BNHA: I am Reiji Toga

The stadium resounded with every announcement, every burst of collective emotion. From his seat halfway down the sideline, Reiji kept his hood down and his body leaning slightly forward, as if his attention was completely focused on the event… though that wasn't the case. Or at least not entirely.

The shouts, the lights, and the tense commentators echoed as the second event of the sports festival began to unfold. It was a team race, a track divided into themed segments: speed, obstacles, defense, cooperative maneuvering. Some sections were covered by removable roofs or artificial effects, like rain or fog, to simulate adverse conditions.

Himiko already seemed to have her team formed, impressively. Her team consisted of herself, a girl with a momentary duplication Quirk, and a boy with a controlled muscle expansion ability. And finally, the icing on the cake, one of the revelations from the previous event, Nejire Hado.

Reiji was a bit surprised by that. Besides, the two of them seemed to get along quite well, from what he could tell from the stands, so Reiji decided to ask her about her relationship with Nejire later.

On the main screen, fragments of the first test were replayed: an obstacle course over 150 meters high, divided into sections with moving platforms, collapsible structures, gravity-altering walls, and areas of illusory fog. The average test: adaptability, speed, logic.

Himiko had climbed with a mix of strategy and ferocity. He hadn't seen her train so seriously in a while. And it wasn't a coincidence. He knew: it wasn't just because of the festival. Himiko wanted more. Although what that more was specifically, not even Reiji knew very well before seeing the interaction with Nejire. Becoming a hero was probably her goal.

'Things have changed quite a bit, from being a villain with a murderous intent.' To become a hero, even when her Quirk requires blood...'

Speaking of her Quirk, she had already used it a couple of times during the test. Mei had specially built her a bag that could hold a vial of fresh blood containing the blood of people Himiko deemed necessary, including Reiji's own, although she hadn't used it yet...

On the other hand, Nejire Hado had also stood out. Her use of spiral waves to traverse unsupported areas had been brilliant. There was something magnetic about her style: chaotic but effective, cheerful but lethal. She was beginning to establish herself as a great aspiring hero due to her demonstrated versatility.

Other notable figures were Mirio and Tamaki, along with many others from the hero class. Himiko came in twenty-fourth, while the maximum was forty-eight.

"Hmm, excuse me. Are you busy?"

She turned only slightly. A boy with tousled green hair and green eyes with an expression that mixed nervousness with... determination.

Izuku Midoriya appeared right next to him out of nowhere. His body looked a little more toned than last time, his hands showed signs of constant training... Though clearly not recent, his posture had changed, and the tinge of confidence in his voice couldn't be denied.

"You are... The boy from the alley," Reiji said, his eyes narrowed. He clearly knew who he was, but he'd already learned to feign dementia in front of many people; with Izuku, it wouldn't be any different.

"My damn line... It hits your ideals right, doesn't it, Izuku?" He thought with an internal sigh. Seeing his change, he understood why he hadn't been there the day Bakugo was almost eliminated from the equation.

Reiji gestured for him to take a seat; there was no one next to him, so it didn't matter.

Izuku nodded slightly, with a shy smile.

"Yes... I wanted to thank you," he said sincerely.

Reiji glanced at him. His expression was charged with a difficult mix: genuine interest and silent discomfort.

"Thank you for what?"

"For that day. It wasn't just what you did..." Izuku clenched his fists on his knees. "It was what you said. It made me think. It made me want to... change."

"I know that more than anyone..."

Reiji kept his eyes fixed on the track, where Himiko and her team were preparing for the final stretch of the second test. The stretch of pure speed and team maneuvers, with moving platforms that separated, demanding pinpoint synchronization to avoid falling.

"I didn't think you'd take it so seriously," he muttered almost to himself as to the green-haired man next to him.

Izuku lowered his head with a small, nervous laugh.

"Me neither. But... it was that, or continue as before. And I couldn't. Not after everything I understood that day."

"And what did you understand?" Reiji asked.

"If I wanted to change the world... I had to change myself first."

Reiji let out a slow exhalation. He struggled to connect those words with the trembling boy in the alley. The one who cowered under insults. The one who clutched a notebook as if it were all he had. The one who hadn't yet met All Might and given him hope to be a hero.

But it didn't matter. All Might might not have seen him yet, or interacted with him. However, the ideals were still there, as strong as the original story. The only difference was that his training had happened before, which makes him much more suitable for the OFA... At least, that's what Reiji wanted to think.

Since he had changed Izuku once, he could perfectly well do it again. This boy, even if he didn't ultimately inherit the OFA. He had incredible potential; his research material on almost all the heroes alone made him an invaluable tool, an analytical ability to identify the strengths and weaknesses of Quirks, with possible improvements through specific changes... A benefit Reiji wouldn't pass up, since his original plan was to befriend him after he obtained the OFA... Given the current circumstances, that's not possible.

"What's your name?" he asked, with measured neutrality.

Izuku blinked, surprised by the obviousness of the question, but he wasn't offended.

"Izuku. Izuku Midoriya."

"Reiji Toga, although I think there have been a lot of people who know me lately..." He said somewhat wearily.

