clothes.
"That's not how a villain should behave," Ren said with a small smile.
"You know that."
Kirishima froze.
"Shit…" he muttered. "I knew you could heal, but… this much—"
"Ohi."
The voice was calm.
Too calm.
Kirishima turned.
Momo stood there, holding a fully formed rocket launcher, its barrel aimed directly at him.
His face went pale.
"I—I don't know if I can tank a rocket," he said nervously, backing away, "but I really don't wanna find out!"
He bolted.
Ren placed a hand on the launcher.
"Put this away," he said gently.
Momo hesitated—then nodded, the weapon dropping on the ground as she lowered her arms.
She looked at him with concern.
"Are you fine, Ren?"
"Yeah," he replied easily.
She studied him—no injuries. Not even bruises.
"…Ren," she asked softly, "what is your Quirk?"
He blinked.
"When we were kids, you called it Grip," she continued. "You said it just let you stick to surfaces. But now… you can heal, produce massive lightning, move at super speed, and your strength is incredible…"
Ren smiled faintly.
"My Quirk is called Energy."
Momo listened intently.
"I discovered it when my mother was in the hospital," Ren said quietly. "After the attack. She was about to die."
A shadow crossed his eyes.
"I healed her somehow. That's when I realized… my Quirk lets me generate pure energy—and manipulate it freely."
He lifted his hand slightly.
"Grip is just me connecting to surfaces with energy. When I was four, I saw a kid at a park with a similar quirk and when I tried to imitate him... I could do it. I thought that was all I had."
He chuckled softly.
"The lightning is electrical energy. My speed and strength are kinetic energy. Healing is… simply healing energy."
"Oh…" Momo whispered. It finally made sense.
Ren clenched his fist.
"And yet…" His teeth grit together. "Despite having all this power—"
Warm hands wrapped around his fist.
Ren froze.
Momo smiled gently.
"Ren… it's not your fault."
He looked at her.
Something warm spread through his chest.
She chuckled softly. "You're blushing."
Ren pulled his hand back quickly. "That's not true," he muttered.
Then, quieter—
"…I'm sorry. For how I treated you today."
Momo's face flushed.
And then—
"PLAN C! ALL-OUT ATTACK!"
Kirishima and Sero burst from a corner simultaneously.
Tape flew everywhere as Sero launched relentlessly, while Kirishima charged forward, fully hardened.
Ren and Momo exchanged a glance—
—and chuckled.
Momo instantly formed a stick of dynamite and hurled it at Kirishima.
"SHIT!" He skidded to a halt—but it was too late.
The dynamite touched him.
He squeezed his eyes shut—
Nothing happened.
"…Huh?" he opened them.
And in the next instant—
He was yanked backward.
Sero yelped as his own tape betrayed him—Ren had grabbed it with Grip and pulled with overwhelming force.
Sero lost balance.
In a blur of motion, Ren used the tape itself to wrap both villains together, binding them tightly before they could react.
Momo handed him the Capture Tape.
They secured both of them completely.
"Good work, Momo," Ren said.
She smiled.
Ren looked down at the trapped duo.
"Attacking head-on like that wasn't the best idea," he remarked calmly.
Kirishima sighed.
"…Yeah."
Then—
"TEAM HERO—WIN!!"
All Might's voice boomed through the transceivers.
To be continued...
***
***
How was this chapter? Liked it?
Also, I decided to remove harem entirely. It doesn't suit MHA's society at all.