Granny Gray's Warning, and...

This Granny Gray hair looked terrible, but he forced a smile, which disgusted and annoyed Uraraka Shige and Ochaco.

"After all, they're just a bunch of thugs. If you want to get revenge, it's actually quite simple. If you don't have a good idea, maybe I can help you."

The Granny Gray hair had a rather ugly smile, but he didn't seem to care... or perhaps he simply wasn't aware of it?

However, neither Uraraka Shige nor Ochaco had any intention of listening to what this Granny Gray to say.

So Uraraka Shige bluntly rejected the Granny Gray.

"No, we don't need it."

Then, Uraraka Shige took out the key, intending to open the door directly and go home with Ochaco to get rid of the Granny Gray who might cause trouble.

But the Granny Gray's reaction was beyond Uraraka Shige's expectations.

"Really? That's a real shame."

Granny Gray only looked slightly dejected, but she showed no remorse for Uraraka Shige and Ochaco's rejection. She seemed completely unconcerned about Uraraka Shige's words of rejection, her face only becoming more unpleasant. However, she still maintained a smiling posture as her lips twitched, and she only left a sentence behind as she turned to leave.

"Then I'll come find you 'next time,' kid."

Hearing Granny Gray's somewhat indifferent response, Uraraka Shige, who had already escorted Ochaco into the house and was standing at the door with his arm raised high, ready to close it, paused slightly before closing the door without hesitation. However, the 'bang' sound of the door closing was noticeably less loud than he should have made.

"...'next time'..."

The closed door separated the people inside from those outside, but it did not block the message that the Granny Gray wanted to convey.

"This guy didn't seem like this before... and he specifically emphasized 'next time'..."

Uraraka Shige recalled the first time she encountered this Granny Gray hair. Back then, he seemed to be the leader of the group of thugs who attacked her and Ochaco today, leading half of them. He was one of the thugs she had taken down with a single blow using his 'Quirk'. But back then, the Granny Gray just seemed a bit cautious and had some acting skills to her. Today, however, he was clearly more wary, reserved, and gloomy than he had been then.

And...

"What exactly does 'next time' mean...? Does it mean those thugs will attack me and Ochaco again?"

The thought of this possibility made Uraraka Shige feel somewhat agitated.

"Shige?"

The slightly worried voice that suddenly came to her ears brought Uraraka Shige back to her senses from her brief thoughts. She looked at Ochaco, who was staring at her with a puzzled expression and wide eyes. Following Ochaco's gaze, she looked down and realized that she had been standing by the door for so long without even changing her clothes or shoes.

"Sorry, Ochaco, I was a little lost in thought."

Uraraka Shige smiled back at Ochaco, then began changing into her home clothes and shoes, while resuming the thoughts she had paused earlier.

"If that's the case... then I'd better prepare beforehand."

With these thoughts running through his mind, Uraraka Shige slowly changed his clothes and shoes, seemingly without revealing any flaws. However, his expression subtly became somewhat serious, which Ochaco noticed and couldn't help but feel concerned. But due to Uraraka Shige's previous excuse, the sensible Ochaco remained quiet and did not disturb his 'contemplation'.

"No, no, even if that's not the case, I need to be prepared... to make changes."

The light in Uraraka Shige's eyes flickered uncertainly, but he concealed it perfectly with his dead fish-like expression, making it impossible for anyone to see through him.

"While continuing to strengthen the foundation, it's also time to start thinking about developing some new skills and techniques in terms of 'Quirk'..."

He slowly walked to the chair, sat down, and remained quiet, his mind racing.

"Also, it's time for me to start seriously learning those martial arts techniques... but these are things that need to be done little by little... There's something else that's really bothering me right now: why did that Granny Gray- haired woman deliberately come looking for him, wanting him to get revenge? And why, after I refused, did she still warn me to be careful..."

"Could it be that he just let something slip? But the tone was so obvious... Was it a threat? But judging from his appearance and demeanor, it didn't seem like a threat at all..."

Uraraka Shige, who was sitting in the chair, slowly leaned back onto the table, his eyes gradually narrowing as he began to examine the gifts his past life had given him in this one.

"His smile was fake, his face looked terrible, he must have just been angry... And when those thugs attacked us today, he wasn't among them. Was he ostracized by the group? And his actions, as he said, were indeed just for revenge?"

After hunching over the table and pondering for a while, Uraraka Shige finally took a deep breath, gave up on thinking about these things, got up, went to the refrigerator, took out two bento boxes, and then went to the induction cooker to heat them up.

After all, he and Ochaco hadn't had dinner yet! He could think about those brain-taxing things after he ate; he wasn't exactly a smart person anyway, so there was no rush.

Meanwhile, Ochaco sat on a chair on the other side of the dining table, having taken out her homework early and begun to review it. However, she couldn't get into a study mode, instead feeling full of self-blame and guilt. She kept thinking about her encounter with those thugs earlier that day.

"Even though I'm the older sister, in that situation, all I could do was let Shige buy time so I could escape and find the police officers and 'heroes' for help."

"Even though she's the older sister, when facing these 'Quirk' thugs, Shige was able to hold on even when dealing with more than ten thugs, and eventually escaped from them. But I, even though there were only five or six thugs chasing me, was constantly being chased until I encountered a 'Pro Hero' on patrol, which allowed me to finally escape their pursuit."

"Even in many situations we've encountered before, it's always been the same. Even though I'm the older sister, the one who should be protecting my younger brother, I've always been the one being protected by Shige, and even needing him, my own Shige, to comfort me... If I were a 'hero'..."

At that moment, Ochaco suddenly realized her own weakness, and also gained another reason to want to become a 'hero'.