chapter 10

Midnight's anger simmered as she processed Aiden's casual threat. Her fists clenched and unclenched. She had come to this academy expecting challenges, but this was on a different level. She had to tread carefully."Fine," she said through gritted teeth, "but you better make this right, Aiden. We'll keep this between us, for now."

Aiden nodded, relieved and maintaining his calm exterior. "I will. And I'm sorry for what happened. It won't happen again."They left the House of Truth and headed to a nearby café. The atmosphere was tense, but Aiden was determined to mend things. As they sat down, Midnight finally broke the silence."So, what exactly are you studying?" she asked."I've been focusing on expanding my understanding of magic," Aiden explained.Midnight sighed, rubbing her temples. "I feel like my world has suddenly changed. Even the stories about magic aren't that popular; they're not scientific.""That reminds me of the famous line, 'The end of science is magic.' Or something like that," Aiden said.The conversation shifted to more mundane topics, and gradually the tension eased. They finished their meal, and then Midnight's phone started to ring. Seeing the principal's ID, she picked up the call and started talking while leaving the café. She made her way back to the academy, and Aiden decided to go home since he had already missed school. There was no point in going now.The following day, Aiden walked into the academy. Denki Kaminari asked, "Aiden, why didn't you come yesterday? You know, we selected the class president without you.""There was just a little problem at home," Aiden replied.In the following days, Aiden's boring life continued: go to school, study, come back home, and study again. If not for the strange things around him, he would have felt like he had never left his world.At the breakfast table, I put some toasted bread and milk. Midnight grudgingly started to eat, looking at just bread and milk. Even I thought I needed to learn some cooking magic since ordering every day was not a viable option.Following breakfast, I extended my hand in a welcoming gesture. As midnight neared, I took hold of her hand and we teleported to the academy. Afterward, we went our separate ways.Upon my arrival in the classroom, I settled into my seat. Shortly after, Aizawa entered and began addressing the class in his characteristically monotone voice, accompanied by his equally impassive expressions."Today's Basic Hero Training will be supervised by All Might, myself, and another pro hero. We'll be preparing you for disaster relief scenarios ranging from fires to floods," Aizawa announced, presenting a card. "Get ready for rescue training!"The classroom was abuzz with excitement, chatter filling the air as students engaged in animated conversations. Suddenly, Aizawa's voice sliced through the cacophony, "I am not finished yet." With the press of a button, a wall slid open to reveal their hero costumes."You will have the option to wear your uniforms or your hero costumes. For some of you, your uniforms are not suitable for today's training, but it's not my decision. The facility we will be at is off-campus, so we will take a bus there. I will take questions when we arrive," he said before leaving the room.All of the students were excited. I was excited too, but for an entirely different reason, because I didn't have to continue my boring studies today. Sitting on the bus, I started to check everything, including my memories, since today was the day students would be attacked by villains. I also needed to make sure I was fully prepared.On the bus, I failed to secure a seat with a cute girl, so I had to sit with Eijirō. What could I say about this energetic and cheerful guy? There was no problem in our conversations, or at least, that's what I wanted to believe.After finding our seats, we reached our destination one by one. We stepped out and saw the massive dome called USJ. Aizawa looked around but didn't find All Might. After speaking with Thirteen, he realized All Might might not come today because he had dedicated all his time to capturing some villains and was now resting in the lounge. Subsequently, Aizawa turned to the students and decided to commence our training with just him and Thirteen.Aiden Blaze, watching the familiar scene, quickly donned his helmet and transformed into Doctor Fate. This was the correct decision as the next moment, the lights started to flicker. Both Aizawa and Thirteen started to look around, their eyes stopping near the fountain as a black portal appeared. As the portal grew, a lot of people started to emerge until it was a full horde."Gather together and don't move!" Aizawa shouted while still looking toward the group of newcomers."Is this for training? I didn't know we would be fighting too!" Eijirō said with a grin, turning to Aiden with surprise in his eyes. "When did you change your uniform?""This is no longer training; they are real villains," Aizawa said.The students, initially confused but hearing Aizawa, had a hint of fear, soon regained their composure. Reminding themselves that they were in training to become heroes, they bolstered their courage, declaring, "How can we be frightened by a bunch of villains?"