Chapter 43 - Common Ryuji W

A few days later.

A trio of gold, blond, and blue walked along the streets, each carrying a plastic bag in their hands. Ryuji led the three forward as they wandered through the crowded streets of Musutafu, Japan.

"Isn't this a little too much for a single day?" Katsuki stared at the plastic bag in his hands and asked Ryuji with skeptical eyes.

"Who said it was just for today? This is practically my groceries for the next two weeks!" Ryuji answered with a grin.

Katsuki rolled his eyes, annoyed, but he didn't bother to respond as he knew he was only going to lose in a battle of words. Ryuji was a man whose words would lead one into confusion and anger with ease, and Ryuji knew that all too well, so even though it was a form of defeat, it was also the choice of a lesser evil.

That seemed to have worked as Ryuji looked back at him, his face showcasing his clear surprise, "What? No rebuttal? No comment?"

"Hey, Deku, do you wanna spar again later?" Katsuki ignored Ryuji and turned to Izuku with a forced smile.

"S-Sure, Kacchan." Izuku moved his gaze back and forth between Ryuji and Katsuki. He wasn't sure which side he should pick, but in the end, he decided to remain neutral and not interfere with the two party's animosity.

"Ugh, what a killjoy." Ryuji looked back at the front of the street, when all of a sudden, his eyes lit up.

"I remember!" He paused in his tracks and spun on the heel of his shoe. "Did you two know that there are rumors floating around that either one of us would be the number one examinee for UA's entrance exam?"

"Hmm?" Katsuki was clearly interested in what Ryuji said. "The number one examinee?"

"Is that true, Ryuji-san?" asked Izuku. His eyes glowed brightly, unable to believe what he just heard.

For a boy who was bullied and discriminated against nearly his entire life, this was a first for him, especially when it was regarding the entrance exam of the number one high school for aspiring heroes in Japan, UA!

"Yep." Ryuji walked backward, keeping the same pace as the two, displaying his extraordinary senses and not bumping into anyone in his way. He maintained eye contact with both Katsuki and Izuku, his eyes turning into crescent smiles, "And you know what that means."

"What?" asked Katsuki.

"It's to see who's truly number one between the three of us!" Ryuji excitedly proclaimed and raised both of his arms.

"Of course…" Ryuji lowered both of his arms and shrugged his shoulders. "We already know who's number one between the three of us."

Katsuki found Ryuji more and more annoying, the pride he had within him wouldn't allow him to take this beating. But, subconsciously or consciously, he also believed what the boy said.

Silence was a type of way that one would go about saying yes, and Katsuki knew that. So, even though he didn't believe it himself, he had to protect his own pride!

"The number one is obviously me!" Katsuki wore a prideful smirk as if his win was already a predetermined conclusion.

"Yeah, yeah. Refute all you want." Ryuji spun once more on the heel of his shoes and looked forward.

Strangely enough, the other pedestrians around them didn't seem to find his actions strange or disturbing. In fact, they even seemed to ignore his presence entirely, but it appears that Katsuki and Izuku were already used to this and didn't mind it.

"Uhm, Ryuji-san…" Izuku suddenly called out from the back.

"What is it?" asked Ryuji. They stopped in their tracks as they arrived right in front of his house, so he pocketed his hands to grab his key at the same time he asked his question.

"Well, uh…" Izuku shifted uncomfortably on the spot and played with his fingers. He looked around the area, not daring to make eye contact with neither Ryuji nor Katsuki.

Click. The door opened and Ryuji took off his shoes and walked in. He looked back at Izuku, his eyes glowing with curiosity, "What is it?"

"It's just that…" Izuku coughed and straightened his back. "I was wondering if… If Buki-san is in need of more models."

Ryuji stopped in his tracks. Katsuki reacted the same way, his furrowed brows unmoving like they were covered in cement.

They couldn't believe what Izuku has just said. Even though Ryuji pleaded for them time and time again before to become models so he could earn more money from Buki-san, seeing that Izuku was actually interested was a twist that the two couldn't expect.

"W-Why don't we go in first." Ryuji coughed.

"Yeah, these grocery bags are killing me already!" Katsuki hastily agreed and took off his shoes, and entered the house.

"Mmm." Izuku nodded his head, his eyes glowing with the same resolve he had in the previous chapter.

Time soon ticked and the trio found themselves sitting in their respective couches that they'd grown to be familiar with over the course of ten months of friendship. Ryuji gulped while a bead of sweat dripped down Katsuki's face.

"So, Izuku-kun, why did you ask that back then?" Ryuji broke the silence. "And to answer your question, yes, Buki-san is still yearning for more models."

"Really?" Izuku's eyes glowed, relief coursing through him as he heard the answer he had been waiting for. His tensed nerves calmed down like cold water was dropped on them, and he deflated like a balloon.

"I was just asking that because…" Izuku scratched his chin and wore a wry grin. "It's because I want to become a m-model too."

Ryuji sat there like a motionless statue. His eyes stared at Izuku blankly like a lifeless doll.

Katsuki, an outsider to the situation, acted the same. He couldn't believe it himself. While Ryuji has pestered them over and over, he still couldn't believe that Izuku would actually become interested.

Then, as Izuku felt uncomfortable by the deafening silence, a stream of tears suddenly flowed down Ryuji's blank face.

He opened his mouth, and a wide, face-splitting grin ruptured right on his face, "You're such a good kid, Izuku-kun."

"Um…" Izuku scratched the back of his head, confused.

"You don't need to tell me. I can already tell why you're doing this."

"You felt that since you have the capability to do so, and you have the connections for it, you decided to help out your family's financial stability by doing part-time work. Then, you later came to realize that there was me, a rich kid earning hundreds of thousands of yen a month."

