School

*Next Day

*Location: Middle School

Ryo sat quietly at his desk in the back of his classroom, his head resting on his arms as he stared blankly ahead.

The buzz of chatter and the faint hum of the overhead lights filled the room, but Ryo remained distant, lost in his thoughts.

The teacher, a middle-aged man with thinning hair, stood at the front of the classroom with a stack of papers.

"You guys are all third-years now. It's time to start thinking seriously about your future! I would hand these future career forms, but...

I assume you all want to be heroes!" 

He exclaimed throwing the papers in the air and making all the students cheer.

"Yes, you all have wonderful quirks. But you know that it's against the rules to use them in school!" The teacher said as he looked at all the students who activated their quirks.

"Sensei! Don't lump me in with these losers!" Bakugo exclaimed from the back of the class as he sat one seat over from Ryo.

"As if I had anything like... Their crappy quirks. heh." Bakugo scoffed.

"Get over yourself Katsuki!" One student yelled making the others agree.

"Shut up! Extras should act like extras!" He exclaimed.

"Ah, Bakugo... You, of course... must be aiming for U.A." The teacher said making all the students get surprised.

"That national school?! The cutoff score this year is seventy-nine, right?!" A student exclaimed.

"I hear they barely accept!!"

"Ah, the stupid chattering of extras! I aced all the mock exams!! I'm the only one here with the stuff for U.A.!! I'll even surpass All Might and become the best out there! Not to mention I'll be one of the richest people in the world!!" Bakugo yelled as he jumped on top of his desk.

"But... are you even stronger than Ryo?" A student asked quietly as the class glanced at Ryo who wasn't paying any mind to the commotion.

"Huh?! Of course, I'm stronger than that loser!" Bakugo laughed as he looked at Ryo who was looking at out the window.

"You're also going for U.A., aren't you two, Midoriya and Ryo?" The teacher asked.

"Huh..." Bakugo voiced as he froze

The class turned to Midoriya as they already figured Ryo would go to the U.A. since he was All Might's son.

However, Midoriya was a different story as he never acquired his quirk.

The whole class began to laugh.

"Huh?! Midoriya?! No way!!"

"Good grades alone can't get you into the hero program!"

Midoriya stood up trying to defend himself.

"Th-that's not necessarily true! Sure, there's no precedent, but..."

*BOOMM

Bakugo exploded Midoriya's chair making him fall to the ground.

"Whoa!" Midoriya voiced as he fell.

"Are you serious, Deku?" Bakugo sneered, his voice dripping with disdain. "You think you can get into the U.A. with no quirk? That's rich!"

The other students joined in, their laughter echoing off the walls. Midoriya's face turned red, his eyes cast downward as he tried to ignore the mocking voices around him.

His hands clenched into fists at his sides, but he didn't dare to look up, afraid of meeting their eyes.

"It's just... been my dream. Since I was little, and well... There's no harm in trying..."

"Try?! Try what?! The entrance exam?! You're taking the entrance exam just to try?!" Bakugo yelled.

"What can you even do?!" He laughed making everyone else laugh.

Ryo sat quietly at the back of the classroom, his eyes narrowing as he watched the scene unfold.

he sighed as lifted his head off his hand, slowly standing up from his seat, his expression calm as he walked in front of Midoriya.

The noise began to die down. The students noticed his movement, curious about what he was going to do.

Bakugo glanced at Ryo, his brow furrowing.

"What do you want, Ryo? You here to defend this quirkless loser?"

Ryo didn't say anything at first, just looked at Bakugo with those galaxy-like eyes that seemed to see right through him.

The room fell silent, the tension thick in the air as everyone waited to see what would happen.

without raising his voice, Ryo spoke, his tone calm and commanding. "Shut up."

It wasn't just a request or a suggestion. It was a command, one backed up by the power of his quirk.

The moment the words left his lips, Bakugo's mouth snapped shut, and the rest of the class fell into an eerie silence. No one dared to speak or even move, their eyes wide with shock.

Bakugo's eyes widened in surprise, his mouth still closed despite his attempts to open it. He struggled against the invisible force holding him back, but it was no use. 

Ryo's command had taken hold, and there was nothing he could do to resist it, just like when they were kids.

Ryo turned his gaze to Midoriya extending his hand out.

"R-Ryo..." Midoriya said lowly as he took his hand standing up.

The students remained silent, their earlier bravado replaced with unease.

Ryo didn't respond as he went to sit down in his seat, releasing his quirk's hold on the class. Bakugo, now able to speak, glared at Ryo, his fists clenched in anger. But he didn't say anything, knowing that whatever he said would be met with the same result.

The class remained quiet for the rest of the period, the atmosphere tense and awkward. Ryo, meanwhile, sat back down at his desk, his gaze returning to the window. 

He didn't care if Bakugo or anyone else was angry at him.

As the bell rang, signaling the end of class, Midoriya walked over to Ryo, his voice hesitant but sincere.

"Thank you, Ryo... for standing up for me."

Ryo glanced at him nodding before getting up out of his seat.

Ryo walked out of the classroom as he passed Bakugo who was coming back into the classroom.

Not paying any mind to him he left out.

Ryo, Midoriya, and Bakugo didn't stay as very close friends as they were when they were younger, however, they were still childhood friends who sometimes cared for each other.