The weather had turned ugly. Usually, bad weather wasn’t a problem - classes went on, training continued, life moved forward regardless. But this storm was different. Nezu had declared it unsafe for students to set foot outside, and when it came to predicting danger, Nezu’s judgment was rarely wrong.

Shouta hadn’t argued. No one had. Three days had passed, and Class 1-A remained sealed inside their Heights Alliance dorm building.

He’d spent more time here than in the staff dorms, partly to keep an eye on the students, partly because he hated trudging through sheets of rain just to check on them. Cameras were fine in theory, but if something actually happened, he’d have to come here anyway. Easier to stay. Easier to sleep on the common room couch.

Now, stretched across the cushions, he stirred awake from another nap. Evening, probably. The common room was quiet, most of the students tucked away in their rooms, presumably. Outside, rain battered the windows in a relentless rhythm, thunder rolling in the distance. Lightning flickered faintly against the glass, a reminder of the storm that kept them all inside.