"Yeah... You saved a friend that day, Kaachan... Well, Katsuki Bakugo is actually his name."

"Was that boy from your middle school?"

Izuku nodded with a slight, nervous smile.

"Yeah... well, something like that. We were in the same elementary and middle school. We weren't exactly... friends, though." He gripped the edge of his seat with his fingers. "But we grew up together, and... I'm glad you saved him."

Reiji watched him out of the corner of his eye, not giving much away.

On the track, Himiko was handing over the baton to Nejire. The two exchanged a quick, sincere, and energetic smile before the girl with flowing hair shot off in a blue explosion.

"She... Is she your sister?" I asked after connecting a few dots, mainly because of their last name.

"Exactly," he said simply. He had come to see her directly and would later throw it in her face if she took her eyes off him...

"She's good... Although her Quirk is impractical for this style of testing, she performs too well in this environment, fast and flexible." Izuku began his analysis automatically, but Reiji wasn't bothered. Maybe Isuzu could come up with a much more practical way for her to unleash her abilities with her Quirk, or who knows, maybe even make it evolve ahead of time.

The ability to look like someone else down to the smallest detail was pretty cool, but... copying her Quirk? That was another level! Since Himiko wanted to start strengthening herself, she'd also make sure she could unleash her full potential.

He couldn't always be protecting her, and given all the attention she was receiving now, when the canon events hadn't even begun, he had no choice but to strengthen her for what was to come.

"Her Quirk is complex; she can transform into anyone, but to do so, she needs a taste of their blood; that makes her look bad. But naturally, she's very good at hand-to-hand combat," Reiji added, prompting the green-haired man to nod.

"That explains the way she moves... She's used to thinking like someone else. Imitating styles, right? It makes sense that she's so adaptable."

Reiji tilted his head, impressed. He didn't underestimate him, but every word Midoriya spoke confirmed that the boy saw more than just the surface. He didn't just stop at what he saw: he took it apart, processed it... and pieced it back together better.

"Exactly," he said in a calmer tone. "Although she still has a couple of transformations left in her tubes, she decided to save it for later. She has the confidence to reach the final phase on her own."

Izuku nodded slowly, processing each word as if they were pieces of a puzzle he'd already begun to put together mentally.

"That takes a lot of conviction. And self-control... if you have something so valuable and choose not to use it yet, it's because you know what you want to prove."

"Yes, although sometimes that conviction can work against her. She's stubborn. Too stubborn," Reiji commented with a soft exhale, almost smiling, but still observing the field.

On the track, Himiko's team advanced through the tactical cooperation section: one of the students had to be carried by the rest without touching the ground, while simulated enemies tried to disrupt their progress. The duplication girl had multiplied herself into a decoy, attracting projectiles, while Nejire created a rotating platform with her waves, and the muscle-bound boy crouched down to propel them. Himiko was the one coordinating the timing.

'It's not just physics. He's thinking as if they were parts of the same body,' Reiji thought with genuine respect.

"They're good," Izuku said suddenly, as if he'd read his mind. "But they're not winning by luck or raw power. They're winning by strategy."

"I know," Reiji murmured.

The group was approaching the final stretch: a narrow, straight line with gusts of wind from the side and moving platforms that retracted at the slightest misplaced weight.

Nejire led the initial push, launching a spiral wave under the muscle boy's feet, who used the momentum to throw the decoy girl forward, activating the turrets and trap triggers before the real group entered.

Himiko jumped right behind, rolling in the air and landing on her feet on one of the moving platforms. With a short scream, she set the pace. The boy followed her with a powered-up jump, charging at the original duplicate, while Nejire covered them with a reverse spiral wave that blocked the last of the firing sensors.

With a final coordinated timing, the real trio crossed the line just behind Mirio and Tamaki's team, just a fraction of a second later.

Second place.

***

On the stadium's screens, the announcement blared loudly:

"Second battle of the individual tournament! Tamaki Amajiki of the hero class versus Himiko Toga of the general class!"

The crowd murmured with restrained enthusiasm. Tamaki's name was already becoming known among the audience as one of U.A.'s most promising students for his unique technique, although his subdued personality kept him away from the spotlight. Himiko, on the other hand, had already made an impact with her aggressive charisma and unexpected performance in the previous tests. And of course, her recent relationship with a boy who had been featured all over the national television network...

Reiji didn't move from his seat. His hood was still up, but his eyes were fully focused.

The stage was cleared. A wide combat circle, with plenty of room for both Quirks to showcase their potential. When the two contenders entered the arena, the contrast was evident: Tamaki, silent, his gaze lowered, barely looked up. Himiko, smiling, tilted her head as if playing with a private thought.

The countdown began.

"Three... two... one... COMBAT!"

Tamaki was the first to move. Without visible emotion, his left arm elongated into octopus tentacles, undulating like thick whips; his right wrapped itself in a hardened chicken wing, ready to deflect or counterattack. A living wall of biological mutations.

Himiko didn't flinch. She maintained a crooked, almost childlike smile, crouching as if waiting for the perfect moment. She didn't lunge, didn't hesitate. She just waited.

