The morning air at Shiketsu Academy was crisp, carrying the hum of chatter and excitement that came with the start of a new semester. Students in perfectly pressed uniforms moved in coordinated lines toward their classes, the aura of discipline practically woven into the air.

Izuku Midoriya stood just outside the main building, clutching his bag a little tighter than necessary. Even after all the battles, all the training, and everything he’d gone through at U.A., this felt… different. A fresh start. A new environment. And yet, the flutter of nerves in his chest was the same as his very first day as a hero student.

“Okay,” he murmured under his breath, adjusting the collar of his Shiketsu uniform. “New school, new classmates, same goal. I can do this.”

He inhaled deeply and stepped forward—

*—and promptly collided with someone rounding the corner.

“Ah!” you yelped, stumbling back as your notebook flew from your hands. Papers scattered like startled birds, fluttering across the courtyard.

“I-I’m so sorry!” Izuku blurted, already crouching to help gather them. His voice was earnest, slightly rushed in that familiar, breathless way. “I wasn’t looking where I was going—are you okay?”

You blinked at the boy in front of you, noticing the nervous energy in his eyes and the messy curls of green hair that refused to behave. “Yeah, I’m fine. You’re new, right? Haven’t seen you around before.”

Izuku froze for a second before smiling sheepishly. “Yeah, uh, first day actually. I’m—Midoriya. Izuku Midoriya.”