Terumi Genga's "Quirk" and the Reason for His Transfer

A gentle breeze swept across the school building's rooftop terrace as usual, and Uraraka Shige was as relaxed as ever when he arrived.

"So, how did you do it?"

Uraraka Shige looked at Terumi Genga, the transfer student standing beside him and copying his pose as he leaned against the outer wall of the rooftop stairwell.

Was the transfer student, dressed in a girls' school uniform, embarrassed to be standing so close to Uraraka Shige? Or was he simply ashamed of acting so unlike a good student?

Of course, it was also possible that his embarrassment from the stairwell had yet to fade. Though his expression looked normal, everything he did seemed rather stiff and awkward.

Anyway, he's a kid who gets embarrassed easily...

That was the somewhat inappropriate assessment Uraraka Shige made of the new transfer student in his heart.

After all, judging by his body's age, he was only a child himself.

As for the transfer student named Terumi Genga, he seemed to have been thinking about something all along, or perhaps something had been troubling him, so his attention seemed to be anywhere but on Uraraka Shige... Or perhaps he was paying too much attention to Uraraka Shige?

In any case, when he heard Uraraka Shige's question, his body visibly stiffened. The awkwardness was plain to see, even though he tried hard to conceal it.

He fell silent for a moment afterward, perhaps using that brief time to consider exactly what Uraraka Shige meant by the question, or perhaps how he ought to answer it.

In any case, he looked very serious, and gave the respectful impression of someone saying, "I've given your question serious thought before answering." Only then did the transfer student slowly speak.

"Um... are you asking how I got to your side? Or..."

Uraraka Shige found the transfer student's careful question and respectful manner a little hard to get used to. Especially since the transfer student was only an elementary schooler! Being treated so respectfully by a seven-year-old elementary schooler... It felt strange to him.

Still, it didn't feel bad... In fact, being treated with such respect, even by a seven-year-old child, did feel good.

So Uraraka Shige repeated his question, explaining it in fairly thorough detail, or at least enough to make his meaning clear.

"That's right. I want to know how you managed to get to my side without me noticing."

Then, before the very cute and delicate-looking transfer student could respond, Uraraka Shige thought of something and added another question.

"Oh, right! You said your Quirk was 'Illusion Manifestation,' didn't you? Was it because of your Quirk?"

The transfer student nodded lightly and gave a cute nasal "Mm" in agreement.

"That's right. It was my Quirk."

As he said this, the transfer student seemed to consider something and suddenly hesitated.

Uraraka Shige naturally knew why the transfer student was hesitating.

It was just like a line that had appeared in the original work: "In this hero-saturated society..."

In this society, which had changed from the original timeline because of Quirks, this hero-saturated society, information about a Quirk was often quite important and counted as personal privacy. As such, asking someone about their Quirk without warning was rather impolite.

For that reason, Uraraka Shige had no intention of asking the transfer student about his Quirk.

Instead, after the transfer student saw that he and Uraraka Shige had fallen silent, he seemed to want to keep the conversation from dying. After giving it some thought, he suddenly took the initiative to talk about his Quirk.

"Um... actually... my Quirk is 'Illusion Manifestation'..."

But perhaps because he was introverted, easily embarrassed, and not good at interacting with people, his words came out awkward and lacking any context.

Fortunately, since the transfer student had brought up his Quirk himself, Uraraka Shige quickly picked up the conversation. Otherwise, who knew whether the easily embarrassed transfer student might faint on the spot from sheer shyness, like a character in an anime?

"I see... Illusion Manifestation..."

Uraraka Shige began, then recalled how, when the transfer student had revealed himself in the stairwell, he seemed to have seen the light twist and distort where the transfer student stood...

"Could your Quirk have something to do with photography and illusions?"

Uraraka Shige voiced his bold guess outright, earning a somewhat admiring look from the transfer student.

"Amazing! You guessed the true nature of my Quirk from its name alone... As expected of Sir Knight!"

At that moment, even Chain's shy, reserved nature was overcome by his admiration for Uraraka Shige, allowing him to speak fluently instead of stumbling over his words.

Only after Uraraka Shige gave him a strange look did the transfer student realize that, just as before, he had once again let slip the title he secretly used for Uraraka Shige in his heart.

"Th-that... um... I... mmph..."

Once he realized it, the transfer student's shyness forcefully overwhelmed his admiration and adoration for Uraraka Shige again. Not only did he start stumbling over his words once more, but he also bit his tongue just after starting. He shrank back and covered his mouth with both hands, letting out a cute whimper.

Watching this, Uraraka Shige felt somewhat helpless in the face of the transfer student's personality. Even so, he was still very curious about the "Sir Knight" the transfer student had mentioned, so despite his concern about the transfer student's shyness, he had no choice but to press him for an answer.

Under Uraraka Shige's repeated questioning, the transfer student named Terumi Genga finally told him the truth.

"Actually... I saw everything when Sir Knight fought the enemy so heroically there..."

During the disaster caused by the "enemy group," in which Uraraka Shige's left arm had been severed and then reattached...

"At the time, I was trapped under some collapsed rubble, and through a gap I happened to have a clear view of Sir Knight's heroic figure... I also know that it was Sir Knight who saved us."

The shy transfer student suddenly grew excited. With his right hand pressed to his chest, he took a forceful step toward Uraraka Shige, his eyes full of admiration and adoration. He was like a lovestruck girl meeting the prince of her dreams, or a fan coming face-to-face with the idol they were crazy about. At that moment, a forceful aura suddenly surged from his petite body, giving Uraraka Shige such a strange sense of pressure that he involuntarily edged to the side.

"After I was rescued, I also saw Sir Knight being held hostage and harmed by that 'enemy' who had hidden among the crowd, using the rescue of other victims as a cover and wearing a mask of hypocrisy!"

The blunt words, along with the indignation and grievance at the unfair treatment he had suffered in the transfer student's voice, made Uraraka Shige want to cover his face. He had never expected someone the same age as his body to know about such an embarrassing scene, much less someone who admired him so much.

"After that, I thought how wonderful it would be if I could be like Sir Knight and step forward to help you when you needed me... And that's exactly why I transferred to this school."