My Hero Academia: Aura Farming

[The Synonym]

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[The Truth Comes Out]
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…

"…"

"…"

A contest had begun. A staring contest.

Taka locked eyes with Nezu, and the principal returned the gaze without blinking, silent and unmoving—save for the knowing smile fixed on his muzzle.

Then, Taka's eyes darted to Seiji at his side.

Seiji met his gaze just as unblinkingly, a smug smirk tugging at his lips.

Taka slowly looked back at Nezu.

'I'm being ganged up on…'

A bead of sweat ran down his temple as he felt the weight of both stares pressing into him—heavy, sharp, and painfully aware of the implications behind this little "visit."

Or rather, intervention.

Still… nothing was certain yet.

Maybe Seiji had just bragged about his great and amazing potential to Nezu after their spar the other day, hence his visit?

…No. He doubted Seiji had those kinds of connections.

Taka swallowed nervously.

This was thin ice.

Very thin ice.

He had to choose his words carefully, or everything would go to shit.

"So…" he said at last, feigning confusion as he gestured vaguely at the massive white rat… bear, dog, whatever he was. "Who are you?"

Nezu's ears perked up, delighted.

"Oh my, where are my manners?" he said cheerfully. "I'm Nezu, Principal of U.A. High School. Does that satisfy you, Mr Rockinesis?—oops! I wasn't supposed to say that yet."

"…"

After a long second of sheer disbelief, Taka snorted and shut his eyes.

'Yep. Never mind. Everything went to shit a long time ago.'

Suddenly, something pressed down on his shoulder.

He turned to see Seiji leaning on him casually, staring at him with that same damn smirk.

"You know," Seiji said lightly, "it was quite the surprise when U.A.'s actual principal knocked on my door and explained the certain… connections between a criminal mastermind that's been causing a lot of havoc lately—and my dear little ward. Anything you'd like to say for yourself, Taka?"

"You have no evidence," Taka replied instantly.

"Unfortunately, I do," Nezu cut in pleasantly. "Monetization records from that very successful channel of yours. Bank transfer history. IP address logs. Upload timestamps. Location metadata. And that's just the short list. Shall I continue?"

"…No. That's enough." Taka's poker face crumbled.

He was completely, utterly caught. There was no point in pretending anymore.

'Fucking Quirktube and the bank—where's my right to privacy?! I thought they weren't allowed to share any of that!'

Seiji suddenly burst into laughter, patting Taka's back loudly.

"Well, well, well! Looks like you got caught, little Taka! Your crime spree ends here!"

Taka gave him a long, flat stare.

Then—

"This guy knew too! I'm just a poor, innocent minor! If anyone's going to prison, it should be him!"

Seiji's laughter died instantly, and he snapped his head towards Taka with a panicked look.

"You little shit!"

Taka smirked, pointing at him accusatorily. "If I'm going down, you're coming with me!"

"After I raised you for twelve years, this is how you repay me?!"

"Hahahaha!"

Nezu's sudden cackle cut cleanly through their argument, making both of them snap their attention toward him in disbelief.

"You two really are quite the pair," Nezu said cheerfully. "There's no need to worry. I didn't come here to send either of you to prison, Takahashi-kun… nor you, Seiji-san."

"For real?" they both asked in unison.

Nezu nodded and hopped down from the couch, beginning to pace casually around the living room.

"While I am the principal of a hero school—and would normally be obligated to ensure you face the appropriate legal consequences for what I've discovered—you have, in fact, done some rather brilliant work as a vigilante. Illegal, yes. But impressive nonetheless."

"Hah? Brilliant work? This guy?" Seiji scoffed, poking Taka's cheek mockingly, which the teenager responded to by slapping his hand away.

"Indeed," Nezu replied with a sly smile. He pulled a small disk from his pocket and flicked it onto the floor. A holographic projection flared to life, displaying recordings of Taka's exploits as Rockinesis. "I took the time to analyze all your appearances. And surprisingly, for someone with no formal hero training, your environmental damage control is quite refined."

The images showed Taka redirecting attacks in harmless directions, positioning enemies, reducing his powers' impact on the surroundings, and minimizing collateral destruction.

"Though not perfect," Nezu continued, "you consistently reduced the impact on surrounding infrastructure. That's something even seasoned heroes often neglect. Most people wouldn't even think to prioritize it."

"Heh, that's because of me," Seiji said proudly, crossing his arms while leaning on Taka. "This brat was always tagging along at my job. So I gave him a tip or two about the hero life during my many outings capturing villains."

Taka deadpanned. "Bold of you to assume it's all because of you."

Seiji shot his ward a sideways grin. "Well, am I wrong, little Taka?"

"…No," Taka admitted quietly. "But still."

Nezu smiled and clicked a button on a remote. The projection shifted—now showing footage of Taka, or Rockinesis, clashing with multiple heroes who had attempted to apprehend him.

"Then there's the matter of you fighting heroes," Nezu continued. "Legally speaking, it is resisting arrest, without question. However, you consistently showed restraint. You even held back when you clearly had a very clear advantage."

Taka winced slightly as the footage showed him humiliating a few opponents.

"While you did seem to enjoy embarrassing them more than necessary," Nezu added with a knowing look, "I'll chalk that up to youthful immaturity. In the end, you caused no lasting injuries and disengaged responsibly."

Taka's face relaxed, suspiring relieved.

'Good thing I took something like this into account.'

Nezu clicked the remote once more.

Two final images appeared.

One being Taka's battle against the three A-class villains… And the other—his recent clash with Gigantomachia.

His eyebrow twitched at the clearly recent picture. From what it looked like, it was taken from the coastline with a very good zoom. Whether from the spectating crowd or the police, who knew.

"And finally," Nezu said, his voice turning more solemn, "there is your willingness to face foes that would have placed established heroes in extreme danger. In both of these cases, casualties were not only possible—but likely."

The room grew quiet.

"If you hadn't intervened," Nezu continued, "there was a chance the outcome could have been catastrophic. And while that does not excuse unauthorized hero activity—nor your involvement in conflicts beyond your legal standing—I must thank you. As the principal of U.A., and as someone who values human life, despite not being human myself."

"Uh… sure," Taka replied awkwardly. "You're welcome, I guess."

With that, the projection shut off. Nezu tucked the disk and remote back into his pocket, smiling faintly as the room settled into silence once more.

But then Nezu turned back to Taka. This time, however, his eyes locked onto his with a pressure wholly unbecoming of such a small body.

"Due to all the details I mentioned earlier, and considering your young age, I decided to take a small gamble," he said calmly. "Today, I did not come to apprehend you—nor your guardian—but to offer you a deal."

That immediately caught both ward and guardian's attention.

"But first," Nezu continued, raising one finger in its paw, "there is a question I must ask."

Taka frowned slightly. "What is it?"

Nezu's smile widened—then sharpened.

"What is your true Quirk, Takahashi-kun?"

"...!"

The instant the question left his mouth, the tension in the room spiked violently. Both pairs of eyes snapped onto Taka at once.

"Your registered Quirk, Muscle to Mind, supposedly allows you only to convert physical force into telekinetic power," Nezu continued. "Yet that description is clearly... insufficient to say the least."

