[U.A. – Days after the aptitude tests]
U.A. was everything I dreamed of… and more. But along with the glory of being here came the weight. Every class, every exercise, every simulation was a constant reminder that I needed to be better. Faster. More efficient. Precise.
So I trained. Every day. Every damn day.
I'd wake up before the sun, put on my training gear, and head to the gym before anyone else. Just me and my ten. The ten aliens. The ten pieces of me.
With XLR8, I ran obstacle courses I built myself, trying to shave milliseconds off each lap.
With Diamondhead, I shaped weapons and shields in real-time until my hands ached from crystallizing and de-crystallizing over and over.
Heatblast was the hardest. Heat required control, not strength. I trained to contain the fire in compact spheres, in small bursts — one mistake, and I'd melt the reinforced floor.
And with Four Arms, well... I had to resist the urge to crush everything. Raw power is addictive. Dangerous.
I knew the reason behind all of it. It wasn't just for recognition. Not to stay at the top.
It was because of the USJ.
That acronym burned in my mind. U.S.J. "Unforeseen Simulation Joint."
A simulation, they say. But to me… it was the first real test.
I remembered everything. The attack. The villains. The Nomu. Shigaraki. All Might's brutal fight.
If I were just a regular student… maybe I could pretend to be surprised.
But I'm not.
I can't tell the teachers. I can't walk into that room and say, "Hey, heads up, there's going to be a villain massacre tomorrow afternoon." No one would believe me. And if they did… I'd become a target.
So I had only one option: be ready. Fast enough, strong enough, smart enough to change what's coming.
[Free training – Late afternoon]
I was training in the field when I heard voices behind me. I thought it was just someone passing by, but when I looked, it was them: Mina Ashido and Eijiro Kirishima.
"Do you always train like the world's ending tomorrow ?" Mina asked, flashing that light smile.
I swallowed hard. She had no idea how right she was.
"Maybe… because it might," I replied, trying to play it off.
Kirishima laughed. "Dude, you're something else. Switching forms like that, it's like a video game on turbo mode."
I smiled sideways. "Let's just say… training is the only thing that keeps me from overthinking."
"Overthinking what ?" Mina asked, sitting on the bench next to the arena.
I thought about lying. But something about her… made me lower my guard.
"Possibilities," I said simply.
She gave me a curious look but didn't press further. That was when the friendship started — simple, unassuming.
In the days that followed, she invited me to lunch. Kirishima started training with me, offering himself as a "human weight" for strength tests. I learned he was more heart than muscle. And Mina ? A whirlwind of energy. Before I knew it, they were there.
Always.
And as much as I wanted to keep my distance, afraid of involving them… I let them in. Because it felt good. Because, for the first time, I realized I was just Ben.
[ Night before the USJ]
The night felt darker than usual.
I sat on my bed, staring at my open notebook.
I had made notes. Possible villain positions. Attack patterns. Strategic
locations. I even marked where the Nomu would likely appear.
But what was I going to do with that ?
'If I act too early, it'll raise suspicion. If I wait too long, someone might get hurt. I need a plan. A way to act fast… without revealing what I know.'
I closed my eyes. Took a deep breath.
"They won't get hurt. Not while I'm there. Not while I can fight."
[U.A. Bus – On the way to the USJ]
The morning sun was still lazy, filtering through the bus windows as Class 1-A boarded for another "special event."
To them, it was just a practical lesson at a simulation center.
To me… it was a battlefield waiting to happen.
"Hey, Ben !" Mina hopped onto the seat in front of me and turned around, leaning her arms on the backrest. "Which form are you using first today, huh ? I hope it's the fire one again — he's super cool !"
"Heatblast, right ?" Kirishima added from my side. "Dude looks like an anime character. So badass."
I smiled, relaxing a little.
"Ah, can't reveal my strategies, right ? Tactical secrecy. But… let's just say if something catches fire today, it's probably me."
They laughed. Even Bakugou let out a "tch," arms crossed, but not with his usual venom. Midoriya watched quietly from the back seat, jotting something in his notebook, as always.
"Do you have a name for each form ?" Uraraka asked, leaning into the aisle.
"Or do you just call them... 'my running dude', 'my four-armed tank'?"
"I've got names, of course. XLR8, Heatblast, Four Arms, Diamondhead…" I started listing on my fingers. "But I'm open to suggestions. Kirishima wanted me to name one of them 'Mega Punch,' remember ?"
"Still think it works," he said, punching the air. "Imagine: 'Here comes Mega Punch !' That'd scare any villain."
"Or make him laugh so hard he drops his guard," I replied, drawing more laughs.
