[18] Limitless Potential, Limited Sense of Direction

The alarm pierced my dreams at 4:45 AM. I rolled over, staring at the ceiling through bleary eyes as reality settled in. First day of actual classes at U.A.

"Right," I mumbled, dragging myself out of bed. "Time to work."

I changed into workout clothes, making sure to grab my uniform for later. The dorms were silent as I headed down to the common area.

A small figure stood by the entrance, shifting nervously from foot to foot.

"Midoriya?"

He jumped. "Oh! Good morning, Nakamura-kun! I, uh, noticed you leaving early yesterday and..." He trailed off, fingers fidgeting with the hem of his shirt.

"You want to join my workout?"

"If that's okay!" The words burst out of him. "I know I need to get stronger to control my quirk better, and you seem really experienced with training, so I thought maybe..."

I studied him for a moment. "Why me specifically?"

"Well..." He looked down at his shoes. "During the quirk assessment, you showed such precise control. And Todo-san mentioned you train a lot, and I've been watching how you move - not in a creepy way! Just analyzing your form and-" He took a breath. "Sorry. I'm rambling."

"You're not wrong about the training." I stretched my arms above my head. "But fair warning - my routine's pretty intense."

His eyes lit up. "That's perfect! I need to push myself if I want to-" He stopped suddenly, something clouding his expression.

"Want to what?"

"To... to be worthy of this power," he said quietly.

Interesting choice of words.

"Alright," I said. "Let's see what you've got. Try to keep up."

The next two hours were brutal for him. Push-ups, pull-ups, sprints, core work - I didn't let up. To his credit, Midoriya didn't complain once, even when his arms shook so bad he could barely hold himself up.

"You're... really strong," he gasped during our cool-down stretches.

I shrugged. "Had a good teacher. Speaking of which - who taught you to throw a punch?"

"Oh, um, no one really. I mostly just studied videos of heroes and-"

"It shows. Your form's terrible."

He wilted slightly.

"We can work on that," I added. "If you want to keep training together."

His head snapped up. "Really?"

"Sure. But first-" I checked the time. "We should probably get cleaned up before class."

After a quick shower, I pulled on the U.A. uniform and headed downstairs. The tie gave me trouble - I'd never been good with them.

"Need help?"

I turned to see Jiro leaning against the common room doorway, already perfectly dressed.

"I've got it."

"Clearly." She walked over, batting my hands away. "Here."

Her fingers worked deftly at my tie, adjusting it with a slight frown of concentration. "My mom used to do this for my dad before every show. He never could get it right either."

"Shows?"

"Yeah, they're musicians." She glanced up, then paused. I caught her eyes widening slightly as she met mine. The lotus pattern in my irises tended to have that effect on people - drawing them in, making them stare a beat too long.

"What kind of music?" I asked, keeping my voice casual.

"Rock mostly. They-" She stopped, still looking up. The tie hung forgotten between her fingers.

"Wow, getting cozy already?" Katsumi's voice cut through the moment like a sledgehammer. "It's only been one day."

Jiro jumped back, her face flushing. "I was just-"

"Helping the idiot with his tie," Katsumi finished, dropping onto one of the common room couches. "Yeah, we can see that."

Hitomi entered behind her, giving us a cool once-over before settling into an armchair with perfect posture. Her mismatched eyes lingered on me for a moment before shifting away.

"Good morning, Yoichi-kun!" Kaori practically bounced through the doorway, her ever-present smile widening as she took in the scene. "Having trouble dressing yourself?"

"Apparently," I said dryly, reaching up to finish the tie myself. My fingers fumbled with the fabric.

"Oh for fuck's sake," Katsumi groaned. "Just let her fix it before you strangle yourself."

Jiro hesitated, then stepped forward again. "Here." This time she kept her eyes firmly on the tie, her movements quick. "There. Done."

"Thanks." I adjusted the knot slightly. "So your parents are in a band?"

"Were," she corrected, stepping back.

"That's really cool," Kaori said, perching on the arm of Hitomi's chair. "Do they work with anyone we'd know?"

"Probably not. They focus on underground stuff mostly." Jiro shrugged.

"Underground's where all the good shit happens anyway," Katsumi said. She had her feet up on the coffee table, ignoring Hitomi's disapproving look. "Mainstream's boring as hell."