He gestured lightly.

"Cloning. Energy manifestation. Physical strength and durability in the superhuman range, matched by an equally abnormal telekinetic ability. And what I can only assume are some degree of precognitive capabilities, judging by how accurately you anticipate crimes and conflicts to crash at them and play your shows."

Nezu's eyes glinted.

"To say your Quirk's official description falls short of its real scope would be a severe understatement, wouldn't you agree?"

"..."

Taka sweatdropped, his gaze sliding away under the weight of that stare.

What was he supposed to say?

He was cornered. Completely.

Nezu had already noticed nearly every ability he'd displayed so far—save for the ones he hadn't yet revealed. And the moment he did in the future, those too would be noticed. Lying now would only guarantee that he'd be caught in that lie later.

So… should he just tell the truth?

This was Nezu—an ally to the main cast. Not the government, with its sick machiavellian stuff, and certainly not a villain's spy. Even if terrifying in his own way, he was one of the few people Taka could reasonably trust. Both because of his proven character and because the guy was simply that competent.

Unless this was some AU where Nezu was secretly the true mastermind behind everything.

Rodent for One, or some shit like that.

'Focus, damn it.'

Realizing his thoughts were drifting, Taka forced himself back to the main point.

He glanced at Seiji—who was practically breathing down his neck, eyes wide and prodding smile brimming with expectation.

Taka trusted Seiji.

As for Nezu… he trusted him too, even if they'd only officially met today. The guy may be a rat, but he was a nice rat.

Or nice bear, or dog, whatever he was.

'I guess... It's fine.'

With a quiet sigh, Taka finally spoke.

"My Quirk's energy source isn't physical strength..." he admitted, his eyes growing serious as the revelations began unfolding. "It's a kind of energy that my body naturally builds up over time, piling up in me like a battery, and which lets me enhance myself, as well as project it into something akin to telekinesis. As for the other abilities… the energy seems to be quite versatile in how it can manifest outside my body, which lets me do all the other stuff—there might be more abilities, but I haven't discovered them yet."

"It accumulates passively?" Nezu asked.

"Yeah. Just on its own."

"And it somehow allows you to create clones, boost your physical prowess to inhuman levels, allegedly predict the future, and control things from afar?"

Taka nodded. "As I said, it's… uh, kind of versatile."

"Damn, kid," Seiji exclaimed from beside him, looking at him in a completely new light.

Nezu chuckled, but tapped the area beneath his muzzle thoughtfully. Clearly, not letting his amusement overshadow his running thoughts.

And while he did that, Taka sighed inwardly.

In the end, he still kept part of the truth to himself.

Not because he didn't trust the people in the room.

Not because he was afraid.

But because—

'The true Aura Farmer always keeps a few cards up his sleeve.' Taka thought, his eyes shining with a faint, sly glint for a second—Of course, just for dramatic effect while you read this. It wasn't something visible either to Nezu or Seiji.

Such a vain reason was all he had in mind when keeping the full information.

Maybe telling everything wouldn't change anything.

Or maybe… it would one day mean the difference between survival and death.

But for now, he preferred to keep those secrets wrapped.

That way, if someday an epic situation arose in which his foe somehow knew about his supposed Quirk and had prepared a countermeasure…

He would make the big reveal—then proceed to crush them with his full power.

That would be truly cool.

Of course, that was all just wishful thinking.

Whether it would actually come true or not was a matter for the future.

"Very well. Despite its bizarreness, I suppose it covers most of the loopholes I had noticed," Nezu suddenly nodded, giving the half-truth a pass.

Seeing that, Taka nodded as well, heaving a sigh of relief inwardly.

But then, he felt a pat on the shoulder.

He turned and saw Seiji smirking at him, looking a bit too excited.

"The next time we spar, you're showing me what you're really capable of."

Taka nodded silently, his expression unchanged.

Though in his mind—

'You just gave me free rein to beat your ass without the system's interference.'

If his aura could manifest a second face that revealed his true emotions, it would be wearing a wicked grin.

While Taka savored the future beating in his head, Seiji turned back to Nezu.

"So, what's this deal you were talking about, Principal?"

"Yes, I was just about to get to that," Nezu nodded, then fixed Taka with a sharp gaze, snapping him out of his thoughts. "You wrote in your desired career plan that you wanted to join U.A., correct?"

Taka nodded, once again inwardly cursing the concept of privacy.

Nezu smiled, offering a handshake. "Given your amazing potential, I want to make sure such talent is properly groomed into becoming a hero in the future, so... what would you say about receiving a recommendation?"

Taka tilted his head, unfamiliar with the term.

But then, Seiji gently smacked his shoulder, whispering it to him. "It means you won't have to take the usual entrance exam everyone else does. Instead, you'll go through the recommendation exam—fewer competitors, and thus better chances of getting in."

Taka's eyebrows lifted, finally realizing it was the method Todoroki and Yaoyorozu used to get in.

Nezu nodded. "Indeed. With the skills you've displayed, I have no doubt you'll excel in the practical portion. As for the written exam, you'll still have to study."

"I see…" Taka murmured, closing his eyes enigmatically for a moment to think, his usual edgy persona slipping as a matter of habit.

Then—

He smiled faintly, looking Nezu straight in the eyes, confident and unflinching—

"I refuse."

…

°

°

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| Minutes later, Taka's room… |

…

-Click-

"Phew..."

Taka closed the door behind him and let out a long sigh.

"Today really can't get any more hectic…"

Groaning, he stretched and walked over to his bed, throwing himself onto it—his aura instinctively cushioning the fall.

Good thing, too. He did have a broken arm.

Lying there in the soft embrace of his sheets, his gaze drifted to the ceiling as his thoughts returned to the final exchange he'd had with Nezu.

More specifically, the moment he had refused the recommendation.

First of all—he didn't want to take Yaoyorozu's or Todoroki's spot. As for the other recommended students, he didn't even remember them, and he sure as hell wasn't interested in the class they'd end up in. Class 1-A was the one to aim for if he wanted to Aura Farm for good.

They just got into so much shit, it'd be a waste to go to the other class.

But that was only the surface reason.

The real reason he had refused was due to the entrance exam.

Hundreds of examinees. Teachers observing every move. And one giant robot just begging to be destroyed.

If that wasn't the perfect farming ground, then what was?

There was no way he was sacrificing that just to stroll in through the front door on a recommendation. That wasn't auratic at all.

'At least he didn't take it the wrong way,' Taka thought with a quiet huff, remembering how calmly Nezu had accepted his refusal.

Seiji had backed him up too, rambling on his own about " Taka does not like the easy way" and "It builds character," which conveniently spared Taka from having to come up with a believable excuse.

In the end, it was decided—he would take the normal entrance exam, just like everyone else.

But after that… came the unpleasant part.

Nezu had promised not to expose his vigilante identity—on one condition.

From now on, Taka was to cut ties with his vigilantism completely and focus solely on becoming a hero.

If he agreed, Nezu would also help erase the digital trail he'd left behind in his greed for money while aura farming: monetization records, paper trails, all of it. The police would never link Rockinesis back to Takahashi Fukumoto.

The principal really was frighteningly flexible. Why was he going that far? Who knew. Taka could only assume it was because he didn't want him to go to prison or something.