Mina gave me a playful shove on the shoulder. "You should interact more with the class. You always disappear after lessons."
I feigned deep thought, dramatic. "It's because I'm mysterious. Tragic. A lone wolf with a fiery heart."
"Or just a weirdo," Bakugou muttered.
"See ?" I raised my hands. "Recognition from the expert !"
More laughter. The energy was light, cheerful. Like everyone was headed to a field trip — not a place where, in moments, blood would be spilled.
And that's when the weight hit me again.
'They're laughing. Joking. This is what it should be. A school experience. A practical lesson. Something to learn from and be inspired by.
But I know what's coming.
The Nomu. Shigaraki. Kurogiri. The screams. The fear. The fight for survival.
I know every detail. Every second. The scene is already burned into my mind. And I'm here, smiling… pretending I don't know.
But I do.
And I kind of hate myself for it. For lying. For hiding. But if I speak now, if I shatter this peace, this moment between them — no one will believe me. At best, they'll isolate me. At worst… they'll investigate.
I can't be the boy who knew too much.
I have to be the one who acts at the right time. The one who saves when no one expects it. The one who turns the tide.
But… what if I fail? What if, even knowing… I can't stop it? What if someone gets hurt because of me ?'
"Ben ?" Mina called again, snapping me out of it. "You okay ? You went quiet all of a sudden."
I smiled, forcing some lightness.
"Sorry. Just debating which name is better: Mega Punch or Ultra Slam."
She raised an eyebrow. "You're so weird."
"It's my charm," I replied, turning to the window.
The urban landscape gave way to open areas. We were almost there.
The USJ loomed on the horizon — a massive, mirrored, imposing structure.
[USJ – Arrival]
The bus stopped in front of the massive structure.
The Unforeseen Simulation Joint — USJ — was even more impressive in person. Simulated towers, natural disaster zones, fire areas, rubble, lakes, mock landslides… all designed to put future heroes into real-world scenarios.
"Looks like an apocalyptic amusement park," I muttered as I stepped down with the others.
"I love it !" Mina spun with arms wide open. "It's like a disaster movie, but educational !"
Aizawa stood just ahead, arms crossed. Next to him, the hero Thirteen — dressed in that white hooded suit.
"Welcome to the USJ," Thirteen said. "Here, you'll learn to deal with rescue situations. Natural disasters, collapses, fires… your job won't just be fighting villains, but saving lives."
'If only she knew... that today would be both.'
I forced myself to look calm. But inside ? I was counting the seconds. I could feel my pulse pounding in my neck. Every fiber in my body was screaming.
'It's close. Way too close.'
Aizawa continued:
"You'll be divided into groups and sent to different sectors. Observe. Learn. Adapt."
That's when the lights flickered.
Only for a second. A blink. But for me… it was enough.
"Guys…" Midoriya pointed toward the center of the arena.In the middle of the vast entrance hall, where no one else should have been… a darkness began to writhe.
A black vortex, like liquid smoke, twisting reality.And then he appeared.
Kurogiri.
The smoke took form. A crisp suit. A deep voice.
"Apologies for the interruption, young heroes. But your lesson ends here."
'There it is. It's started.Shigaraki's coming next. Then the Nomu. Then chaos.It's now.'
Without thinking, I stepped forward, activating the transformation in a whisper.
XLR8.
Green. Energy. Sparks under my skin. The world slowing down.
Amid everyone's shock, I was already moving.
I rushed ahead of Aizawa. He was still trying to activate his Quirk. Thirteen was backing up, trying to protect the students. Kurogiri expanded, about to engulf everyone in dimensional portals.
Not this time.
I leapt over the smoke before it could wrap around us and hit Kurogiri with a high-speed spinning kick.
The impact didn't hurt him — of course, he was made of mist — but it disrupted his concentration for a second. And that… was enough.
Aizawa activated his eyes, and instantly, the shadows dimmed.
"Everyone, retreat !" he shouted. "Now !"
Thirteen spread her arms, activating her gravitational vortex, regaining control of the zone. The students were panicking, but began to pull back.
But it was too late.
Portals opened beneath our feet.
I saw Midoriya, Tsuyu, and Mineta fall. I saw Kirishima get sucked in with Sero. Uraraka screamed beside me — I grabbed her with speed before she vanished too.
The floor crumbled beneath me.
'Crap !'
Before I could fall, I switched.
Ghostfreak.
I turned intangible and phased through the portal. I threw myself out before it could warp me somewhere else in the USJ. I hit the ground, rolling, back to normal, gasping.