"Since when do you know anything about underground music?" I asked.

"Fuck you, I know things."

"Name one underground band."

"... I don't have to prove myself to you."

Kaori giggled. "That means she can't think of any."

"Shut up!" Katsumi's hands sparked. "I'll blow all of you up!"

"Before breakfast?" Hitomi's voice was cold. "How uncivilized."

"Speaking of breakfast," I cut in before Katsumi could explode, literally or figuratively, "we should probably head out soon if we want to eat before class."

"Right," Jiro said quickly, grabbing her bag. "I need to grab something from my room first. See you guys there."

I watched her practically sprint to the elevator, wondering what I'd said wrong. When I turned back, I found Kaori studying me with an oddly knowing smile.

"What?"

"Nothing," she sang, hopping up. "Just thinking this year's going to be interesting."

"Everything's interesting to you," Katsumi grumbled, but she got up too. "Come on, Ice Queen. Let's get food."

Hitomi rose gracefully, brushing invisible dust from her skirt. "Please don't call me that."

"Would you prefer Princess Popsicle?"

The cafeteria was already filling up when we arrived. I spotted Todo at our usual table, deep in conversation with Midoriya. Well, Midoriya was talking - hands waving animatedly as he explained something. Todo just nodded occasionally, sipping his tea.

"Wonder what's got Deku so worked up this early," Katsumi muttered as we got in line.

"Probably analyzing someone's quirk again," I said. "You know how he gets."

"Fucking nerd."

But there was something almost fond in the way she said it. I filed that away for later consideration.

"Oh look, they have those little fish-shaped pastries today!" Kaori's eyes lit up. "The ones with the red bean paste!"

"Taiyaki," Hitomi supplied. "And they're not very nutritious."

"Neither is that plain rice you eat every morning, but you don't see me judging."

"I wasn't judging. I was stating a fact."

"Same difference with you."

I grabbed my usual - protein, carbs, enough calories to fuel my quirk - and headed for Todo's table. Behind me, I heard Kaori trying to convince Hitomi to try just one bite of taiyaki. From her tone, she might as well have been suggesting the other girl eat dirt.

I slid into the seat next to Todo, who gave me a small nod of acknowledgment. Midoriya barely paused for breath.

"-and his form during the mountain climbers was incredible! The way he maintained perfect alignment while keeping such a rapid pace-" Midoriya's hands moved in excited gestures as he spoke. "Oh! Good morning, Nakamura-kun! I was just telling Todo-san about our training session."

"I gathered that," I said, breaking apart my chopsticks.

Todo took another sip of his tea. "He's been explaining your workout routine for the past ten minutes."

"It was amazing!" Midoriya pulled out his notebook - where had he even been keeping that? "The circuit training approach maximizes efficiency while targeting multiple muscle groups. And the way you incorporated quirk-specific movements-" He flipped through several pages of detailed notes and diagrams. "Though I'm curious about the reasoning behind the rep scheme. Is it based on heart rate monitoring or-"

"Oi, nerd." Katsumi dropped her tray next to Midoriya with enough force to make him jump. "Some of us are trying to eat without hearing your muttering."

"Sorry, Kacchan!"

"Don't apologize to her," I said, reaching for my rice. "She's just mad because she couldn't name a single underground band earlier."

Katsumi's chopsticks snapped in her grip. "I swear to god-"

"Oh! Are we talking about music?" Midoriya brightened. "All Might actually did a collaboration with an underground metal band back in-"

"Nobody cares about your All Might trivia, Deku!"

"I care," Todo said.

Katsumi's eye twitched.

"What was the band called?" Kaori asked, settling in across from me with her plate of taiyaki.

"Um, I think it was-"

"Don't encourage him!"

I let their bickering fade into background noise as I ate, watching Hitomi delicately arrange her plain rice and miso soup with mathematical precision. The morning sun caught the white half of her hair, making it almost glow. She must have felt my gaze because she looked up, meeting my eyes for a fraction of a second before returning her attention to her food.

"Nakamura-kun?" Midoriya's voice pulled me back to the conversation. "About the training - would it be okay if I shared my notes with the class? I think everyone could benefit from-"

"That wasn't the full workout," I said.

He blinked. "What?"

"This morning. That was the light version. Warm-up, basically."

