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Chapter 5 - Chapter Four

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Also I have started with another fanfic- Reincarnated in final destination check it out too.

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Hey, I have thought of something. How would it be if I started a website, where u could read all the chapters. At the same rate I release on my patreon?

Would U guys check it out, if I do so?

Yes

No

And is there anyone who knows how to make q website. I have 0 money as of now, so if possible someone who can wait for a while before I pay u.

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People say school life is the best part of youth.

I think they meant that for kids who weren't hiding secret AI-guided tech labs in their closets and building weapons to fight crime after curfew.

Still, even for me, there were moments that made it feel normal—lunch breaks on the roof, debates over hero rankings, and maybe, just maybe… the feeling that I wasn't entirely alone.

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Aldera Junior High – Rooftop

"I'm telling you," Izuku said, animatedly tapping his notebook, "Endeavor's technique is refined, but his lack of support team coordination drags his ratings in urban rescues!"

"Agreed," I said between sips of canned coffee. "But in open terrain? He's devastating. It's all about context."

Izuku gave a proud grin. "You really get it, Yuuji."

"Please, I'm the only one who can keep up with your 50-page essays on hero behavior analysis. It's practically my job."

He chuckled, cheeks a little pink from the praise. "Well… yeah. I guess it is."

Our little rooftop lunches had become tradition. Away from the jeers of the classroom, away from Bakugo's thunderous ego. Just the two of us—and sometimes a third.

Whirr.

A soft mechanical noise buzzed to our left. Izuku jumped.

"Oh! It's her again…"

Mei Hatsume appeared from behind a ventilation shaft, covered in grease and holding what looked like a drone with limbs.

"Found you!" she chirped, goggles pushed up to her forehead. "You weren't in the workshop, and I needed to test the hover-stabilizer against a windy rooftop!"

"I'm having lunch," I said with a raised brow.

"So am I." She pulled a granola bar from her pocket and took a bite like it was perfectly reasonable.

Izuku looked between us, confused and unsure if he should say something or flee.

I sighed. "Fine. Show me what you've got."

She handed me the drone. It was roughly spherical, with exposed mini-thrusters and three short robotic limbs. A prototype, clearly—possibly unstable. I flipped it over and spotted the primary flaw instantly.

"Your power balance is off. Rear thruster pulls too much juice under wind resistance."

She blinked, then grinned. "Knew you'd find it!"

Izuku leaned closer. "Wait… you made this whole thing?"

"Mhmm!" she said proudly. "With a few salvaged parts and a dream."

"That's amazing…"

Mei tilted her head toward me. "And you? What dream are you working on?"

I hesitated.

Good question.

What was my dream?

To stand beside the best?

To be the first tech-based Pro Hero?

To survive?

"…To change the game," I said finally. "To prove that Quirkless doesn't mean powerless."

Her eyes lit up.

"I like you," she said with a mischievous grin. "Let's build something together sometime."

Then she turned and practically flew back down the stairwell.

Izuku blinked after her.

"…She's intense."

"Yeah," I said. "But brilliant."

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Later – Workshop

That night, I found myself staring at the open core of my gauntlet, circuits glinting in the dim light.

The hum of the System was always comforting.

> [Task Queue: 2 Active Tasks]

1. Build Drone Deployment Module

2. Test Emergency Self-Heal Nanomesh

Both were mid-progress.

Both were important.

But I couldn't focus.

Mei had thrown me off balance. Not because she was weird. I'd dealt with weird before. But because she'd seen through me.

Not many people asked what my dream was. They just assumed I was trying to get by. Or survive. Or maybe invent some cool gadgets for clout.

But she asked.

And worse—she listened.

I shook the thought off and reached for my soldering tool.

This wasn't the time for emotional distractions.

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Saturday – City Scrap Market

The best part of living in Musutafu wasn't the Pro Hero sightings or the sleek high-rises.

It was the junk.

More specifically, the Saturday city scrap market—an open-air maze of booths selling broken tech, failed prototypes, leftover construction bots, and miscellaneous wires that looked like they'd seen war.

It was heaven.

I wore a hooded jacket, gloves, and cheap goggles—nothing fancy, just enough to blend in.

The system pinged quietly in my vision.

> [Market Scan: Materials Detected]

Adaptive Wire Coil – ¥900

EMP-Dampened Alloy Sheet – ¥1200

Mini Gyro Motor – ¥500 (Damaged)

"Perfect," I muttered.

I had a thousand yen in cash. I could haggle for the coil and gyro if I—

"Hey!"

A familiar voice caught my ear.

I turned and spotted Mei crouched at a vendor's table, examining a decommissioned cleaning drone with surgical interest.

She looked up, spotted me, and waved like we were childhood friends.

"Yuuji! You came too?"

"You shop here?"

"Every week! This is my playground."

She picked up the drone, pointed at its cracked lens. "This baby's optical sensor could be retrofitted into a wide-scope HUD. I've been dying to upgrade mine."

I raised a brow. "What's your current resolution?"

"480p."

I winced. "Ouch."

She grinned. "Hence the hunt."

"Need help bargaining?"

"You haggle?"

"Better than I fight."

"Deal. You get me a discount, I'll trade you some of my flux capacitors."

My eyes widened. "You have flux capacitors?"

She winked. "Maybe."

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Later That Day – Back at the Workshop

"I can't believe we got that sensor down to 800 yen," she said, kicking her feet back and forth from the edge of my workbench. "You're ruthless."

"Charisma stat level 9," I said, spinning the gyro motor between my fingers. "Probably from past trauma."

She laughed. Actually laughed.

I glanced at her.

Up close, she was all chaos and grease and smiles—but underneath it, there was focus. The kind I rarely saw in people our age. The kind that reminded me of myself.

Maybe that's why she made me nervous.

Not because she was unpredictable.

But because she was real.

---

The room felt a little quieter after she was gone.

Too quiet.

I sat at my bench, stared at my unfinished project, and let my thoughts drift.

I'd made more progress in two months than most engineers made in two years.

My system had upgraded five times. My sync rate was pushing 17%.

I had built eight unique gadgets, tested four in the field, and successfully designed a prototype armor chest core.

But I still felt… behind.

Deku would soon inherit One for All.

Bakugo would storm into U.A. with a chip on his shoulder and dynamite in his hands.

Todoroki would glide through the exams with ice and fire wrapped around perfect genes.

And me?

I had wires.

Metal.

And willpower.

Was that enough?

I opened the drone Mei left me. Looked at the cracked lens. The tiny wires. The burns on the board.

It had been broken. Flawed.

But it still worked.

So would I.

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End of Chapter

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