"The attack... it's bigger than I remembered," I muttered, staring at the wave of villains emerging.
Kurogiri withdrew, returning to the center. And then, a voice rang out. Low, dragging, dirty.
"You… shouldn't be fighting."
Shigaraki.
He walked forward, hand twitching, eyes hidden beneath that sick, twisted smile.
"You should've died… with All Might… weak as you are…"
Beside him, the monster appeared. The Nomu. Huge. Menacing. Built to kill.And I stood between them.
Alone.
But not defenseless.
I activated the alien I needed most right now:
Diamondhead.
My skin hardened, crystallizing. The heat in my chest turned into courage. My hands became blades. And my eyes — now green and faceted — locked onto that titan.
"If you want to get through… you'll have to go through me first."
The dome's glass structure trembled with the first sounds of explosions. Villains appeared from all sides, spreading into every zone. It was like watching the start of an earthquake — and knowing the epicenter was just meters from me.
At the center of the chaos: the Nomu. A titan of exposed muscle, claws like blades, and soulless eyes.
Next to him, Shigaraki, walking with the calm of someone who already believes he's won.
And there I was. In front of them all. Alone.
My crystal skin gleamed under the artificial dome lights. Each step echoed on the cracked ground. I raised a wall to stop the villains from reaching the students still nearby.
The barrier rose with a snap, hard and gleaming, with the precision of someone who had practiced this dozens of times.Inside, the fear was real. The same fear as always — not for me, but for them.
For my classmates. For those who didn't know what was coming.
But I did.
'Nomu is resistant to shocks. To strength. To direct destruction.But not invincible.'
'They should be running,' I thought. 'But if they're going to fight… I'll clear the path.'
I charged first.
Threw myself at the Nomu, crystal blades forming in spiral shapes around my arms, sharp. I attacked hard, already expecting his response. His punch hit me like a truck. I was launched into the concrete, crashing through a wall of rubble.
'Stronger than I remembered.But also more predictable.'
I got up. Cracks lined my crystal body, but nothing that would stop me.
"Let's go again, monster."
I jumped. Scattered crystal shards around me and fired them in a hail of spikes.
Nomu roared, turned, and attacked me with fury.
But I was ready.
Switched forms mid-air.
XLR8.
The world slowed down.
I dodged. Ran up his arm. Darted across his shoulder blade. Spun, and kicked the side of his head with a blow that cracked the floor when I landed.
"You'll need more than muscles to catch me."
[In the Background – Group of Students Watching]
Kirishima clenched his fists. "Dude… is he holding that thing off by himself?!"
Mina panted. "He's changing forms mid-fight…"
Uraraka swallowed hard. "He didn't hesitate for even a second…"
Midoriya, still hiding behind a fallen structure, watched with wide eyes. "He... already knew how to deal with all of this. It's like… he trained exactly for this type of enemy."
Bakugou, eyes fixed on the fight, growled: "Tch… that bastard's stealing all the action."
But even he, despite his wounded pride, started moving forward, sparks charging in his hands.
And then… one by one, they began to act.
Todoroki froze the side of a villain zone, stopping reinforcements.
Iida, hesitant but resolved, ran back to the gate to warn U.A. at top speed.
Kirishima hardened his body and leapt to help hold off two villains cornering Thirteen.
Mina used her acid to carve escape paths through the debris.
Inspired.
Moved by something they didn't expect to see so soon.
I felt the crystal break. And I called on brute force.
The transformation came hot, heavy, powerful.
My feet cracked the ground as I landed. My four arms rose. And the roar that came out of me was more animal than human.
I grabbed the Nomu with two arms. With the other two, I punched — not to defeat him, but to restrain him. To keep him here. Away from the others.
"If you want to kill someone… THEN KILL ME, IF YOU CAN !"
Shigaraki shouted from the other side: "NOMU ! FINISH HIM !"
And it tried.
But for a moment — just a moment — Class 1-A had time. Had space.
The ground trembled with each of Nomu's punches. The structure shook with the impact of every clash. And me? I held on. One alien at a time. One plan after another. Because I couldn't fail.
I wouldn't fail.
I was transformed into Four Arms, pushing the monster with everything I had — but even at my maximum strength, it still advanced. One step at a time, like an out-of-control tank.
It regenerates. It's resistant to impact, temperature, nerve shocks… But nothing is perfect. Even a wall can fall, if you know where to hit.
I threw myself back, rolling on the ground, and deactivated the transformation. My lungs burned. Every cell ached.
"Alright…" I whispered. "Let's change the pace."
XLR8
The world slowed down.