"You realized that becoming a model and earning a fraction of my monthly income for just posing for a camera and doing as Buki-san asked is a ridiculously good deal, so you smartened up and swallowed your pride, came here with the intention of asking, and learned that you can do it."

"Now, you've finally decided to become a model and get naked in front of a camera for that sweet cold cash." Ryuji smiled, the stream of tears on his face streaming out endlessly.

"H-How did you know?!" Izuku asked. He couldn't even begin to understand how Ryuji came up with that spot-on deduction. Even if it was an exaggerated description, it was basically what he wanted to do.

Ryuji ignored Izuku's question and continued.

"Then there's this one other guy named King Explosion Murder God who is too prideful. He doesn't understand that by doing the same actions as his other friend, he could also learn to earn HUNDREDS of THOUSANDS of yen per month and get RICH."

"Not only that, but he would be HELPING his FRIEND earn MORE MONEY by earning MONEY himself. What a pitiful lad who is clouded by his own hubris."

"If only he could brighten up and take down his pride a peg or two, then he would become a true hero for his family by helping them earn money and relieving the stress his parents felt, but alas, not everyone is a pious child."

"Even this poor orphan child here is more pious than the King Explosion Murder God."

Katsuki could feel the piercing eyes staring at him from the side, but he remained still and his resolve as stable as ever. His will was firm, he wouldn't succumb to his greed for money and help that Demon Lord gain more money.

"Come on, Kacchan. Wouldn't it be more fun if the three of us become models? Maybe we can even start expanding into more industries like social media! There are so many pro heroes streaming online lately as a way to expand their fame and earn money from the side!" Izuku added from the side, stars glowing in his eyes.

"Correct! That's completely correct!"

"Open your eyes already, you dimwit! Don't you know that you're gonna be a pauper as a pro hero if you don't start making brand deals and shit like that?! Being a pro hero doesn't make you rich, you dumbass!"

"Social media and the entertainment industry are the way to go! Once we become famous online influencers, our pathway to endless riches would be guaranteed the moment we graduate and turn into pro heroes!"

"A tall tree starts from a deep foundation of roots and nutritious soil! It's the prime time for the three of us to start building our foundation!"

"The three of us can work together in tandem, expanding our influence three-fold compared to the usual speed! Our growth in platforms like Metube, Snaptogram, Chirper, and bla bla bla would be blazing fast!"

"Mmm, mmm! Doesn't teamwork makes the dream work?" Izuku nodded his head with puppy-dog eyes.

"SO TRUE!" Ryuji gave a thumbs up.

Katsuki felt his heart waver. If it was only Ryuji alone, then his animosity can easily stabilize any wavering his heart felt, but add Izuku into the cacophony of hypnotic sounds, and Katsuki was already in a fierce mental struggle between accepting and rejecting.

'Should I?'

'If we think about it objectively, there's no reason to refuse.'

'What's wrong with earning a bit of cash? So what if Ryuji earns more money, I'll still be earning money!'

'And wouldn't earning money shut up Mom? I can finally have an ace up my sleeve against her!'

Once a human decides on something, their mind would naturally begin to build a myriad of reasons why that decision is correct. Katsuki, in the end, was also human. He was neither a mythical creature nor a god, he was merely a young boy around the age of 14-15, given the power to wield explosions, but he was still human.

Soon enough, both Ryuji and Izuku saw Katsuki open his eyes.

He slowly opened his mouth, and in a catharsis of emotions, he clenched his fist and shouted loudly, "FINE!"

"I'll go along with whatever stupid plans you two have!"

Ryuji and Izuku's eyes lit up upon hearing his words.

"LET'S FUCKING GOOOOO!"

"WHOOOOO!"

They cheered and jeered. It was an unprecedented massive W for the two, especially for Ryuji.

While the character known as Ryuji might simply be a fake persona, his love for money was still real no matter the scenario. His endless greed was even the reason he tricked a lot of depressed children back in his first life to keep coming to his office so he could suck their rich parents dry, allowing him to earn nearly fifty thousand dollars a month!

Just as the two celebrated and Katsuki deflated like a balloon from his humiliating defeat, they suddenly heard a loud ding from Ryuji's phone.

"What is it?" Ryuji was about to go and pick up his phone when all of a sudden, they heard the ding play twice, one from Izuku's phone and the other from Katsuki's.

"Hmm?" They slowly pulled out their phones.

To hear the same ding consecutively, it was surely something interesting. As Ryuji opened his phone, he pulled down his notifications and saw that he received a new email.

"Eh?"

The trio immediately stopped whatever they were doing and saw the contents of the email at the same time.

"Congratulations, Anwir-san."

"Congratulations, Bakugo-san."

"Congratulations, Midoriya-san."

"You have passed the test with flying colors…"

"Bla bla bla, not only did you show exemplary results, but have ranked within the top ten examinees."

"And you personally ranked…"

"Third?!" Izuku murmured, his eyes glowing brightly from what he just read.

"Second-" Katsuki paused what he was reading and looked up, his eyes landing right at Ryuji.

Then, upon seeing the twisted grin plastered on his face, Katsuki could feel his heart drop.

"First~" He whispered with a devilish smirk, showing them the golden letters and numbers plastered on his phone screen.

"M-MASAKA!" Katsuki pointed with wide eyes.

"NANI?!" Izuku grabbed his head, his eyes bulged outward like a Looney Tunes character.

AN: This chapter has 2158 words.

God, I really hope some of you dimwits are catching onto the unique stuff about this story because I made it obvious as hell as to what kind of shenanigans a certain someone has been up to with context clues and strange coincidences.

Anyways, Arc 2 should end before Chapter 100 since, at this pace, we would reach that thinggy soon enough.

(May 27, 2023 - 548th day of writing)