Two weeks later.
An unmarked van pulled into the school parking lot.
Inside, Shouta Aizawa rubbed his temples.
"This is a waste of time."
Beside him, the principal—Nezu—smiled, sipping from a steaming cup.
"Humor me. One of the teachers filed a behavioral anomaly report."
Aizawa groaned.
"I'm not a babysitter."
"No. But you're good at spotting fakes."
Class 1-C stared as a man in black stepped through the door.
Eyes tired. Hair wild. A capture weapon wound tight around his shoulders.
A presence that didn't match the room.
Some kids giggled.
Others looked away.
But Izuku…Izuku just watched.
Unblinking.
Expression unreadable.
"Shouta Aizawa. Quirk Appraisal Division," he said bluntly. "Midoriya Izuku. Come with me."
Whispers exploded.
Izuku stood.
Didn't hesitate.
Didn't ask questions.
He walked past his classmates like a ghost.
A cold gymnasium.
Empty.
Aizawa crossed his arms. "Your teachers say you're too smart for your age. You predict injuries. Accidents. Threats."
Izuku nodded.
"And you're Quirkless."
"Yes."
"Prove it."
Aizawa's hair lifted.
Red glow. Quirk activated.
Izuku didn't flinch.
Because he had nothing to erase.
Aizawa paced. Circled him.
"You're not normal. Not even close. So I'll ask one question…"
He stopped.
Leaned in.
Voice low.
Eyes sharp.
"What are you hiding?"
Silence.
The ceiling fan creaked.
Izuku's eyes met his.
Then—
"Nothing you're ready to hear yet."
A pause.
Aizawa's brow twitched. His Quirk dropped.
"What does that mean?"
"It means I'll need your help eventually. But not today."
Izuku looked at the gym doors.
"Someone's about to pull the fire alarm. The foam system will short. You'll have three injuries, no fires."
Aizawa blinked.
The alarm screamed.
Foam burst from the ceiling.
Chaos erupted in the next hallway.
Aizawa ran out.
He returned ten minutes later, soaked and furious.
Izuku sat exactly where he'd left him.
"I didn't cause it," he said.
"Then how—?"
"I read patterns."
Lies.
Half-truths.
He'd memorized this moment. From UA's disciplinary archives. It was just a footnote in the future.
But now… it was a wedge.
A crack in trust.
A seed.
Aizawa handed him a towel.
"You're on my radar now."
Izuku dried his hands, calm.
"Good."
Later.
Behind a desk deep inside the Hero Analysis Department, Nezu stared at surveillance footage.
He paused on Izuku's expression.
Too cold.
Too precise.
He rewound the frame. Again. Again.
Something didn't add up.
He picked up the phone.
"Bring in Power Loader. We need to review the entrance exam archives."
Meanwhile, Izuku sat in his bed, staring at the ceiling.
His hands gripped the sheets.
This world was already shifting.
But he needed allies.
Not just any allies.
The right ones.
Eri.
Shinsou.
Aizawa.
Eventually…
Hawks.
Maybe even Dabi.
He opened a new notebook.
Labeled it in sharp letters:
"Ghost Project: Phase One."
He circled the first word.
Twice.
Then whispered under his breath—
"Watch me, All For One."
End of Chapter 4