I ran circles around the Nomu, generating friction. Slid between its legs, slashed its back with a small crystal blade (formed seconds earlier as Diamondhead). It wasn't to kill — it was to distract.
I jumped, transforming mid-air.
Insectoid
The thin claws slashed the monster's neck in a cross motion, and the wings kept me hovering out of his reach. One of his eyes was hit — he roared.
"Mad, huh ? Good. So am I."
But it regenerated.
Again.
And caught me.
The monstrous hand grabbed my leg and threw me into one of the concrete towers. I shattered the wall like a cannonball. The pain was real.The transformation dropped. I returned to normal. Coughed blood.
I can't stop now. I can't…
The sound of my classmates' screams was everywhere. But no one was running anymore. No one was fleeing. They were fighting. Because I was still standing. Because if I fell...they'd be next.
"So let's end this…"
I placed my hand on the ground. Activated the next alien.
Heatblast
A burst of heat.
Fire engulfed my body. My hands became torches. I leapt into the sky and launched a storm of flames straight at the Nomu's chest.
It roared, charged forward.
I fired another blast — right at the knee. The heat melted part of the regenerated flesh. That was it. The regeneration had limits. It was fast… but not instant.
"If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen," I muttered, flying around it.
"Now… let's cool things down a bit."
I extinguished the flames mid-air and shifted form during the fall.
Diamondhead
I dropped like a living spear, right into Nomu's right shoulder. The impact brought it down. But it didn't stop. It grabbed me again — even while injured.But I had a final card.
Ghostfreak
I turned intangible. Escaped its grasp. Reappeared behind it.
And then… I changed again.
Four Arms
The sound of the transformation echoed like thunder.
The energy was raw. Wild. Final.
I leapt, roaring with all my strength.
I clenched all four fists and brought them together in one strike, aiming for the already-damaged spot: the skull.
"End of the line, Nomu."
BOOM.
The impact was deafening. The monster's head cracked. It didn't explode — but it gave in. The body lost balance. The ground split under the weight of the fall.
It collapsed. Trembling. Still trying to regenerate…
But this time, it didn't have time.
I charged, still as Four Arms, and struck again. And again.
Until the regenerative flesh stopped moving.
Until it stopped getting up.
Silence.
For a second… only the sound of my heavy breathing.
'I won. I beat the Nomu.'
Before All Might. Before everything collapsed.
But my legs trembled. My whole body burned. I dropped to my knees, gasping.
Midoriya's eyes were wide.
Kirishima dropped to his knees. "He… he beat that thing."
Uraraka brought her hands to her mouth, eyes filled with tears. "He saved us."
Mina started running toward me. "Ben ! BEN !"
Even Bakugou… was silent. Just staring at me. As if, for the first time, he truly saw me.
And then… a shadow fell over the field.
All Might.
Arriving too late.
He landed with a crash, eyes wide as he saw the unconscious Nomu.
"I got here as fast as I could…"
I looked at him, still kneeling, bleeding, dirty, exhausted.
"It's all… taken care of."
All Might looked around the field. At me. At the students.Silence hung over the arena like a heavy veil.
Dust still floated in the air. The scent of scorched metal, sweat, and shattered concrete was strong. Beneath the rubble, among destruction and dying sparks, the Nomu's body remained still.
And me… still on my knees.
My hands were shaking. My lungs burned. Energy coursed through my body like uncontrolled electricity.
I felt the transformation fade.
My four arms withdrew. My skin returned to normal. My eyes, once normal… began to pulse red.
"No… not now…"
I tried to get up. One step, two — my legs gave out. My body felt like lead.
The pain… was different. Not physical. Internal. Like my brain was frying from the inside.
My vision blurred.
'I used XLR8, Heatblast, Insectoid, Diamondhead, Ghostfreak, Four Arms… six transformations. One after the other.Even with training, even with all I've studied… it's still too much. Still demands more than I can give.'
And then the voice returned.
Cold.
Mechanical.
Empty.
"Energy depleted. Recharge mode initiated."
My eyes glowed again — pure red. The pulse in the circuits at my neck sped up. My head throbbed.
The pressure became so intense I couldn't hold myself up.
I fell to my knees again.
The world spun. The lights of USJ started to feel distant. The voices around me… muffled.
I heard someone scream my name.
"MIDORIYA! GET THE TEACHERS !"
"BEN !"
"HE'S PASSING OUT !"
"HE'S GOING DOWN !"
I couldn't respond.
My eyes saw only red light. My body began to give in. First the legs, then the arms. Finally… everything.
How ironic. Defeating the Nomu… only to lose to myself.
I closed my eyes.
And surrendered to the darkness.