Cause if he did, he'd pretty much miss the chance to go to U.A.

'Yeah, that makes sense.' Taka nodded to himself.

So, just like that, Taka's vigilante career was forcibly brought to an end.

Though he had managed to negotiate one exception, he was still allowed to keep uploading songs.

Fortunately, Nezu had agreed to that much. Otherwise, he would have lost all sources of aura.

And honestly, with his fame already grown, the aura he'd lose by not making shows wasn't gonna be that much.

Besides…

'After today's shit, I think I'm gonna take a rest from beating up villains.' He thought, eyeing his broken arm with a wince.

Of course, if some level 10 trouble alert popped up in between these three months that were left until U.A., then he'd probably step up and help out with what was within his capabilities.

But for now, he was taking some vacations.

'It was some really hectic seven months… and they ended in the most hectic way as well.'

On the very same day he fought a living catastrophe. His life as a vigilante quietly ended.

Quite the coincidence.

And on that note, Taka recalled his fight against Gigantomachia. His eyes narrowing as his eyes darted to his broken arm, and then to his opposite arm's hand, picturing the destructive energy he could create.

Even his strongest attack, a laser beam filled with 10,000 points of aura, had merely burned his exterior.

That much had been enough to understand his place in the world as of now.

He was strong… But when it came to the top-tier powers of this world, he was still painfully weak.

And in three months, the canon would start.

The show lasted a single year, and in that year, the main cast jumped from dealing with baby-level threats to dealing with the motherfucking end of the world.

He had three months—and the time window in which the protagonists dealt with weak opponents—to up his game.

If he did not, then he would start to lag behind.

And, as an aura farmer, that was not permitted.

'Three months…'

He raised his working hand, clenching it into a fist.

"All Might, Gigantomachia, All For One, and whichever other powerhouse exists in this world…" He mumbled, clenching his teeth and raising his fist as aura enveloped it. "... Prepare yourself, because by next year, you will all be my errand boys!"

Unfortunately, in doing so, his broken arm moved a bit more than necessary.

"Ouch!"

…

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-To be Continued…-

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(A/N: And so, the preparations arc comes to an end. Now, a time skip is approaching.

How was the chapter? Was Nezu in character, or did I screw up?

Also, don't worry about Taka not being able to do his shows. As he said, the aura he gains during those is a bit prescindible when comparing it to his current passive earnings. And with the current level of fame, heh, as after presenting his original song, plus with the fight against Gigantomachia going viral, he has enough fame to keep his passive earnings high enough until U.A. arrives.

Also, I didn't get to add the last skill I had planned, but I suppose I can just add it later.

Ba bye now.)

 

[The Synonym]

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[Entrance Exam]
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| Three months later, U.A.'s gate… |

…

"This is it…!"

Midoriya swallowed nervously as he stood before U.A., cold sweat running down his back.

The school where All Might had graduated. The best hero institution in Japan. The place where he was about to apply to become a hero.

Staring up at the massive gate, he felt as if a literal barrier stood between him and the path he was walking into—like he wasn't meant to step inside.

He'd been Quirkless all his life, and yet here he was, about to take the hero course entrance exam. It felt almost contradictory.

'Although… I am supposedly not Quirkless anymore,' he reminded himself, expression flattening as he recalled All Might's bizarre instruction from hours earlier at the beach:

{Eat this.}

'He said if I ate that hair, I'd inherit his power… but did it really work?'

He examined himself. Truthfully, he didn't feel any different.

After exhaling his nerves, determination flickered back into his eyes. Ten months of hellish training—all leading to this day. All Might, the strongest hero, had entrusted him with his Quirk. He couldn't afford to fail.

He wouldn't fail.

-Paf!-

He smacked both cheeks at once to shake off the anxiety and stepped forward—

-Thud!-

"Outta my way, Deku."

—only to be shoved aside as Bakugo, his friend/bully—more bully than friend—stormed past.

"A-ah!" Midoriya flailed, trying desperately to assemble a proper greeting with his hands. "K-Kacchan! N-nice to see you! You're here for the exam, right? I wish you luck, and—"

But Bakugo had already ignored him completely and walked on.

Midoriya sighed as he watched the blond go.

'I got scared out of habit…'

Feeling embarrassed at how quickly he folded despite his earlier resolve, he forced his gaze upward toward the huge U.A. logo on the front doors. Then he shook his head sharply, chasing the nerves away.

'I'm not the same as I was ten months ago… remember your training!'

He took a deep breath, steeling himself.

'Time to take my first step toward becoming a hero!'

And a step he took indeed.

-Squeak-

—but right at the next one, his legs tangled clumsily, pitching him forward.

'I'm done for.' Midoriya thought, feeling his earlier resolve crumble like dust.

However, just as his face was about to slam into the pavement—

"Huh?"

—his momentum halted abruptly, stopping mere centimeters from the ground.

Then, in an instant, an unseen force pulled him upright again, leaving him staring ahead with a blank expression, completely unable to register what had just happened.

"Eh?"

Only when he finally snapped out of his daze did he look around to search for his savior, and soon, he noticed a girl standing right next, also staring at him—a brown-haired girl wearing a thick scarf.

Ochako Uraraka—albeit, unknown to the green-haired kid.

The instant he saw her, it clicked. She had helped him.

"Ah, you saved me—thank you!" he said, bowing quickly.

But the girl only blinked in confusion.

"Eh?! Me? No, that wasn't me!—I mean, I was going to help, but you stopped falling before I could even reach you!"

"Huh? Then that wasn't your Quirk?" Midoriya tilted his head.

"Watch yourself."

A deep voice spoke from behind him.

Startled, he turned.

There, a black-haired youth wearing a long, tailored overcoat, a fitted black turtleneck underneath, and similarly colored pants, walked past with a cold gaze and a confident stride. Beside him, a black-haired girl with earphone jacks for earlobes watched with vague amusement.

Before Midoriya could respond, the boy continued walking, the girl following.

"I guess it was him who helped," Uraraka murmured, eyeing the departing boy with awe as he walked away.

Midoriya did too. For some reason, that youth emanated an air of power—whether it was the way he walked, the tone of his voice earlier, or simply the way he carried himself.

He was the very image of someone… strong.

'And that Quirk… what was it?' Midoriya replayed the sensation of being yanked back to his feet, despite nothing touching him. 'A telekinesis-type Quirk?'

While the freckled boy got lost in his thoughts, several meters ahead, the black haired girl shot a wry look at the youth walking beside her.

"Did you trip that guy?"

"No." He replied, almost too fast.

She raised an eyebrow. "Then why did you say we should wait at the entrance, only to start walking again the moment that kid walked in?"

"I just thought it was a good moment to go in. His tripping was just a coincidence."

She didn't look convinced, but eventually nodded with a snort. "… Sure."

…

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| U.A.'s Auditory |

…

Once everyone found their seats, a blond teacher stepped onto the stage, wearing a wide smile that radiated confidence. And his outfit wasn't subtle either—he was dressed like an actual rockstar. Slicked-back blond spiky hair, edgy leather jacket and pants, headphones, orange sunglasses, and a massive speaker-like collar around his neck.