The silence at our table stretched for several seconds. Even Katsumi stopped mid-bite to stare at me.

"Light... version?" Midoriya's voice came out slightly squeaky.

I shrugged. "Had to start somewhere. We'll build up to the real thing."

Midoriya was scribbling frantically in his notebook again, muttering something about "intensity scaling" and "progressive overload." His hands shook slightly - probably still sore from the push-ups.

Katsumi slammed her hands on the table. "Fight me."

I blinked. "What?"

"If you're so fucking strong, fight me. After class. Let's see what you've got."

"Kacchan, maybe that's not-" Midoriya started.

"Shut it, Deku! Well?" She fixed me with that predator's grin of hers. "You scared?"

I considered it. On one hand, fighting Katsumi would be like trying to defuse a bomb while it was actively exploding. On the other hand...

"April 31st," I said, taking another bite of rice.

"What?" Katsumi's grin faltered.

"I'll fight you on April 31st."

Todo made a small noise that might have been a laugh. Kaori didn't bother hiding hers.

"That's not-" Katsumi's face scrunched up as she worked it out. "You piece of shit!"

"Language," Hitomi murmured, not looking up from her soup.

"He's fucking with me!"

"Obviously," Todo said.

"Fine." Katsumi jabbed her finger at me. "Today. After class. Training Ground Beta."

"Can't. Got plans."

"Tomorrow then."

"Busy all week actually."

"Stop dodging!"

"I'm not dodging. I'm eating." I picked up another clump of rice. "And you're making it cold."

"Scared I'll kick your ass?"

"Terrified," I deadpanned. "Your explosion quirk against my space manipulation. However will I survive?"

"You-"

The warning bell cut her off.

"Saved by the bell," Kaori said cheerfully. "Come on, Hitomi-chan. We should get to class early to get first pick of seats."

With that, I gathered my things and headed out, taking long strides toward class. The hallways were starting to fill with students, but I knew exactly where I was going.

Probably.

Maybe.

I turned left at the next intersection, confidence carrying me forward until-

"Um, Nakamura-kun?" Midoriya's voice piped up behind me. "Class 1-A is the other way."

I stopped, processing this information. "No, it's definitely this way."

"Actually..." He pulled out his phone, showing me a map of the campus. "We're heading toward the support department."

"Huh." I stared at the screen. "When did they move the hero course?"

"They... didn't?"

"Right." I spun on my heel. "Lead the way then, since you're such an expert."

Midoriya scrambled to keep up as I matched his new direction. "I just studied the campus layout really carefully! Did a lot of research about U.A.'s architecture actually. The main building was designed by-"

"Fascinating. How much further?"

"Oh! Just up these stairs and-" He paused. "That's the third floor. We need the second."

I'd already started climbing. "You sure about that?"

"Yes! The first years are always on the second floor because-"

"Because you memorized the blueprints, got it." I backed up, letting him take the lead again. "Any other fun facts about the building you'd like to share?"

"Well, the support beams are actually-"

"That was sarcasm, Midoriya."

"Oh." He deflated slightly. "Sorry."

We reached the correct floor just as Aizawa rounded the corner ahead of us, looking like he'd rather be literally anywhere else.

"Cutting it close," he said as we slipped into the classroom.

Todo caught my eye, gesturing to the empty seat behind him. I dropped into it, noting Hitomi to my left and Yaoyorozu behind me. Kaori sat next to her.

"Got lost?"

"I knew exactly where I was going."

"The support department is lovely this time of year."

"Shut up."

Aizawa cleared his throat, silencing the room. "Before we start, I should mention - the principal wants me to remind you all that quirk usage outside of authorized training areas is still prohibited."

His eyes landed on Katsumi, who sank lower in her seat.

"This includes challenging other students to fights in Training Ground Beta."

"I didn't-" she started.

"I don't care. Save it for hero training." He pulled out a stack of papers. "Now, let's talk about your academic requirements."

I slouched in my chair as Aizawa began passing out our schedules. The paper landed on my desk with a soft thud, and I scanned the tightly packed columns of text.

U.A. University Hero Course - Class 1-A Schedule

Daily Schedule

8:30 - 9:00 | Homeroom

Monday

9:15 - 10:45 | Combat Fundamentals

11:00 - 12:30 | Mathematics