On the eve of the Sports Festival, after dinner, Luke came outside the dorm to have a walk with Aina.
He had no say in this.
Snapshot Hero: Snappy was the most popular girl at UA at the moment.
Not only was she a third-year student, only recently transferred to the Hero Course this year, but she was also the youngest, and perhaps the only one to do so without a Provisional Hero License, to become a Sidekick of a Pro Hero. And not just any Pro Hero, but Sir Nighteye, who himself had served as a Sidekick to All Might.
To top it off, Luke's own popularity was growing by the day, too.
Class 1-A had already acquired a huge number of fans during their first year, starting from the USJ event, then during the Sports Festival, and the I-Island incident. It was especially so for the likes of Luke, Todoroki, Midoriya, Bakugo, Kirishima, Tokoyami, Tenya, and almost all the girls.
However, the Training Camp incident was the final nail in the coffin.
The entire event was nothing short of the students' declaration that they weren't there just for studies, but they knew how to handle themselves in the real world… against Villains!
And, even among all of them, Midoriya, Bakugo, Luke, Todoroki, and, coincidentally, Monoma had stood out the most.
Midoriya had single-handedly defeated a Villain, getting wrecked as a result.
Bakugo had done the same, landing the final blow on Stain's Clone.
But Luke, Todoroki, and Monoma had caught all eyes because of their defiant act, choosing to go against the teachers to save people with their Quirks.
Despite Todoroki and Monoma being equal participants in that act, Luke's popularity had spiraled out of control for two reasons.
First, he had already made a likable impression on the people during the last Sports Festival.
The episode with Midoriya had been taken as a personal rivalry, not affecting his easy-going, funny personality too much.
Second, and shockingly, but not too shockingly, he was… handsome.
The same acts attracted wildly different reactions based on who had performed them because of their likability, appearance, and overall personality.
Luke, in his wildest imagination, hadn't thought that he would end up influencing so many people, especially the young ones, with him taking charge during the Training Camp.
Even if he had known, he had no choice but to go along with it at that time.
However, in the last month at UA, it was… becoming an issue.
Along with the rest of the school, Aina had moved into the dorms, too.
Her third-year Work Studies and her Sidekick job at the Nighteye Agency kept her busy. But whenever she was free, she would appear like a ghost in front of 2-A's dorm, especially during the evening, asking Luke to walk with her.
To not make her look like another fangirl from the first year, Luke continued to entertain her little request.
There was one more reason, a little selfish one…
Anyway, the only issue about this little walk was the eyes on them.
The gazes were like hawks', penetrating deep within, making the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
With time, Luke was getting more and more astounded at how ridiculously large an emphasis girls put on romantic pursuits. He could understand 23–24-year-old girls actively pursuing love and romance, but weren't these girls less than 18?! Why would they get offended just because he was walking with his stepsister?!
[Oh, our innocent Luke…] Miss Justice shook her head.
Wha… What?! Luke asked.
[The things you missed out in your previous life… Tch-Tch…] Miss Justice tsked, seemingly enjoying the way Luke's mind worked because of his wasting 15 years of youth at Blue Site. [OK, first, and last, lesson. Girls' interest in a boy has nothing to do with age.]
"Ridiculous…" Luke hissed. He was about to explain to Miss Justice how the hormones worked when he realized that he had said it aloud.
Aina looked at him from the side before nodding. "Right?!" she exclaimed, shaking her head. "Just ignore them. Like they stand a chance…"
"…?"
"Who's this Bakugo?" Aina asked suddenly, not catching onto Luke's blankness.
At Bakugo's name, Luke's brows shot up. "He's in my class," he said. "You met him during the Training Camp… the explosion one…"
"Ah!" Aina nodded.
"Why?" Luke asked.
"I heard Rikuya talking to him over mobile…" Aina shrugged.
Luke stopped.
Is he… he thought in disbelief. Is Bakugo trying to recruit Rikuya?!
It wouldn't look good to just return to his bedroom and start decrypting; otherwise, he would have turned around by now.
No matter how much Rikuya hated him, no matter how Ms. Misaki Saionji acted toward him, Luke couldn't help but have a soft spot in his heart for his stepbrother and stepsister. Not only because he considered them as a family, but because he felt… indebted to his father, Reijirou Saionji. If it weren't for him, who knew where and how he would have been, what kind of life he would have been living by now.
So, no matter what happened, Luke didn't want Rikuya and Aina to be a part of it.
He was already regretting the entire Training Camp's avoidable episode.
No… Luke controlled himself. Let's consider this more thoroughly…
He hadn't shown much of a reaction thanks to being a Faceless; still, the way everything had gone entirely quiet about him—even Aina noticed that.
"They were probably bitching about you! Haha!" Aina laughed, pulling Luke to resume the walk. "I won't be surprised if Rikuya has created a Hate Club or something…"
Luke chuckled at that.
He took a deep breath and let it out.
There was no need to make things bigger than they were. Not everything was about him or about Conformity and Singularity. Perhaps he was thinking too deeply because of the additional information he had.
Luke nodded within, focusing on the prime reason for coming on a walk with Aina.
"So…" he asked, "… what's going on at the Nighteye Agency? I heard Sir Nighteye was pursuing these Yakuza or something… Any lead?"
Aina's eyes widened. "Where did you hear that?!"
"Haha…" Luke wryly chuckled. "Senior Mirio slipped it out."
Aina pouted. "He shouldn't have done that…" she complained before her eyes lit up. "Anyway, if you already know, then telling you more won't be my fault! Hehe…"
Then, Aina began recounting her last month's work with Sir Nighteye, and…
… the rumor of a Quirk-Erasing Drug in the market.