For many, a hero renowned across Japan. Present Mic.

And also, one of the teachers of U.A.

He reached the podium just as a massive screen behind him lit up, the U.A. logo shining for all examinees to see.

"For all of you examinees tuning in today, I welcome you all to my show!—everybody say HEY!" Present Mic threw his arms up theatrically.

For a moment, silence drowned the auditorium. Not a single soul dared to answer.

"Hey."

But suddenly, a deep voice echoed across the room.

Normally, anyone speaking up then would've been met with weird looks, but the voice carried so much weight and conviction that nobody dared judge it, even for a moment.

In fact—

"... Hey!"

"Hey…"

"H-hey…!"

—It encouraged others to follow, almost instinctively, like responding to someone of high authority without thinking.

And as everyone realized what they had just done, their eyes naturally drifted toward the source.

With hundreds of students gathered, a single voice should have blended into the crowd.

Yet somehow, all gazes settled on one examinee sitting with an unsettling level of calm confidence.

He wasn't flashy, nor did he stand out physically. His outfit was good—but not that good.

Instead, what drew every eye… was his presence.

Somehow, everyone felt it instinctively the instant their gazes settled on him.

He was strong.

"—Ahem." Present Mic interrupted, snapping everyone back to attention. Even he looked surprised—whether at the unexpected response or at the strange presence of that student was unclear. But soon, his trademark grin returned. "I can see you're all pumped! Then it's time to get into the rundown of the practical exam you came here for!"

He struck a pose befitting his rockstar aesthetic, raising a hand dramatically as he shouted.

"AAAAAARE YOU READYYY?!"

"Yeah."

"Yeah…!"

"Y-yeah…"

"Yeah!"

Once again, that same voice answered first—and everyone followed.

Satisfied, Present Mic nodded as the huge screen behind him shifted, showing multiple cityscapes—U.A.'s "Battle Centers," full-scale urban combat zones labeled from A to G.

He proceeded to give a quick rundown of how the practical exam would work and what the examinees would be doing.

After the presentation, every examinee would be sent to a different Battle Center depending on their assigned location. Once there, their objective was to destroy the multiple robots scattered throughout the mock cities—four types in total—earning points for each one defeated. The point values varied based on the size of the robot: the smallest, about the size of a person, was worth 1 point, while the largest, roughly the size of a tank, was worth 3. And, naturally, fighting between examinees was strictly prohibited.

This was a hero exam, after all. Unheroic behavior wasn't exactly admired.

"Excuse me, may I ask a question?!"

Suddenly, a sharp and loud voice cut through the teacher's speech. Though it didn't look like it bothered Present Mic.

"Okay!" He shot a thumbs-up.

The examinee—Tenya Iida, a dark-blue-haired youth with glasses—stood up, holding the printout they had all been given. It contained the same information that the teacher had been covering, albeit more summarized.

"On the printout, there are four villains. If that's a misprint, then U.A., the most prominent school in Japan, should be ashamed of such a foolish mistake! We examinees are here because we wish to be molded into exemplary heroes!"

Then, in a quick pivot, he pointed directly at a certain green-haired boy—Midoriya.

"Additionally, the curly-haired one over there… You've been muttering the whole time. It's distracting! If you're here on a pleasure trip, then you should—"

"That's quite enough."

Once again, that familiar voice rang out, cutting Iida off midsentence.

The bespectacled youth turned sharply to the unknown youth, indignation written across his face.

"What?! I'm merely—"

"You could've said something to him without announcing it to everyone. Stop wasting our time and let the teacher answer."

"I—"

"Okay, okay, examinee 7111, thanks for the great message," Present Mic interrupted, stepping in before things escalated. "The fourth villain is worth zero points. Why? Because it's an obstacle, so to speak. It's not impossible to beat, but there's no reason to either. So, I recommend you all just avoid it."

Iida fell silent for a moment, his gaze drifting toward the examinee who had cut him off on the far side of the auditorium, before finally bowing deeply.

"Thank you very much. I apologize for the interruption."

And with that, he returned to his seat and remained silent.

After that, and having finished explaining the rest of the smaller details, Present Mic echoed the school's motto—Plus Ultra—to encourage everyone and bid them farewell. Thus, the rundown came to an end, and the wait for the practical exam officially began.

From then on, everyone was on their own.

Soon, the mass of students began moving, each walking toward the Battle Center assigned to them on their identification cards.

And while the crowd moved, sitting calmly in the stands was the youth from earlier. He narrowed his eyes slightly as he inspected the card in his hand.

"Battle Center G…"

Snorting, he stood up and adjusted his coat.

"Very well."

…

°

°

°

| Minutes later, Battle Center G's gate… |

…

"Hey, why's he still wearing that outfit? Didn't they let us change into athletic gear before getting on the bus?"

"Huh? Oh damn, you're right. Maybe his Quirk lets him ignore stuff like that?"

"Dammit, why did I have to get the same Battle Center as him?! Now I'm not gonna get any points."

"Maybe he's not as strong as he looks? Honestly, I can't see a single hint of what Quirk he might have."

"Hm, you're right. For all we know, he could have a crappy Quirk and is just putting on a façade!"

A group of examinees narrowed their eyes as they watched the youth from earlier, who leaned casually against a wall with his eyes closed while everyone waited for the gates to open.

"Yeah, now that I'm seeing him up close, he's not all'at—"

The youth opened his eyes and glared at them.

"—Is what I'd say if I were a fool! Haha… ha."

They immediately looked away.

"Hmph." The youth snorted, but didn't close his eyes again. Instead, he glanced around at the other examinees who were busy stretching or trying to calm their nerves.

'I don't see Midoriya,' he thought.

Indeed, this until-now unidentifiable youth was none other than the aura farmer himself… Taka. Now three months older.

Not only was he a little taller, but even through his clothes, it was clear his musculature had developed. He was no longer just fit—he was genuinely strong.

The last three months of training had pushed his body to its physical peak.

From here on, it would mostly be up to aging naturally, with maybe a bit more training. But growing stronger through pure exercise alone would bring much slower gains.

Of course, with some Aura, human limits were a joke.

Back to Taka, he continued giving all his competitors a glance, eyebrow twitching faintly upon not seeing a familiar green-haired curly teenager.

'…Too bad. I guess I'll have to settle for having aura-farmed him earlier.' He sighed, looking genuinely regretful—only to shrug a moment later, uncaring. 'Then again, I also won't have to worry about him failing to get into U.A. because I smashed the 0-pointer instead of him.'

He didn't dislike Midoriya. There was no reason for stopping him from getting into U.A.

The guy did his best to be a proper hero, and while a frustrating crybaby earlier on, he became someone somewhat to be respected by the end of the show. Even if he ended up a Quirkless bum.

That's also why he had helped him with Iida. Like he had reprimanded the glasses earlier, there was no need to humiliate Midoriya publicly for something he could have said over a hush or something.

Hence why he had spoken up.

That, and to aura farm, of course.

But he definitely didn't plan on being friends with Midoriya.

After all, he was the protagonist of this world. And if there was someone who could steal his aura-farming opportunities, it was that green-haired gremlin.

From now on, a rival relationship was about to begin—even if Midoriya had no clue.

