MHA: Hands on, Quirks Up!

I was escorted back by Present Mic.

He kept insisting I check in with Recovery Girl, even though I'd already told him I wasn't hurt.

"I know, I know, but c'mon, young Henshin!" he said, waving his arms in that over the top way of his. "Policy is policy! Gotta make sure you don't have any hidden damage."

I sighed and went along with it to appease him.

Surprise… I was perfectly fine.

Who would have guessed that regeneration quirks do their job?

Now I'm standing in front of the classroom door, the familiar plaque reading "1-A" stared back at me.

Hm. No need for an elaborate entrance. I'll just open it.

I slid the door open.

The buzz of conversation cut short. Every head in the room snapped in my direction. The room fell dead silent for all of half a second, before a wave of voices crashed down.

"You're okay!"

"Holy crap, Henshin!"

"Dude, you're alive!"

"I told you he'd be fine!"

I raised both hands, pretending to shield myself from the noise. "Woah, thanks for the warm welcome. Are all of you alright? Did anyone get hurt while escaping?"

The noise quieted a little, but the energy in the room stayed charged. Sero gave me a thumbs-up from his seat. Shoji nodded silently from near the back, while Jirou looked like she wanted to say something but held it in.

However, Mina didn't hesitate. She stormed right up to me, her expression somewhere between relief and frustration. She balled up her fist and gave my shoulder a light punch. Not enough to hurt, but definitely enough to make a point.

"Jeez, dummy. You're the one who stayed behind, and you're asking us if we're alright?"

I laughed, scratching the back of my neck. "Fair enough. That was a dumb question. But really, I was just concerned about everyone here. Even after you all left, I couldn't help but feel worried."

She didn't respond right away. Her shoulders dropped slightly, and her smile softened a little. "Well, imagine how I felt. Walking away while you stayed behind." She crossed her arms, but the way she said it wasn't accusatory. Just quiet.

I looked her in the eye. "I promised you something, didn't I?"

Her gaze flickered. "Yeah. You said you'd never lose."

I nodded. "That's correct. And I kept it."

The tension around her eyes eased just a bit.

"Dork," she muttered, but her smile widened again.

I didn't get a chance to reply before Iida practically leapt from his seat, striding toward me with his usual exaggerated arm motions. "Class Representative! I did the job assigned and told the teachers as fast as I could. I made it to the main building and ensured they were informed of the situation without delay!"

I held up a hand, stopping him with a grin. "Hey, what did I say before? No need for titles." I gave him a quick nod before continuing. "Nonetheless, you did an excellent job. All Might arrived and saved the day before things could really spiral out of control. Well done, Iida."

He froze for a moment, looking both flustered and proud, before he adjusted his glasses and nodded, a little proud but still formal. "Thank you. That means a lot to me."

Then his tone shifted slightly, becoming curious. "I only heard bits and pieces from the others, mostly the plan you devised to regroup everyone. But, what happened after? Once you were alone?"

"I got lucky," I started. "The villains were... well, they wouldn't shut up. They were too busy monologuing to actually do anything at first. They went on and on about how badly they were going to hurt me. One guy even went on a tangent about how 'hero society was corrupt' or whatever. Honestly, it made it hard to take them seriously when they spent so much time whining."

Most of the tension eased. A few chuckles slipped out.

"I focused on making sure the warp villain didn't get a chance to circle back and grab any of you. I used Shoji's quirk to give myself extra eyes, and paired it with Aizawa-sensei's to keep track of him and cut him off. Meanwhile, the guy with the hands all over his face was too self-absorbed to notice."

I scratched my cheek. "After that, it was maybe a minute or two of fighting. The big guy with the bird beak, Nomu, was insanely strong. Nothing I threw made a dent. He just kept absorbing everything."

I shrugged my shoulders, trying to look humble.

"When he started attacking, I was able to withstand a few of his hits. Mostly just dodging and bracing. I knew I couldn't beat him unless I went for the kill, and I wasn't willing to cross that line. So I focused on stalling."

"Then…" I let the pause hang for a moment, just enough to let the tension build.

"All Might showed up. And once he got there, it was over."

Gasps rippled through the class the moment I finished.

Kaminari gave a low whistle. "Man… that's crazy. You actually held out against that thing?"

Sero leaned forward in his seat. "Dude, I thought you were bluffing when you decided to go toe-to-toe against something that took down Aizawa-sensei."

"Yeah," Jiro added, eyes wide. "That thing looked terrifying even from a distance. I still can't believe you didn't run."

Even Bakugo, slouched in his seat with his arms crossed, didn't offer any insults. He didn't say anything at all, only stared with narrowed eyes, as if he was reevaluating something.

"Still," Todoroki pressed suddenly, cutting through the buzz of voices. "Why did you decide to do it alone?"

I turned toward him just as Momo shifted in her seat, voice clipped. "We already talked about this."

"I know," Todoroki's gaze didn't waver. "But I want to hear it from him."

I raised my hand to stop Momo. "Fair enough."

Before speaking, I took a breath. Tried to pick the words that would sound best—earnest and thoughtful. It's not like I can tell them the real reason I stayed back.

"I just didn't want to see any of you get hurt," My gaze moved around the room. "I might not know everyone here that well yet, but at that moment… I felt personally responsible for everyone. For keeping you all safe. The class rep, that's my role. I couldn't bear the thought of any of you getting caught up in that."

The room was quiet again. I looked across the class—Shoji adjusted his mask slightly, Uraraka was leaning forward just a bit, Jirou leaned back in her chair with her earphone jacks flicking against each other.

"I realize now that it was greedy of me," I added, shaking my head slightly. "I wanted to protect all of you, but I also expected you not to worry about me. That's not fair. I should've trusted you more. I should've relied on everyone."

My eyes flicked toward Todoroki. "Especially you, Todoroki. With your Quirk, you probably could've held the villains back way better than I did."

Todoroki didn't respond at first; he simply stared at me like he was trying to peel back layers he hadn't initially considered.

Then finally, he gave a curt nod.

Momo leaned back, crossing her arms lightly. "We're just glad you're okay."

"Yeah," Mina chimed in, grinning. "Welcome back, hero."

At that moment, the door slid open with a slight hiss. Midnight stepped inside, her usual playful demeanor unfazed despite the seriousness of the situation.

"Alright, Class 1-A~" she announced, her usual breathy lilt intact as she struck a pose with one hand placed dramatically on her hip. "You've all been through quite the ordeal, but you did well. The teachers are all proud of you."

Some of the class straightened at that, a couple felt extra excited and even perked up.

"You'll each be interviewed by the authorities to give your own account of what happened during the USJ attack. We'll call a few of you up at a time. Once you're done, you're free to leave for the day. In fact..." she smiled, drawing the moment out a little. "the school's giving you the rest of the week off to recover. Consider it a very exclusive early vacation."

A few students visibly relaxed at that. Kaminari fist-pumped quietly, and I think Mineta might've started tearing up.

"Since Henshin has already given his statement," she added, glancing my way with a wink, "you're free to leave when you'd like."

I nodded back, but made no move to stand.

Midnight called out the first three names. "First group: Aoyama, Ashido, Asui. Let's go, darlings."

The three of them stood, Mina shooting me a quick smile and a thumbs-up before following the others out the door.