Izuku went home that night and didn't waste any time — crashing face-first into bed. Tomorrow, he planned on starting his real push to crack this case wide open.

[The Next Morning]

Izuku stirred awake, rubbing his eyes. Then it hit him — the new power he'd unlocked yesterday.

Heat Vision.

He sat on the edge of his bed, and took a slow breath.

'Alright… let's see how this works.'

He focused, feeling a strange pressure build behind his eyes. The warmth grew quickly into a sharp heat, and as he exhaled, twin beams of sizzling red light burst out — instantly vaporizing the plastic cup on his desk.

Zzzt!

A small puff of melted plastic smoke curled upward. Izuku's lips curled into a satisfied smirk.

"Yeah… I like that," he murmured. "Kinda wanted X-ray vision though… but this'll do."

Standing, he headed to the bathroom and let the hot water wash over him.

'Day two… I'll keep ignoring Katsuki. As for who to talk to today? Hmph… developing a harem isn't as easy as it sounds. Guess I'll just go with the flow.'

By the time he stepped out, hair damp, a fresh towel around his waist, his mind was already jumping between strategies for school and patrol.

That's when the door to his room suddenly cracked open.

Inko stood there, mid-step — and froze.

So did Izuku. Her eyes dropped. Right to the towel… and the fact it wasn't doing much to hide anything.

She blinked, stunned for a heartbeat too long, before snapping back to reality and quickly pulling the door shut with a soft click.

On the other side, her cheeks flared hot.

'Ahhhh! That parenting book was right — I should start knocking from now on!'

But no matter how much she scolded herself, her mind betrayed her — replaying the image over and over, every detail sharper than the last. Steam practically puffed from her head as she hurried to her own room.

'What the hell, Inko… get it together…' she thought, pressing her hands to her burning cheeks.

Back in his room, Izuku finished dressing, shaking his head with a small, knowing smirk.

'Well… that's a seed planted whether I meant to or not.'

He grabbed his bag, opened his window, and stepped out into the cool morning breeze.

'Yeah… I'll just fly to school today.'

BOOM!

Izuku shot into the sky, the morning air whipping past his face as he blasted toward U.A. in a streak of speed. Clouds blurred overhead.

One minute later, he dropped down behind an alley near the school gates, his boots touching down with barely a sound. Straightening his uniform jacket, he stepped out casually, blending into the flow of students.

That's when he spotted Tsuyu hopping lightly along the sidewalk toward campus.

"What's up?" he asked, raising a hand in greeting.

She blinked at him, tilting her head slightly.

"Morning, Midoriya-chan," she replied, her voice calm as ever. "You're here early. Did you take the train?"

Izuku smirked. "Something like that."

Tsuyu's eyes lingered on him for a moment, her mouth curling into a tiny, almost amused smile. "You've got… bed hair," she said, pointing to a stray strand sticking up.

He chuckled, running a hand through it. "Guess the wind got to me."

"Wind?" she echoed, one eyebrow lifting. "You walk through a storm or something?"

Izuku shrugged, dodging the question. "Nah, just… a fast morning." Then he glanced at her bag. "You heading in now?"

"Yeah," she said. "We've got Heroics later. I'm curious to see what All Might's got planned."

"Same here," he replied. "Yesterday's training was fun… but I think today might get more interesting."

Tsuyu gave a light "ribbit" of agreement, her eyes narrowing slightly. "You sound like you know something the rest of us don't."

"Maybe I do," he said with a sly smile, walking beside her toward the gate.

She studied him for a few steps longer, clearly noticing something was different about him, before turning her attention forward.

'Ain't nothing gonna even happen today. The Rescue Training arc is freakin' next week, bro. What am I supposed to do?! I can't wait that long. If only there was a way to skip time…' Izuku thought, dragging his feet through the hallway.

He stepped into 1-A's classroom, greeting a few classmates on instinct before heading toward his seat.

But before he could even sit down, Momo was already there — standing in front of his desk with her arms folded under her chest, holding her phone out.

On the screen was a photo of him and Mina at the arcade yesterday.

'…She took a picture? When?' he thought, blinking at it.

"Care to explain?" she asked, her tone calm but her posture making it clear she expected an answer.

"I just went out with a friend. Why? Are you jealous?" he asked with a teasing smirk.

She flushed, eyes narrowing. "No, of course not. I was only going to ask when we're doing the study thing. That's all."

"We should organize it," Izuku said casually. "I don't really know when yet, but I'm free anytime during the day… unless I'm not, then I'm not free — if you know what I mean."

Momo tilted her head. "I don't think I do."

"What I was saying," Izuku explained with a half-smile, "is let's hang out at the library after school. We'll check out the material we're supposed to be studying this term, then set up a group session with anyone interested."

"Oh. Yeah, that makes sense. So… after school, right? I'll be there." She still didn't move from his desk. Instead, she slid into the chair beside him, crossing one leg over the other.

"So tell me," she began, her voice lighter now, "why exactly did you and Mina go out yesterday… and why did she tell every girl in class?"

Izuku froze. 'She did what?! Wow, Mina. That's just great.'

"I genuinely don't know," he said, shrugging. "Guess she wanted to make you all jealous or something."

Momo blinked. "Why would we be jealous? It's not like we like you or anything. Well, we do like you — not sure about everyone — but I like you. Not like-like you, but like you normally, as a friend. A friend I hold close. Not too close. Just… friendly close."

Izuku stared at her. "Yeah, I'll act like I understood everything you just said."

Her blush deepened. "I better go… looks like class is starting to gather." She stood quickly and retreated to her seat.

Izuku sighed, leaning back in his chair — then he felt it. A stare. He turned his head just in time to catch Tsuyu looking straight at him. The moment their eyes met, he gave her a deliberate wink.

She jerked her gaze away so fast it almost made him chuckle.

'Guess I know what I'm doing later,' he thought with a faint smirk. 'We'll finish early — I've got a date with Mom.'

TO BE CONTINUED