I had no fucking clue how to wrestle this mess under control with Toga wearing my face and mouthing off like she owned the damn place. She wasn't even pretending to dial it back. Her grin was pure gasoline, splashing over the already blazing tension and cranking it up way past anything I'd braced myself for. The room felt like a pressure cooker ready to blow, every eye locked on us, waiting for the next move.
"What's this bullshit game, Ryuga?!" Bakugo roared, not holding a damn thing back, his eyes practically sparking with fury as he jabbed a finger my way. "You dragging some enemy into class to clown us all or what?!"
"Bakugo, calm down a sec!" Midoriya jumped in, his voice steady but laced with confusion, clearly just as thrown as the rest. "Ryuga, can you explain? Who is this? Why's this person look like you?"
I let out a heavy sigh, feeling drained as hell and not in the mood to deal with this shitshow, but I knew I had to say something to pull the heat off, even just a little. My throat felt raw, my body ached from the hospital bed, but I forced the words out anyway. "Alright, listen up. We're together? Yeah, no debate there, and why I was hellbent on getting home that day… Simple. She'd lose her shit if I didn't make it back. Her looking like me's 'cause her Quirk lets her morph into someone she loves for a while if she's touched 'em. That's all." I flicked my eyes between Toga and the class, scanning for any cracks in the story that might give me away. "She's… special 'cause her life's been weird as fuck, but she's not bad news. I'd stake my ass on it."
The room went dead silent, like everyone was chewing on the bomb I'd just dropped. The air turned so thick I could hear the faint tick of the clock on the wall, each second stretching out like a damn eternity. No one moved, no one spoke—just a heavy, suffocating pause hanging over us.
Bakugo shattered it, his temper flaring up like a goddamn wildfire. He jabbed a finger at my face again, his voice booming through the room.
"Bullshit!" He bellowed, loud enough to rattle the windows. "You think we're all idiots, Ryuga? An enemy just falls for you outta nowhere? Don't fuck with me!"
Kirishima stepped up quick, clapping a hand on Bakugo's shoulder to rein him in. "Easy, Bakugo. Maybe he's legit? It's a stretch, sure, but Ryuga seems serious about this."
"I don't give a shit how serious he looks!" Bakugo snarled, his eyes wild like he was two seconds from throwing fists. "No one pulls this kinda crap!"
Toga—still wearing my skin—let out my creepy-ass laugh, the sound bouncing off the walls and turning every head her way. She tilted her head, grinning wide like she was loving every second of this chaos. "Oh, so you're the hothead Ryuga's always bitching about? He said you're a loose cannon, but damn, you're a fuckin' volcano."
Then, in a move that threw everyone off even more, she half-dropped the Quirk—my face stayed plastered on her, but her female frame started showing through my U.A. uniform, the curves and lines of her real body cutting through the disguise. She kept going, her tone dripping with smugness: "There, happy now, dipshits?"
Of course, that didn't do jack to lighten the vibe, as the room stayed suffocating, everyone sporting a different flavor of unease...
Bakugo was still losing his damn mind, muttering under his breath about "cheap tricks" and "wasted time," his hands twitching like he wanted to blast something. Midoriya looked puzzled as hell, his eyes darting between me and Toga like he was trying to solve a math problem with half the numbers missing.
Kirishima was the first to break the standoff, stepping up with his usual try-hard optimism. "Uh… if Ryuga vouches like that, guess it's cool, right? But, Ryuga's girlfriend, gotta say... Your Quirk's pretty… unique." He forced a grin, clearly grasping at straws to lighten the mood, but it hung there awkwardly.
Toga, still rocking my face, arched a brow and smirked at him. "Thanks, redhead. You're smoother than I figured." Her half-tease, half-genuine jab made Kirishima flush red, scratching the back of his neck, but it didn't do much to cut through the tension choking the room.
Momo stood up next, her voice firm but not biting, cutting through the chaos like a blade. "Ryuga, I understand you're protecting your girlfriend, but we need more than this. She can't just pop up out of nowhere without raising flags. Her Quirk's… honestly, dangerous if misused or in the wrong hands."
I sighed again, locking eyes with Momo and sweeping my gaze across the class. "I get where you're coming from, and I ain't mad at it. But I've got my reasons. She's not evil, and she's no threat to us or anyone. If she was, you think I'd be dumb enough to let her waltz in here without a backup plan?"
"Oh, so you've got a backup plan?" Jiro tilted her head, skepticism dripping from every word as she crossed her arms. "Just curious, what if she flips and attacks? What then?"
Toga chuckled, stepping toward Jiro with a sly glint in her—my—eyes that made the air crackle. "If I wanted that, you think you'd still be standing here yakking, earbuds?" Her grin was sharp enough to cut glass. "Lucky for you, I'm not that type. I'm here for Ryuga, not to stir up more shit for him."
Jiro flinched back, visibly spooked for a split second, but she pulled herself together fast and smirked. "You're a real wild card."
I jumped in before it could spiral any further, my voice cutting through the back-and-forth. "Alright, that's enough. Anyone's got questions, hit me—I'll sort it. Just don't make this messier than it already is."
Toga shrugged, plopping down beside me on the bed all casual-like, but she threw me a quick wink that said she wasn't done playing. "You owe me dinner out for this clusterfuck, babe."