And it was one he had absolutely no intention of losing.

He'd made sure the last three months were more than enough to cement his absolute superiority.

Midoriya could try, but he for sure wasn't gonna be catching up any time soon.

Smirking inwardly, Taka glared to his side. 'System, flash me with my gains.'

<... Watch your phrasing.>

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

[STATUS PAGE]

▸ Strength: (162 Base) 2500

▸ Defense: (324 Base) 2500

▸ Aura Projection: 26568

─────────────

Total Aura: 31082

─────────────

Skills:

▸Clean

▸Trouble Radar

▸Connoisseur

▸Pain is Just a Feeling

▸Innamovible Object

▸True Speaking

▸True Breathing

▸True Walking

▸Good job beating me… But that was merely a clone!

▸Efficient Body

▸Aura Projection - Pew Pew Mode

▸Imaginary Technique: My Theme

▸Sperm Eye

▸Let's Dance!

▸Aura Projection - Even A Stick Is Enough Mode

▸Aura Projection - Hardening Mode

▸Aura Projection - There There Mode

▸Aura Projection - Master Of Elements Mode

▸Aura Projection - Aura Type

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Over the past three months, he had tripled his aura.

His original song's video had earned him a huge amount during the first ten days. Sadly, after that, the passive gains stabilized—probably because the views were coming from the same people repeating the song, which didn't generate that much awe and hence didn't yield much aura, or because it simply wasn't reaching many new viewers after that.

Unfortunately, he didn't have a professional company pushing his track, so while it got really popular, it never reached the outrageous numbers big promoted videos could get. And, as expected, time eventually took its toll, slowing the gains even more.

Of course, his earnings were still massive compared to what he had before the video—just nothing like those sweet 1,000-a-day spikes.

In total, he'd managed to pull in twenty-thousand-something aura, up until today.

Pretty good considering he had been forced to stop his vigilante activities.

And then there was the matter of all the new modes he'd unlocked for his aura projection.

Some had been easy enough once he thought of them, coming naturally to him after one or two tries. Others—like the healing mode—had been tricky and took him weeks or months of constant practice to develop.

But they were definitely useful for aura farming. He already had plenty of ideas for how he'd be using them from here on out.

He just had to bide his time.

'Though for now, I have to focus on the event ahead.'

Closing his eyes enigmatically, he walked toward the front of the gate along with the rest of the examinees.

His eyes scanned his competitors, wondering if anyone from the future 1-A would be here too.

And, to his surprise, there was someone.

A certain purple-haired, dwarf-like teenager was among the crowd.

For a moment, he blinked.

Then he snorted—mentally apologizing.

'Sorry, Mineta. But someone had to go… and it looks like it's gonna be you.'

As if on cue, the gates to the Battle Center began opening—silently, almost imperceptibly.

Some students were distracted and didn't notice.

Others simply stared, waiting for a teacher to appear and announce the start of the exam.

Taka, however, smirked.

He stepped forward—passing everyone—and strode calmly straight into the battlegrounds, leaving the dumbfounded examinees behind.

"What are you—?" one student asked, feeling wronged, as if Taka were cheating.

But Taka shut him up with a single line:

"Don't you know? Villains won't wait for you."

And then—

-Swish-

—he vanished.

That's when it dawned on everyone, even if the teacher hadn't said it himself.

The exam had begun, and they hadn't even realized it.

…

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: How was all that aura farming? It was a fun chapter to write, except for the part where I had to check the chapter every now and then to guide myself.

Though I suppose that's gonna have to become a regular thing, seeing as we have stepped into the canon for good.)

 

[The Synonym]

Join my Patreon to get access to more chapters, and you'll help me make ends meet while doing so.

patreon.com/TheSynonym

────────────────────────
[Entrance Exam 2]
────────────────────────

…

In a dark room, several figures sat before a row of faintly lit monitors, each displaying young boys and girls fighting desperately against robots.

"This year's examinees are really promising," Cementoss said, rubbing his barely prominent chin with interest as the students on-screen showcased a wide variety of Quirks—many of them powerful, or at least highly versatile.

"Yeah, but if we're talking about promising, a few of them are shining a lot brighter than the rest," Ectoplasm muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear.

The others nodded in agreement.

Indeed, some examinees stood out far more than others.

On one monitor, a blond student rampaged through the battlefield, violent explosions erupting from his hands as he demolished robots with brutal efficiency. It wasn't just the raw power of his blasts—his control was exceptional. He used his explosions as propulsion, launching himself across the battlefield, twisting midair to dodge attacks while maintaining relentless momentum, speeding up his collection of points massively.

His name: Katsuki Bakugo.

"He already got to first place even though we are not even halfway through the exam. At the rate he is gathering points, no one will be able to take that place from him." Vlad King commented, sweatdropping as he glanced at the charts and watched the student's score climb at an astonishing pace.

"Well, I wouldn't be so sure about that," Nezu said suddenly from the back of the room, prompting several raised eyebrows.

He believed someone would score more than this?

Judging by the principal's enigmatic tone, though, it seemed they only needed to keep watching to understand.

Soon, more examinees began to draw attention.

A boy whose skin hardened like stone, tearing through robots while assisting nearby examinees whenever he could—Eijiro Kirishima.

A girl who, upon touching robots, rendered them weightless before sending them crashing back down like meteors—Ochako Uraraka.

The younger brother of the hero Ingenium, dashing through the battlefield with terrifying speed and precision—Tenya Iida.

Many promising prospects filled the teachers' screens as they continued their evaluations.

Still, none had yet matched Katsuki Bakugo, who—despite having earned not a single rescue point—remained firmly at the top through sheer destruction efficiency alone.

And so it continued… until the four-minute mark.

Up until then, nothing had seemed out of the ordinary.

But then—

Something strange happened.

On the rankings display, where the top ten examinees' names were listed, a single name suddenly appeared from nowhere.

It passed 10th place.

Then 9th.

Then 8th.

It skipped straight past 6th.

Then 5th.

And it kept climbing at an absurd speed.

"What the hell is happening? Did we get hacked?" Snipe asked, disbelief clear in his voice.

The rate at which the ranking was changing was far too abnormal. It almost looked artificial.

Nezu, however, merely snickered.

"I'd say it's only fitting."

The teachers stared at him in disbelief.

"I've found him," Eraser Head—or rather, Aizawa Shota's voice suddenly cut in.

Everyone immediately turned, searching for the monitor displaying the mysterious examinee.

And when they found it—

"W-why is he standing atop a building…?"

They couldn't believe what they were seeing.

Instead of a hyper-aggressive prodigy rushing through the battlefield and destroying robots left and right, the monitor showed something far stranger.

A black-haired youth stood calmly at the edge of a building, arms crossed as he observed the battlefield from above. His long coat fluttered behind him in the wind, hair swaying as he remained perfectly still, framed against the sky.

It looked undeniably cool.

But it explained absolutely nothing. How the heck was he getting so many points?

"H-hold on… what's happening in Battle Center G?" Sniper suddenly asked, noticing something odd on another monitor.

The teachers' eyes shifted—and widened.

Across the battlefield, robots were barely being engaged at all.