Until the first tentacle whipped through the air.

With surgical precision, Himiko pulled a syringe from her belt and held it in her palm, still unused. She was waiting for a real opportunity. Reiji had taught her: don't waste blood without purpose.

When the attack was about to reach her, she ran forward.

"What the...?!" one of the commentators was surprised.

But it wasn't madness. Himiko slipped between the tentacles as if she'd memorized them. Her body was flexible, agile, calculated. Each dodge was precise to the centimeter. She used one of the tentacles as leverage, pivoting on it to propel herself into a blind spot. Tamaki twisted her torso, quickly adapting. But it wasn't enough.

Just as Tamaki's arm descended in the shape of an armored clam to block her, Himiko activated her first transformation. Her body shrank, taking the form of a short girl, just enough to slide underneath without taking any damage.

She instantly reverted to her original form, using the momentum to approach Tamaki and launch the syringe directly at him. Tamaki used his Chicken Wing to cover himself, at the exact moment when Himiko discreetly slipped into his blind spot. Ready to launch into her next attack, when Tamaki noticed Himiko's absence, she quickly turned to see a punch aimed directly at her face.

The punch connected.

Tamaki took a couple of steps back, surprised. Not by the pain, but by the force behind the blow. When his eyes focused again on his opponent, Himiko was no longer Himiko.

Light blonde hair, determined expression, athletic build. She had transformed into Reiji.

The stadium murmured loudly, amazed by the precise response.

Himiko, now with a more robust and defined body, moved with a different weight. Each step was firm. Her breathing was controlled, her center of gravity perfectly distributed. Although her face was Reiji's, her eyes retained that sparkle of his. The reflection of a crooked smile that didn't belong to him, but that clearly said, "This body suits me."

Tamaki tried to counterattack with a combination of tentacles and thrusts, but Himiko intercepted the first attack, grabbing one of the tentacles with brutal strength. She used it as an anchor to pull herself forward and deliver a spinning kick to Tamaki's hip, which she blocked just in time with her scaled arm.

"Khh…!" Tamaki growled as she felt the impact resonate in her guard.

The next minute was a brutal exchange of attacks. Himiko used Reiji's style to perfection, staying close to Tamaki, using her superior physical strength to dominate close-quarters combat. Every blow she threw sought a joint, a blind spot, or a soft spot.

But Tamaki wasn't easy to beat.

She transformed her arm into a barbed, grasping tentacle and managed to wrap around Himiko's ankle. She yanked violently and slammed her to the ground, then tried to crush her with a reinforced crab claw.

CRACK!

The impact kicked up dust, and the spectators gasped… but when the cloud dissipated, Himiko, still Reiji, was holding him with both arms raised.

Her hands were shaking.

She was covered in scratches and bruises. She was bleeding from her forehead. But she was standing.

"She's good... Very good..." Tamaki muttered, nervous and depressed, but his will to continue still remained.

She smiled. And just at that moment, the wounds on her back began to close slightly. It wasn't regeneration at Reiji's level, but clearly her body was adapting, forcing recovery faster than normal.

"Is the constant exposure to my blood doing this?" Reiji thought, completely shocked from the stands, his expression growing tense. "Or was she like this before, and I never noticed?" Despite the distance, he could clearly see the unusual regeneration of her body. Her own body was training in many ways, and her vision was no exception. She could notice details others couldn't, and this was one of them.

Himiko launched one last assault.

Three consecutive blows to the torso, a feint with her right shoulder, and an elbow that connected directly in the chest. Tamaki stumbled, and she kicked him in the side. It looked like she had him.

But Tamaki spun. His right arm, already transformed into a squid-like whip covered in bony spines, extended with inhuman speed. Himiko, still in Reiji's form, barely had time to turn. The whip lashed brutally straight into her lower back.

CRACK.

The impact resonated loudly, shaking the entire stadium. Her body was propelled backward like a doll, crashing into one of the stage walls with a thud. He fell to his knees on the floor, his breathing ragged and his gaze lost.

He tried to get up. Once. Twice. But his legs wouldn't respond. The trembling in his muscles was different this time: it wasn't exhaustion... it was the final collapse.

His body returned to its original form. Reiji's transformation dissipated with a puff of faint steam, as if the pent-up energy had reached its limit. Himiko gasped, blood dripping from her forehead to her chin, her arms outstretched in a last-ditch attempt to hold on. Her back arched, trying to resist... but there was no strength left in her.

Tamaki slowly lowered her arm. Her eyes, though hidden by her bangs, reflected respect.

The referee watched for a few more seconds, but it was obvious.

"WINNER: TAMAKI AMAJIKI!" he shouted, raising his arm decisively.

The audience erupted in applause. Some for Tamaki, of course. But others, many others, for her. For that girl who dared to transform into multiple opponents, who fought with strategy, instinct, ferocity, and courage. Who had come close to defeating one of the best.

From his place in the stands, Reiji didn't applaud.

He just watched her silently, his eyes narrowed, as the medical staff rushed toward her with stretchers and sensors.

"…Well done, Himiko," he whispered proudly.