A Growing Closeness

Several more weeks had passed since the transfer student's arrival, and nothing particularly worth mentioning had happened during that time. But because Terumi Genga was easily embarrassed, he rarely interacted with children his own age.

Although his appearance was always so delicate and adorable that plenty of children his age wanted to talk to him, he only showed himself during class. Whenever class ended, he used his Quirk to hide himself. So even though his classmates looked forward to becoming his friends, after a week, Uraraka Shige was still the only person he had met whom he could call a friend.

Likewise, Uraraka Shige, who had always paid little attention to the classmates around him, had gained his first friend in this world other than his sister, Ochaco... Though perhaps "first little follower" would have been more appropriate?

"Sir Knight, you must be tired from training. Would you like a piece of chocolate while you take a break?"

"Sir Knight, Sir Knight, I bought some freshly made ice cream! Would you like a taste?"

Uraraka Shige was in a private training room at a fitness center, using proper children's training equipment under the guidance of a burly man. Besides Ochaco, who was also undergoing structured training, Terumi Genga would suddenly appear beside him from time to time with various foods, then use his Quirk to disappear again after setting the snacks down. He showed no sign whatsoever of being introverted, shy around strangers, or easily embarrassed.

Shige was already used to it.

To be honest, at first, Terumi Genga's behavior had given the already nervous Uraraka Shige a terrible fright, like a taut bowstring suddenly being pulled tighter. Naturally, he had considered asking Terumi Genga to stop appearing and disappearing so unpredictably.

But after learning about Terumi Genga's family situation, that thought had faded somewhat without his noticing. Then, one day, he realized that Terumi Genga's behavior was no longer making him overly nervous. Instead, it had quietly helped him relax without his noticing at all. At that point, the thought disappeared entirely. After all, he understood that being constantly on edge was not a good thing.

Besides, the fitness center he was at belonged to Terumi Genga's family. Terumi Genga had recommended it to him after learning that he wanted to become stronger.

"Young master, someone who has just finished exercising shouldn't eat cold food or frozen treats right away."

The burly man guiding Uraraka Shige's training looked gentle, kindly, and somewhat refined. Whenever Terumi Genga brought out an unsuitable snack, he would remind him like this.

Terumi Genga would happily accept the reminder and sit quietly to one side, eating whatever food the man had pointed out as unsuitable while watching Uraraka Shige strengthen his body and improve his abilities, sweating profusely all the while.

As for Uraraka Shige now, in terms of physical fitness alone, he could already match some fourteen-year-old Quirkless girls who set aside a little time to exercise every day. This was all thanks to Heavy Shackles, which he had mastered by developing his Quirk, and the structured training he received under dedicated supervision every weekend.

For all these reasons, Uraraka Shige had genuinely come to accept Terumi Genga, who usually seemed like his little follower.

"Oh, right, Sir Knight, a new aquarium opened in a nearby neighborhood a few days ago."

As Terumi Genga spoke, he looked at Uraraka Shige with stars in his eyes again. After spending the past few weeks together, the transfer student, who looked as though he were dressed as a girl, had come to admire him even more. Perhaps it was because Uraraka Shige could persist with training that seemed terribly difficult and boring to Terumi Genga, driven by a sense of crisis that had grown much smaller but showed no sign of disappearing?

After all, in this society, things like physical training and studying martial arts were generally done by the Quirkless, who made up only about twenty percent of the population. People who actually had Quirks, especially those whose Quirks were good enough, generally placed greater emphasis on them. Most were content to set aside a little time for some casual exercise each day.

Even those who made a point of strengthening their bodies through training mostly did so to make better use of their Quirks. After all, this was ultimately a society centered on Quirks.

"All right, Ochaco, take a break for now. Uraraka Shige, you keep training."

After watching for a while longer, the burly man told Ochaco to stop training and take a break, while telling Uraraka Shige not to get too distracted and to keep going. This was partly because Uraraka Shige was physically stronger than Ochaco, who was already nearing her limit, but even more because he was eager to see just how far Uraraka Shige could go.

Naturally, the burly man's words as their coach earned him a displeased stare from Terumi Genga.

I just told Sir Knight about the new aquarium nearby, and then you told him to keep training. You obviously don't want Sir Knight to come to the aquarium with me...

That was probably what he was thinking.

Thus, faced with Terumi Genga's displeased stare and puffed-out cheeks, the burly man naturally wore an expression of indulgence and helplessness. After a word to Uraraka Shige, he began coaxing his young master in a soothing voice.

From this alone, it was clear that the burly man really was close to Terumi Genga. He practically treated him like his own child... Hm?

Meanwhile, Ochaco, now on her break, helped herself to a bottle of her favorite drink from the pile of snacks Terumi Genga had brought and began sipping it. This naturally drew the displeasure of Terumi Genga, who had been staring at the burly man.

"Hey! Even if you are Sir Knight's sister, don't drink what I brought for Sir Knight! If you want something to drink, go down to the front desk and get it yourself!"

Despite saying that, Terumi Genga made no move at all; he merely complained. Ochaco just smiled sweetly and, without a word, drank the rest of the bottle in one go.

Clearly, Ochaco and Terumi Genga did not get along quite so well.

After all, to the young Ochaco, Terumi Genga was someone who had come to steal her little brother away.

And to Terumi Genga, Ochaco was a great enemy standing in the way of Sir Knight's care and affection for him.

If this scene had to be described succinctly, perhaps there was no better term for it than "competing for favor"?

Uraraka Shige secretly thought this to himself as he trained his body and maintained Heavy Shackles.