Instead, dozens of them were rising into the air, suspended helplessly, unable to resist an unseen force. An eerie, crimson aura wrapped around their metallic bodies as they floated upward like puppets on invisible strings.

"It seems to be limited to the central area of the stage," Aizawa noted, eyes narrowing. Then his gaze flicked to the idle examinee on the other screen. "…And it all appears to be centered on that kid."

"What's his Quirk?" Vlad King asked urgently.

They immediately began pulling up his data.

Midnight was the first to find it. "Takahashi Fukumoto. Quirk: Muscle to Mind. It allows the user to convert physical force into telekinetic power…"

"That doesn't add up," Cementoss muttered. "Even if the robots are made of lighter materials, that's still two or three tons he's lifting."

As if responding to the comment, the youth suddenly stepped forward—and jumped.

He dropped straight off the building.

Then, a moment later, he landed below in a textbook superhero landing, the concrete beneath him cracking outward as it shattered.

Yet, despite the impact, he stood completely unharmed.

"…The description seems a bit incomplete..." Midnight added, sweatdropping. "It probably includes superhuman physical strength as well, which makes his telekinetic power equally as superhuman."

"Was he the one you were referring to earlier, Principal?" Vlad King asked, glancing at Nezu in disbelief.

Nezu only smirked. "Perhaps. We'll see. He still hasn't reached first place yet—and there are six minutes remaining."

The teachers turned their attention back to the monitors.

After landing, Taka raised one hand—and then brought it down in a sharp, decisive motion.

Instantly, every robot suspended in the air plummeted downward, crashing violently into the ground. Not a single one survived the impact.

Without wasting a second, his figure blurred as he kicked off the ground and shot forward, hunting for his next targets.

Any robot that came even remotely close to him was obliterated in an instant. And at the speed he was moving, his point count began climbing rapidly.

Faster than Bakugo's.

"…Yeah," Vlad King muttered wryly. "At this rate, he'll take first place before long."

Suddenly, Nezu stepped forward and lightly tapped Vlad King on the shoulder.

"We don't know that yet, do we?"

A concealed panel slid open, revealing a massive red button.

"It's often during the most critical moment of an exam that examinees truly show what they're made of," Nezu continued pleasantly. "Perhaps Bakugo-kun will give us a spectacular comeback… or perhaps he'll be fullyovertaken."

With that, Nezu pressed the button.

…

°

°

°

| Taka's POV: |

…

Too easy. Way too damn easy.

I definitely went overboard with my preparations—at least for these early stages of the show.

Even though I'm sparing the other participants a few robots so I'm not being a complete dick, I'm still wrecking most of the ones around here.

How many points have I racked up already? Sixty-two?

No, that'd only be the case if I'd destroyed nothing but one-point robots. I'm pretty sure I've taken down a good number of two- and three-pointers as well.

Honestly, I barely had time to register each robot before turning it into scrap, so I didn't even see how many points they were worth. I'm just estimating based on how many I've destroyed.

I'm probably nearing first place by now. If I'm not there already.

Normally, if there had been anyone from 1-A here who wasn't Mineta, I'd have slowed down about now. No point in accidentally robbing them of points and risking some random getting into the class instead.

But since this Battle Center seems to consist of that guy, Mineta, and a bunch of randoms, I don't have any reason to hold back.

I was going to use every robot in this place to score the highest of today, of this decade, or of this damn century.

Was this school even a century old?

No matter.

'Let's do this.'

My eyes narrowed as I began accelerating.

I wasn't flying—I didn't want to look too much like Rockinesis. Honestly, the telekinesis alone was already a pretty big giveaway.

Which, admittedly, made me grateful Nezu had stepped in and forced me to retire that identity. Otherwise, I would've ended up revealing a lot more of my abilities over these past three months. I just couldn't resist showing off.

But now that my vigilante days were over, I had plenty of powers I could use without linking them to my delinquent self.

Of course, there was still the issue of showing too many seemingly unlinked abilities to my supposed Quirk… that alone would link me to Rockinesis, who showed a similar level of randomness.

'I'll just have to sneak them in as subtly as possible.'

With a sigh, I slowed down and surveyed my surroundings.

Behind me, dozens of robots lay completely destroyed.

Still, this was far from enough.

I was planning on setting a whole new record.

'Now then… which direction still has robots left?'

I tried to recall which sections of the mock city I hadn't cleared yet.

That's when—

—RUMBLE—

The ground shook.

For a moment, I was confused. Too focused on searching for robots, so it startled me a bit.

But soon, it clicked.

"Hmm? Oh, right. Almost forgot this thing existed for a second," I snorted, turning my gaze toward the massive figure rising nearly a mile away.

The Zero Pointer.

Honestly, between point farming and aura farming for the teachers watching us, it had completely slipped my mind.

But not anymore. Seeing that giant, titanic, and terrifying figure in the distance, my mouth became watery.

The biggest moment for Aura Farming in this exam has come.

And I'm not wasting it.

Smirking, I turned and started running toward it.

I'd like to walk toward it calmly and epically, but with it being a mile away, the exam would be over by the time I arrived. So I had to sacrifice a few cool points just to make it there in time.

At my current speed, it didn't take long to reach the area where it was wreaking havoc.

Many participants were fleeing in groups or hiding from its scanners while desperately searching for any remaining robots. However, none of them was actually facing it.

Which was good.

Otherwise, who knew if my robot-monopoly ended up causing one of these guys to think of something desperate and steal my spotlight?

'Not happening.' I thought, finally slowing my running to a walk as I got close enough to focus back on looking cool.

As I strode calmly towards the metal behemoth, one examinee after another ran past me, throwing perplexed looks my way when they realized I was heading toward it instead of away.

Soon, I even crossed paths with an entire retreating crowd of panicked examinees.

When they saw me approaching, they parted instinctively, making way.

I smirked at the sight but didn't slow my pace in the slightest.

Before long, I was close enough. A few examinees were still nearby—some frantically searching for other robots, others hiding or trapped beneath collapsed buildings left behind by the giant robot's rampage.

All of them realized I was there the moment I stopped walking.

Including… the Zero Pointer.

Its many red eyes locked onto me, glowing like a hunter that had just spotted its prey.

Murmurs of disbelief rippled through the nearby examinees, who stared at me as if I were insane for facing it head-on.

But this is what an aura farmer does.

—Rumble—

The air around stirred, and the horrifying sound of metal screeching against itself filled the air as the giant mass of metal began descending, ready to smash me into smitherens.

But all I did was close my eyes and smirk faintly.

Then—I raised my hand.

—Screeeech!—

The Zero Pointer's metal plates and components groaned as their momentum slammed into an invisible force, stopping the punch dead in midair.

The resulting shockwave tore through the air, slamming into the ground and sending my coat whipping violently behind me.

Violently—but epically.

"Hmph."

I opened my eyes again, still smirking.

Then—

—Swoooosh!—

I flicked my hand aside, forcing the Zero Pointer's arm away.

With its guard wide open, I moved.

-BAM!-

My figure blurred like a shooting star. In an instant, I slammed into its chest, warping the metal inward as smoke burst free.

I kicked off immediately, rebounding toward a nearby building, and using it as a foothold to launch myself back again.

Another strike—this time to its arm.

Then again, landing along its side.

