Watching Luke from the other side of the screen, Reijirou Saionji let his mouth remain open in his office for a moment.
He just couldn't believe it.
He just couldn't believe the smile, the laugh, and the blatant mockery… on that boy's face. Was it really Luke? Luke?!
The same boy who was too scared to leave his shadow only a year ago whenever they went out?
Just how much a person could change…
Suddenly, the tycoon realized something.
… a person could change a lot—by an unprecedented degree—if he were given a chance at least once in a lifetime.
With that, Mr. Reijirou Saionji, the Chairman of Saionji Group and user of Soothsayer Quirk, allowed himself a smile.
…
In the Misaki Hall, Mrs. Saionji finally realized what sketch she had drawn using her Future Sketch Quirk in the morning.
The sketch was of hers — smiling.
Next to her, playing live on her mobile, was Luke, still holding the ridiculous tube in his hands.
She remembered the day when, a year ago, the boy had handed over the document, stating that once he turned 18 years old, he would leave the Saionji Family.
She also remembered the sheer anxiety the boy had held while talking to her, his eyes always down, staring at the floor.
If someone were to tell her that this was the same person, then she would have considered it a bad joke.
Yet, here she was, unable to hold back the smile at another joke…
Sigh! Misaki buried the smile with a sigh and locked the mobile. "Hire a Private Investigator," she directed her assistant. "If the boy even breathes a touch differently, I want to know of it."
The assistant bowed, accepting the command with a nod.
…
Tomura Shigaraki stared at the TV screen with nothing in his eyes.
He wasn't smiling. He wasn't laughing. He wasn't frowning.
There was no emotion on his face, either.
He looked at the boy on the screen, remembered him from the USJ, and lifted his hand to scratch his neck.
"I will kill…" he said, slowly, but deliberately, a chill running down Kurogiri's spine, who was standing next to him. "I will kill — everything that you cherish… Hehe… Haha… HAHAHA!"
…
In the glass room, All Might was seated as Toshinori Yagi, along with other Teachers.
"That's one hell of a fan, you got there, All Might!" one of them said, making everyone laugh. "That's a good name, by the way — UA's Dermatologist! Haha!"
For the first time, All Might smiled, nodding in agreement.
This was what the world needed now, he reasoned. Believing in Pros to handle the job and not letting minor setbacks affect thoughts, moods, and daily happenings.
In a few sentences, Luke had emboldened the shaken trust in Pro Heroes in people's minds.
Not everyone could do it, All Might realized. Not even him, when he was this young.
Young Midoriya… All Might thought, his eyes falling on the students. If you don't grow soon, then, I am afraid, you will be left behind…
…
"That's wild, Luke, my boy!" Present Mic shouted from the Commentary Box. "Are all your students like him, Mummy Man?!"
Next to Present Mic, Erasure Head was seated, covered in bandages here and there.
The Nomu had beaten Erasure Head so badly that he was hospitalized, his arms requiring surgery.
The only thing to take solace in was that his head had been healed by Nyx, or he would have needed to remain in the hospital even longer.
"Maybe…" Aizawa said, uninterested. "I would prefer to just get on with it…"
Like the other teachers, he was just glad to see Luke coming out of the thick shell he carried around him all the time.
"Take a chill pill!" Present Mic roared. "We are just starting!!!"
…
Luke stepped off the podium, trying his best not to put his head down in shame.
It had taken his everything to crack that joke, using the abilities granted to him by the Clown Potion.
But when he joined his classmates, all he saw was a reassuring smile.
"That was awesome!" Mina shouted.
"I couldn't have done it better!" Kaminari joked.
"You do know that you just made everyone your enemy, right?" Momo said, nearing him.
"Huh?" Luke looked around and noticed the burning gazes directed at him, Momo's words jolting his senses.
Midoriya, Todoroki, Bakugo, Eijiro, and even students from other courses were staring at him with pure determination.
Yes. Luke suddenly realized what Momo meant.
He hadn't just cracked a joke up there… He had just declared that, amid the threat of Villains, he was strong enough to crack jokes!
For most of the world, it was a moment to laugh.
For the students here, it was a blatant challenge!
Luke looked down… and then, he lifted his up, matching their gazes, the corners of his lips arching up.
As the students' fingers balled into fists, Midnight cracked the whip, sensing the oddity.
"Now, let's get started right away!" Midnight said, the tiny mic sending her voice echoing in the stadium. "Here is your fateful first challenge!"
All the large panels scattered across the stadium blurred and then showed the name of the challenge together.
"Obstacle Race!" Midnight read out. "All Classes will participate in it simultaneously, and the course will be the outer circumference of the stadium."
"Hehe!" Laughing sadistically, she looked at the students. "It will not be a common race, though. Get ready to shed tears of defeat this time, if you are not prepared enough."
All students gulped.
"Freedom — that's what UA's selling point," Midnight said, grinning at the students. "So, go wild! Anything goes, as long as you stay within the course's boundaries!"
After a while, from a large hall, the students stared at the three green lights disappearing one by one.
Luke had put himself at the far back.
He had no intention of going out of his way to win any stage. He had already garnered too much attention on himself with the little stunt he pulled today.
Still, Luke found himself… motivated.
Those gazes his classmates had looked at him with — he didn't want to disappoint them.
So, as the last green light went out and as the massive doors opened, Luke and Nyx shared a glance, smiling knowingly at each other.
It wouldn't be so bad — if he taught the children a good lesson today.
****************
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