Juzo Honenuki

"Who will emerge victorious in the early stages of the U.A. High School Sports Festival -year division?! And right now, the first man to return to the stadium is— Izuku Midoriya!"

Panting, Midoriya looked somewhat helplessly at the crowd cheering for him, frantically searching for someone in the stands. When he saw that golden hair, he stopped trembling and revealed an excited smile!

I, Izuku Midoriya, am number one!

Midoriya, recalling his own victory, was truly sweating bullets.

I was already behind the robots at the beginning, and I was far behind until the final minefield. But when I saw the steel plate in my hand, a crazy idea came to my mind: to use these mines that could blow people away to get me to the finish line!

Although it successfully took off, it had misjudged the bomb's power and landed just a step away from the end of the minefield. In front of it were the backs of Hō and Kacchan.

Since we can't surpass them, we can't let them surpass us!

At that moment, I calmly yet frantically slammed the iron plate onto the ground, triggering the landmines. As I blasted Hong and Kacchan aside, I rolled over and successfully reached the final sprint zone!

The final ten seconds or so felt like an eternity. The heavy breathing and Kacchan's howls were right behind him; he could be overtaken at any moment. Luckily—

I won! All Might, I didn't let you down!

Tears streamed uncontrollably from Midoriya's eyes.

When Jilan Jiyu ran back from the passage, he saw Midoriya crying. He glanced at the large screen on the wall, which showed the exact moment Midoriya ran out.

"Why are you crying? We clearly won, didn't we?" Jilan Jiyu chuckled.

"Damn it! I was so close!" Bakugo pounded on the wall, unable to accept the result. It was one thing for Shoto Todoroki to be ahead of him, but why did that Deku always have to dodge at the crucial moment?!

Hong just stood to the side, panting, his eyes darting around without saying a word.

Despite the thick smoke billowing from the exhaust pipes on his feet, Iida immediately approached Jilan upon seeing him reach the finish line and bowed deeply. "Class President, I'm so sorry! I didn't think much of it just now; I just wanted to keep up with Midoriya, but I've caused you trouble, haven't I!?"

Iida felt incredibly guilty. It was Jilan who rescued him from the net, but he was only thinking about defeating Midoriya and forgot about Jilan standing right beside him. Although he himself wasn't hurt by the landmine, the class president was very likely to have been hit...

"No, thanks to Iida, I wasn't injured." Jilan simply explained to him that she had used the path he had cleared to finish the last leg of the run, and there was no need for her to feel sorry.

"That's good." Iida breathed a sigh of relief, then looked hesitantly at the girl who followed Jilan out. "If we had taken that route, you should have come out much earlier, class president..."

Jilan rolled her eyes. "It's all because of this guy... Oh, by the way, let me introduce you, she's Ibara Shiozaki from Class B. She's the one who blocked me from going out."

Well, Jilan Jiyu was also somewhat annoyed. Tenya Iida had caused such a commotion, and although Midoriya's explosion provided cover, those with ulterior motives would still discover this proven safe route.

At the time, Jilan didn't think too much about it. After all, the people around him were quite far away, and there was no need for them to attack him. However, Ibara Shiozaki was an exception because he had something wrong with his head.

A few minutes earlier, just as Jilan Jiyu were about to see the light at the finish line, several Vines suddenly sprang up from the ground, turning the landmines up like bulldozers, and instantly lifting a net from the ground and throwing them in front of Jilan Jiyu!

That's just Ibara Shiozaki's Quirk; this guy is getting in my way!

Jilan Jiyu, who had been listless, suddenly sharpened his eyes as he watched the landmines being thrown at him. Instead of retreating, he advanced, golden Hamon spreading across his palms. These Hamon had a paralyzing effect on living beings. He grabbed the ends of the paralyzed Vines net and closed it as easily as shutting a door. Holding the net, which was full of landmines, he threw it towards Ibara Shiozaki, who was praying not far away!

Ibara Shiozaki made no move, still praying with her head bowed, but suddenly her hair grew long from the ground, and just before the bomb net was about to hit her body, it burst out of the ground and became a wall that blocked the net. The landmine was triggered and exploded instantly, creating a pink mushroom cloud in front of her that was no less impressive than Midoriya's before!

Jilan regretted it as soon as she threw it. Although Ibara Shiozaki was trying to ambush her, she shouldn't have thrown the bomb at her. It wasn't that she was worried about hurting her, but she felt that making such a commotion might attract attention. She immediately turned around and ran towards the exit.

Ibara Shiozaki missed his first attack and didn't launch another, silently following behind Jilan as they ran towards the finish line.

Now...

Jilan looked at her, squinting, and said, "You should give me an explanation, shouldn't you?"

Her Quirk is characterized by her flexible, Vines -like hair, which can be extended or cut at will. Moreover, due to its plant-like properties, it can regenerate rapidly under sunlight, making it a very troublesome and formidable Quirk.

Incidentally, she was ranked first in Class B when she entered the university. Although Jilan was a little puzzled as to why she was so poor despite her strong abilities, he wouldn't pry into her privacy since she didn't want to talk about it.

Although they've known each other for three or four years, they've always maintained that feeling of familiarity mixed with unfamiliarity, like when they first met. If you had to describe their relationship, it would be landlord and tenant... or shop owner and employee?

But no matter what, she wasn't the type to attack without saying a word.

Ibara Shiozaki didn't speak, but looked at the person who was panting heavily and covered in mud as he ran towards the finish line.

His appearance was rather unusual; his teeth were exposed like those of an Attack on Titan, and his large eyes looked like they were pasted on from a comic book character. Although it shouldn't be said aloud, he looked like a skeleton, and any child who saw him would surely be terrified and cry.

Did he order Ibara Shiozaki to attack? Jilan could tell from Ibara Shiozaki's gaze that this was the answer.

"I told Shiozaki- kun to attack you!" Just as Jilan Jiyu was about to speak, the skeleton boy opposite him spoke first.

"Is there a reason? I don't think I've done anything to offend you?" Jilan Jiyu frowned.

"I'm Juzo Honenuki from Class B. My Quirk is Softening, which allows me to turn the surrounding land into a swamp," Honenuki began to say to himself. "I'm one of the Recommended student, and I know Todoroki's strength. I've also witnessed the power of that man with the durian-shaped afro, but you..."

"You're clearly the class monitor of Class A, and you ranked first in the entrance exam. I've been keeping an eye on you, but I can't see any outstanding qualities in you!"

Jilan Jiyu's heart sank. Was this guy observing him? Had he been too conspicuous? He felt a little irritated, and his fingernails suddenly grew longer.