Again.

And again.

And again.

I ricocheted around the battlefield, striking from every angle while the Zero Pointer stood helplessly, absorbing blow after blow.

-Thud!-

"Fuuuh~"

When I finally landed back on the ground, ending my assault, the Zero Pointer was pitifully deformed from the sheer number of impacts. Morphing from a machine of pure destruction into a bullied little kid.

Yet, as it recovered from my onslaught, it still moved, still trying to attack me.

"Foolishness, zero pointer, foolishness."

... Of course, that was only because I was allowing it to.

As I was now, a single strike would've been enough.

But that would have made everything too short. And where was the fun in that?

Snorting, I turned my back on it.

Moments later, I felt the air pressure of one of its massive hands swinging toward me.

But before it could reach—

"Begone."

I raised my palm—and clenched it.

—BOOOOOOOOOM!!!—

In an instant, the Zero Pointer's head compressed like a crumpled paper ball and exploded, unleashing a massive shockwave that sent my hair and coat whipping forward as it struck my back.

And as all of that happened—

I walked away without looking back.

Because walking away from explosions without turning around... is always cool.

….

────────────────────────

-To be Continued…-

────────────────────────

(A/N: How was all the aura farming? Decided to add a few style points by banging on the zero pointer before deciding to destroy it for good.

Anyway, see you next chapter, and merry already-passed Christmas.)

 

[The Synonym]

Join my Patreon to get access to more chapters, and you'll help me make ends meet while doing so.

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────────────────────────
[I don't know this guy]
────────────────────────

…

Thirty minutes after the exam ended, and after receiving information about when they would be able to check their results, the examinees began leaving U.A.'s facilities in waves.

Amid the mass of teenagers heading out, two stood out, as the crowd seemed to give them far more space than it did anyone else.

"Phew… those were easily the most hectic ten minutes of my life… even more if we count the waiting time before the exam," Jiro said, letting out a relieved sigh.

Taka nodded, though he didn't look even remotely as tired as she did.

She noticed immediately and deadpanned. "Why the heck are you nodding? You probably had it easy. I overheard some guys who were in the same battle center as you, they said you went and toppled that huge robot that appeared at the end."

"Fighting was the easy part," Taka replied, his gaze fixed straight ahead. "The rest wasn't."

'Constantly searching for cameras and good aura-farming spots was a pain,' he added inwardly.

Jiro didn't look convinced. "I mean, I knew your telekinesis was strong after seeing how you dealt with those delinquents months ago… but I didn't think it was strong enough to take down a giant robot."

"You never asked." He answered matter-of-factly.

She snorted, clearly unimpressed. "Then what even is your Quirk? You always answer with 'something like that,' so I never actually learned what it is. And there's no way a simple telekinesis Quirk has that much… power."

Taka took a moment before answering, glancing to the side as if considering it.

"It's called Muscle to Mind," he said at last. "The stronger my physical body is, the stronger my telekinesis becomes."

'Or at least, that's what's registered under my name,' he thought.

Fortunately, Nezu hadn't seemed to mind the misleading description, mentioning that it could be adjusted into a more appropriate one over time once Taka began showing more abilities.

After all, Quirks evolving—or revealing their true nature, different from what was thought in a beginning—wasn't unheard of.

And in his case, being a late bloomer benefited him even more since he'd barely had any time to explore it compared to someone who'd had their Quirk their whole life.

However, although Nezu did advise him to show his other abilities so they could adjust his Quirk's description over time, he did clarify that slow changes were preferable, as anything too abrupt would raise suspicion and link him to his Rockinesis identity.

'Still,' Taka thought, 'holding back all these abilities without using them is starting to itch.'

He had plenty of time to train and refine them—but very few chances to actually use them and show them off.

His inner aura farmer was being edged, and he didn't like it.

'Well, U.A. isn't far off. I'll have plenty of opportunities there,' he reassured himself, smirking inwardly.

Lost in his thoughts, he failed to notice that instead of the matter being clarified, Jiro now looked even more confused.

"But… is it exponential or something?" she asked. "Because you definitely don't look like someone who could smash a giant robot with his bare hands."

"I could," Taka replied without hesitation.

"Pfft—yeah, right," Jiro scoffed, amused for a moment.

But when Taka didn't laugh—and instead remained completely serious—her smile slowly faded.

"…Seriously?"

Taka nodded, glancing at her. "Wanna see?"

She raised an eyebrow. "How? I don't see any robots around."

"I could lift you…"

Jiro's face turned awkward. "That's a bit..."

"—and throw you into the sky. Then I'd just catch you with my telekinesis."

She deadpanned. "Please don't."

Taka rolled his eyes. "Suit yourself."

A brief silence followed, both of them lost in their own thoughts about what had just been said.

Eventually, Jiro spoke up again, shooting him a smirk.

"By the way, how do you think you did? Enough to claim first place as you said before?"

Taka smiled faintly. "Easily."

"Whoa, not even a second of humility with you," Jiro laughed.

"I'm pretty sure I destroyed over seventy percent of the robots in the entire stage… That, plus the rescue points I probably earned after taking down that huge robot, should've put me in first place without much trouble."

"R-rescue points?" Jiro asked, startled—like someone who had just found out an already finished exam had an entirely hidden section they hadn't seen.

Taka fell silent for a moment.

'Right. They didn't tell us that,' he mused, pursing his lips but keeping it off his face.

"Yeah… rescue points. They, uh…" His mind kicked into overdrive, scrambling for an excuse. "I overheard some guys talking about a secret gimmick. Apparently, the faculty also awarded points for heroic actions during the exam, not just for destroying robots…"

"Who said that?" Jiro asked, worried.

"Hmm… some random guy in my battle center. But honestly, it sounds like something a hero school would do, so I figured it was true."

She looked shaken by the information. "Y-yeah, it does make sense… Did I help anyone during the exam? I think I did—How do they even evaluate that? Like, does saving one person equal one point or something?"

Taka shrugged.

"No idea."

"Come on, Takahashi. You can't just drop info like that and leave me hanging."

He averted his gaze. "The guy I overheard didn't seem to know much either."

"Dammit." Jiro clicked her tongue. "What if the others in my stage knew and scored more points than I did because of it?"

He glanced at her with a faintly guilty look. He'd overspoken, and now she was clearly worried.

After a moment of thought, he spoke again.

"I'm sure not many people knew. You'll probably be fine. And even if you didn't get many of those points, everyone else's Quirks weren't anything special. You should pass easily just off the robot points."

"Ugh… hopefully."

She still didn't look convinced.

Seeing that, Taka grumbled inwardly.

'Me and my big mouth.'

Suddenly, his eyes darted upward, an idea forming.

He lifted his head and pointed at the sky. "Huh. Isn't that Rockinesis up there?"

Jiro's head snapped up. "Huh?! Where—"

"I was joking," Taka said flatly.

Her shocked expression instantly twisted into a glare.

Unbothered, Taka slapped her shoulder.

"Come on, lighten up. You have my vote of confidence—and I'm pretty strong, so that should count for something."

"Again with the confidence," Jiro scoffed, though a slight smirk tugged at her lips.

Taka smiled in quiet triumph.

