Himiko Toga lay on the ground blankly, looking at the blue sky and wondering what he was thinking.
No one passed by here; it was extremely quiet, only the sound of birds and the rustle of leaves in the wind.
After a long time, she gradually calmed down and sat up straight. "My first kiss was taken away by a U.A. high school student…"
Thinking of Akira's appearance, her face flushed again. Somehow, she actually felt a bit of interest in Akira—something very strange for her.
She'd never liked boys, only felt the thrill of a good hunt, the heartbeat that came from finding new prey—not the heartbeat of actual feelings.
But this time was different. She actually felt a heartbeat, which was… very bad.
After Akira returned home, he took a cold shower to dissipate his restlessness. After all, this was the first time he'd done something like this in this world, so it was hard to calm down.
People like Himiko Toga could only be true lovers if they fully opened up or entered her heart; otherwise, they'd always be dangerous.
Such a cute girl, pricking people with needles all day long, blood everywhere—it wasn't good at all.
She looked like a bloody little loli.
After adjusting himself, Akira sat cross-legged on the sofa to start today's practice when he received an alert.
"Save Points +50, the saved person: Himiko Toga."
"What's this?" Akira was taken aback. Himiko Toga was saved by me?
Akira thought about it. He hadn't exactly saved her, right? Did what he'd done count as some form of "rescue"?
Since he couldn't figure it out, he decided to leave it alone. Now he needed to keep accumulating salvation points. He was up to 850 already—just 150 more, and he could redeem a weapon and a special costume.
Akira thought that anything from the system should be better than U.A. Academy's standard gear.
Not long after, there was a knock at the door. Inoue Ying brought him a meal. She said that he was growing and could afford an extra late-night snack.
After Inoue left, Akira opened the bento box, which was filled with sushi, sashimi, and fried fish steaks.
Since coming to this island, Akira rarely ate Chinese food. He missed it, but he'd come to enjoy the local cuisine. It was very clean and had its own charm.
The next day, U.A. High School's morning schedule was the Heroes course, followed by general subjects like English. Present Mic taught English, but his classes weren't particularly engaging, and the students seemed a bit unenthused.
At noon, they could enjoy first-class meals in the cafeteria at reasonable prices.
Akira found a spot in a corner and ordered a Chinese meal. It had been a while.
U.A. High School's cuisine was top-notch, offering Chinese, Thai, Western, and even French fries and burgers.
His lunch included scrambled eggs with tomatoes, spicy chicken, green pepper slices, a teriyaki chicken drumstick, and some French fries.
Akira had a good appetite, so this was no problem for him.
He had just taken a few bites when he looked up and saw Midoriya sitting across from him, with Tenya Ida and Ochaco Uraraka joining him.
Akira thought for a moment. Shouldn't these three sit together? Well, they were, but they'd chosen the seat where he was.
"Akira, can we have lunch together?" Midoriya Izuku asked, a little shyly.
Wasn't it a bit late to ask after they'd already sat down?
"Of course." Akira was easy-going and liked making friends. He was quite fond of these three classmates.
Tenya Ida was direct, honest, and upright, though he could be a bit blunt. Still, he was a genuinely good person, very enthusiastic and helpful.
Ochaco Uraraka was kind and cute, always thoughtful and warm-hearted.
As for Midoriya, Akira understood him better than anyone.
"Mr. Akira, you usually seem to prefer being by yourself. Isn't it hard to spend time with others?" Tenya Ida asked without hesitation.
"Very straightforward," Akira thought. He replied, "I don't mind being on my own, but it's always better with friends around."
"Really, Akira-kun!" Midoriya said happily. He'd wanted to be friends with Akira, who had become his idol.
Akira put a piece of curry in Midoriya's bowl. "Really, really."
Midoriya took the curry gratefully, and Akira was amused watching him enjoy it.
Afterward, Akira picked up a piece of Tenya's pork chop and ate it with relish.
"Mr. Akira, do you have any hobbies, or is it just a habit of yours to eat other people's food?" Tenya frowned, noticing the missing pork chop.
"Help yourself to some of mine too," Akira replied. "You probably don't have Chinese food often, right? It's delicious." He patted Tenya on the shoulder.
Out of curiosity, Tenya tried a slice of hot pepper, only to gasp, "It's so spicy!" He quickly gulped down some juice, looking at Akira in disbelief. "Do people actually eat things that spicy?"
Akira laughed. "Guess you're not inheriting the art of spice, huh?"
"What's 'art of spice'?" Tenya asked, fanning his mouth to cool the heat.
"Nothing important," Akira replied, turning to Ochaco. She was protectively guarding her food.
"Don't think about taking mine, Akira! Girls don't share food with boys," Ochaco said, eyeing him with a playful glare.
"Oh, I didn't mean it like that. I just thought you might want to try some Chinese food," Akira said with a grin.
"I refuse!" Ochaco replied, not budging.
"Looks like Midoriya's the one in your heart, then," Akira teased, acting mock-hurt. "I got rejected so fast."
"Akira-kun, stop it!" Ochaco's face flushed, but Midoriya only looked embarrassed.
Tenya glanced at Ochaco, then at Midoriya, seeming to understand a little.
"Tenya, don't think about it!" Ochaco huffed at him.
"Ah, no, I didn't say anything," Tenya quickly waved his hands, realizing he'd been caught.
The meal ended on a cheerful note. Akira felt closer to these three, and he looked forward to spending more days with them.