The class still eyed her warily, their stares lingering like they were waiting for her to pull some new trick, but they eased off a bit now that she wasn't fully me anymore. All Might, who'd been silent up 'til now, finally stepped forward and clapped a heavy hand on my shoulder, his presence filling the room.
"Ryuga," he said, his tone serious but not as sharp as I'd braced for. "I hope you know what you're doing. If this is your call, we'll trust it for now, but any trouble's got a steep price. Clear?"
"Got it, sensei…" I nodded, keeping my cool even as my insides churned.
It took a while for the room to settle. People started warming up, asking about my health, shifting the vibe to something way less hostile than when this shit kicked off. Mostly. Bakugo stayed planted in the corner, arms crossed tight, glaring at me and Toga with pure, unfiltered doubt. He didn't say another word, but I could tell he was cooking something in that explosive head of his, and I couldn't read it worth a damn.
Still, one thing was crystal clear: me and Toga dishing out PDA wasn't exactly classroom-friendly, especially with Mineta yapping nonsense to Kaminari in the back. The little perv was a mess of curiosity and jealousy, his beady eyes glued to Toga as he muttered under his breath.
"What the hell's this? How's a prick like Ryuga this lucky? Hot girlfriend with a killer bod and a badass Quirk, flaunting it right in our faces!"
Kaminari patted Mineta's shoulder, barely holding back a laugh. "Chill, Mineta. Maybe you gonna take some notes. Ryuga's got confidence. You could snag you a girl like that someday!"
Mineta shot him a glare, then turned it on me, his face a mix of envy and disdain. "What kinda dogshit luck is this, Ryuga…"
I caught every word but just shook my head with a half-smirk. Truth was, there wasn't a speck of "luck" in this—pulling Toga to my side before she even got a whiff of the League had cost me a fuckton. One slip-up yesterday, and I'd be a corpse right now, not sitting here dragging her home safe the next day.
The room got lively for a bit, but after checking on me, most of the class decided to bounce, as it was past noon, and Aizawa was still in the ICU, way worse off than me, so they were gearing up to visit him later. Some lingered, tossing curious glances at me and Toga before finally splitting, their footsteps fading down the hall.
Once the crowd thinned out, I kept Izuku and All Might back, 'cause I needed a word with them. Toga was already on her way back to my place to keep watch, partly 'cause I wasn't sure it was safe here with all these eyes, and this convo was too big, too private - fewer ears, the better.
When the room was finally empty, just the three of us left, I got serious—playing it smooth to dodge any suspicion and laid it all out. "Izuku, think… it's time I spill why I know you've got One For All…"
Izuku's eyes damn near popped out of his head, his face twisting into a mess of shock, confusion, and a pinch of panic. "You… knew already? How…?"
"Ain't magic," I cut in, keeping my tone steady. "Just watching and piecing shit together. Didn't just guess, I confirmed it from All Might's slip-ups over the years… and your ten months busting ass on that beach."
All Might let out a quiet sigh but didn't stop me, his expression unreadable as I kept rolling. "Seeing All Might push you that hard in training tipped me off, and now he ain't got One For All anymore; it's yours now. Then I clocked you, Izuku. Your gains, how you throw power like him, plus my second Quirk… it's all too fuckin' obvious. Meant to say it after the entrance exam, but never got the right shot 'til now."
Izuku froze, his hands clenching tight at his sides, his brain clearly scrambling to catch up. "So… what're you doing with this? And what's this second Quirk?!" he asked, his voice low but trembling with nerves.
"Relax," I said, leaning into sincerity to keep him steady. "I ain't spilling jack. And if my second Quirk got out, I'd be lucky to live long, by then, no one'd give a shit about One For All anyway."
All Might stayed quiet for a few beats, then nodded slow, like he was weighing every damn syllable I'd said. When he finally spoke, his voice was measured, deliberate. "You're right, kid. This ties up a lot of people and stakes… But I trust you've got your reasons." He put a hand on Izuku's shoulder, grounding him. "Midoriya, be extra careful now. Can't predict everything, but with Ryuga in the know, we're all in this boat…"
Izuku nodded, his eyes bright but tinged with worry, like he was still processing the weight of it all. "I get it… But, Ryuga, you say you won't tell, but why you bring it up with me and All Might now?"
"Teamwork's built on trust, Midoriya," I said, locking eyes with him. "Live together 'til the end or die at the same damn time, knowing each other's dirt makes us real partners. I'm paranoid as fuck, so cut me some slack…"
Izuku listened, his face twitching with unease but softening with understanding. "Got it, Ryuga. Thanks for trusting us. I won't let you down, I'll keep your secret too."
All Might eyed us both, his stern look easing up a bit, then spoke before heading out with Izuku. "Alright, Ryuga, rest up. Your wounds ain't healed, and diving into heavy shit like this just slows you down."
As they walked out, their footsteps echoing down the hall, I flopped back onto the bed, my head spinning with what was coming next. The U.S.J. clash with the League had shown me I was still too green to tangle with real villains. Brushing up against death had toughened me up, dulled the fear a bit, but one wrong step, and the next fight could be my last.
Nomu's DNA - good thing I'd snagged some dried blood on my handkerchief during that chaos. As for the "traitor" in 1-A, I'd settle that score later. For now, I had to keep my head in the game and my cards close - shit was only gonna get messier from here.