However, as they finally reached U.A.'s gates—slowing slightly since they were too narrow for the crowd pouring out—and stepped onto the street beyond, Taka saw something that shook him to his core.

'No…' His eyes widened as he froze mid-step, cold sweat running down his back. 'This can't be!'

Jiro quickly noticed that he had stopped walking and raised an eyebrow, turning to see what had frozen him like that.

But all she saw was an empty street… save for a car parked not too far away, with a blond man standing beside it and—waving at them?

'Does he know him?' Jiro wondered.

Taka, however—

"I think we should take a detour," he said suddenly.

But before she could even answer—

"Yo, Taka! I came to bring you home!" the blond man shouted.

"I think he's calling you," Jiro said.

"He must be talking to someone else. Taka is a common na—"

"Takahashi Fukumoto—which, by the way, is not a common name—I said I came to get you home. Your home. In Shizuoka. In case you think I'm mistaking you for someone else. Now get your ass over here!"

"This fucking guy…" Taka muttered.

And so he did—he started making his way over. Jiro followed along, figuring she might as well say hi to whoever he was.

Soon, they stood in front of the man, who smirked at Taka with smug satisfaction.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't my ward, Takahashi Fukumoto, who, for some reason, likes to act as if he doesn't know me."

"Enough already." Taka clicked his tongue.

Seiji snickered, then shifted his gaze to Jiro standing beside him.

"And who is this young lady? Did you make a friend during the entrance exam?"

"Hi, um… I'm Kyoka Jiro. I've been friends with Taka for a while now," she introduced herself awkwardly.

Seiji tilted his head. "Huh? Taka? A friend? That's impossib—"

—Whack!—

"OW!"

His head snapped forward as something struck him from behind.

When he looked down, a baseball was rolling on the ground.

A group of kids quickly ran over, apologizing profusely and saying the ball had flown over by accident.

"Kids these days sure are careless when they play," Taka muttered, staring straight into Seiji's eyes.

The adult's smile twitched in annoyance.

Still, he didn't let the matter drop.

"So you've been friends for a while, huh? Funny how this little prick never told me," Seiji said with a smirk, ruffling Taka's hair aggressively.

That is—until Taka caught his wrist mid-motion and stopped it cold, creating an awkward standoff as Seiji tried to force it and Taka held him in place.

All the while, Seiji kept talking.

"So, you're probably from Shizuoka too, right?"

Jiro nodded.

"Then you must recognize me. After all, I'm quite the famous her—"

—Whack!—

"ACK! What the hell?!"

Another ball struck Seiji on the head.

Once again, the same kids hurried over, looking flabbergasted as well.

After grabbing their ball, they apologized before running off.

Seiji shot Taka a narrowed glare, then sighed and turned back to Jiro.

"So, how about you come with us?" He tapped the car's roof. "Or are your parents waiting for you?"

Taka very not discreetly shook his head at her.

She smiled wryly at the sight. Even if he hadn't, she would've refused anyway.

"My parents are already waiting for me, so I'll have to pass."

"Is that so? Too bad. I wanted to ask you what this rascal is like at school. You see, he acts all broody and serious, but he's actually—"

—Bam!—

This time, there was no ball.

Taka elbowed him hard.

"You little shit," Seiji hissed.

"Stop running your mouth," Taka shot back.

"I see you got cocky just because you beat me once. Just so you know, I wasn't even trying!"

"Sounds like loser talk."

While the two traded insults, Jiro snorted in amusement.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed. When she checked it, she realized her parents had arrived.

She prepared to leave, giving Taka a small wave.

"Well, Takahashi, see you in a month—hopefully."

"See you in a month," Taka replied, still half-wrestling with Seiji.

And with that, she walked away.

Once she was finally gone, guardian and ward separated.

"So why did you come? I would've been home in just a few minutes on my own," Taka said with a frown.

Seiji shrugged, his expression sly.

"Come on, kid. You just took the entrance exam for the best hero school in the country—and probably passed, considering how overpowered you are. Let your guardian spoil you a little."

Rolling his eyes, Taka smiled faintly.

"Suit yourself."

…

°

°

°

| A week later… |

…

Taka sat at his desk, tapping a pencil against his chin as he glared at the sheet lying before him.

Right now, he was planning yet another song to upload to his channel.

Ever since his early retirement from vigilantism, this had become his only source of aura, along with the songs he had already uploaded.

Since then, he had released a few more tracks, all of them taken from his old life. Having already proven himself, he was no longer against recreating them, and since he was busy studying and dealing with other matters, he decided to make the process easier on his clones by having them recompose the songs instead of creating entirely new ones from scratch.

He had already done "Hunting Soul" from the anime DanDaDan, "New Divide"—since he needed to maintain an edge—and "I Despise" from Chaotica, which used to be one of his favorites.

All of this, besides giving him a bunch of aura daily, also allowed him to add them back into his playlist again. Two birds with one stone, if he said so himself.

Now, he was busy deciding which song should be next.

But as he searched the deepest corners of his mind, looking for something that would hit nicely—someone knocked on his door.

—Wham!—

Only to be slammed open before he could even say anything. Revealing an excited-looking Seiji behind it.

"Yo, Taka, it's here!" the older man said as he stepped inside, waving an envelope in front of his face.

"What is it?" Taka asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Your entrance results!"

For a second, Taka looked genuinely surprised—before quickly regaining his composure.

"Is that so? Hand them over."

Seiji did, and soon Taka placed the small projector sealed inside the envelope onto his desk.

The moment he pressed the button, a projection of Nezu appeared in midair.

{"Hello! Takahashi-kun. It's been a while, hasn't it?" The principal waved cheerfully at the camera, almost like a child. {"I'm here with your results! Though I'm quite sure you already know what they are, given the huge show you put on during the exam."}

Seiji shot his ward a sly glance, which Taka completely ignored.

{"You certainly made sure to cement yourself as one of the best participants we've ever had. Not only did you rank first, but you also achieved the highest score ever recorded!"}

A panel appeared in the projection, displaying his name above all others. Making Taka's and Seiji's eyes widen like platters for a split second.

[Takahashi Fukumoto: 100 Villain Points | 70 Rescue Points]

{"Be proud, Takahashi-kun. Not only did you achieve an unprecedented result—"} Nezu leaned closer to the camera, covering one side of his mouth as if whispering. {"—you also surpassed the score All Might himself once achieved."}

Seiji grabbed Taka by the shoulders, shaking him excitedly as he laughed.

Nezu's projection finally reached its end, showing the principal opening his arms wide in a welcoming gesture.

{"You are hereby invited to join our institution, Takahashi Fukumoto. This is… Your Hero Academia."}

The projection cut off, leaving the room in silence for a moment.

Then Taka spoke.

"This is nothing less than the expected result."

Even as he discreetly pumped his fist.

…

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-To be Continued…-

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(A/N: No more waiting, U.A. is finally here.

I have already planned a few things so that you guys don't have to watch merely a repetition of the show, but with a guy aura farming in the background.

It also wouldn't make sense given the level Taka already has.

Also, updates should pick up the pace a bit from now on since I've reached my goal of putting the Patreon 10 ahead.

Not like instantly, though. But eitherway, the wait between chapters should be smaller.)