Standing in the middle of the gym is the newly elected class representative of Class 1-B, Itsuka Kendo.
After the incident earlier today in the cafeteria, Ectoplasm-sensei, who was supposed to teach the post-lunch class, was asked by Principal Nezu to patrol the entire school. while Power Loader and the support course student worked to update U.A.'s Barrier security measures.
Thanks to that, VladKing-sensei took it as an opportunity to use the vacant time for a class representative election.
The class hadn't been able to do that during Hero Foundation class since Vlad King used the entire period to analyze everyone's performance during the 2v2 matches.
He said it was to "hammer it into our minds that saving people is always the first priority." Because of that, people like Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu—who ignored civilians to have his manly fights—got grilled so hard, some swear they saw his soul leave his body.
The voting process was very swift and organized, thanks to Vlad King-sensei taking charge.
Itsuka was honestly surprised when she won. She was pretty sure Ibara would get the highest number of votes from their classmates—but apparently, she was wrong. Itsuka beat the vine-haired girl with a two-vote lead, making Ibara her vice representative.
The rest of the day was fairly normal—well, except for Reiko being absent during the latter half. The ghost girl was asked to stay in the nurse's office after she received a concussion during the cafeteria chaos. But everyone was glad she was mostly fine, which Itsuka was especially thankful for.
Now, if only the boy she asked to train with would actually show up—that would be great.
Itsuka had mustered her courage before class ended and asked Ai to train with her. At first, she was sure the boy would turn her down, especially since he looked so ready to go home—he was literally at the door when she called him.
But thanks to Ibara's help convincing the lilac-haired boy, he agreed to come. Now, Itsuka had a chance to see if Ai's claim that her Quirk had hidden potential was actually true.
Itsuka was desperate. She needed to find a way to become stronger. With every passing day, the gap in strength between her and her classmates grew wider. Ibara, Itami, Reiko, and even some of the boys were proving to be formidable fighters.
As much as she wanted to believe her martial arts skills were enough to excel as a hero—this was U.A., the best hero school in the country. Everyone was improving at a rapid pace.
At the very least, Itsuka wanted to be able to defend her title as the top student. The thought of someone taking that crown without breaking a sweat was infuriating.
She was Itsuka Kendo. She never backed down from a challenge. If someone wanted her title, they'd have to bleed for it.
Her thoughts were interrupted when the gym door slid open. Upon seeing Ai, Itsuka unknowingly let out a sigh of relief.
Okay. He didn't stand her up. That's a great start.
Ai was wearing a green shirt with the words "Bottom for Adaption" printed on it—and the arrow pointed to his chin. Itsuka snorted.
This guy's personality was all over the place. One moment, he was a total dweeb. Then he'd turn into a daring fighter who wouldn't back down. Then he'd become Ibara's baby who needed supervision. He was a dorky friend to Kinoko, and during the cafeteria incident, he became this terrifying presence that silenced the entire room.
Ai was a very conflicted person.
Itsuka shook off the nerves and gave him a grin. "You showed up, huh? You're pretty late—I thought you stood me up and went home."
Ai chuckled. "If I did that, you'd see me tomorrow in a hospital gown. Eve strictly told me to help you with your training."
Itsuka laughed. "You're really scared of her, huh?"
Ai threw his bag to the side and sat on the floor, patting the ground for her to join him. "She knows where I live. It's natural." Itsuka snorted and sat down in front of him.
"Sorry if I'm late," Ai said, scratching his head. "I would've texted where I was going first, but I don't have your number—and you kinda just told me to meet you here and ran off."
Itsuka blushed, realizing that yeah… she did just leave the moment he agreed. "S-sorry about that."
Ai waved off her apology. "I went to the nurse's office to ask for your Quirk analysis and physical test records." He pulled out an envelope with her name on it.
Itsuka's eyes widened. That envelope had sensitive medical records—stuff a guy like Ai definitely shouldn't have access to.
"So—"
He didn't get to finish. Itsuka jumped on him, pinning him to the floor.
He looked up at his flustered classmate. "W-why do you have that?! T-that's private information! D-did you read what's inside?! Tell me, or I'll shake you so hard your bones turn to jelly!"
Ai shook his head furiously. "J-just your Quirk analysis and bone/muscle structure! Nothing else, I swear!"
He panicked more when he saw her raise a fist like she was about to pummel him.
Her expression softened a bit at his words. She sighed in relief—until she realized she was sitting on top of him. On his lap.
Itsuka quickly stood up and turned away, face burning with embarrassment.
It took a bit of time, but eventually, they returned to the actual reason they were there—training.
"So…" Ai cleared his throat. Itsuka still couldn't meet his eyes. "Based on your Quirk history, it's pretty straightforward. You enlarge your hands—some form of strength enhancement, plus sturdy bones and tougher muscles overall."
Itsuka nodded. She already knew all that.
"Overall, a simple Quirk. If you work hard, you could be the next Mirko."
That made Itsuka smile. She'd always been a big fan of Mirko. The rabbit hero was the reason she didn't give up on becoming a hero, even when others said her Quirk wasn't good enough.
If a rabbit could become a top hero—then so could she.
"Now, with all the info written in your Quirk analysis—courtesy of Dr. Riku Yato—there's nothing here that suggests you have the strength to obliterate a Zero Pointer."
Itsuka nodded. She kinda saw where he was going with this.
"You mean… there's something missing in my Quirk analysis?"
Ai nodded. "A big chunk. It should explain how you pulled off that punch—but there's no trace of that power mentioned."
"So I dug deeper into your Quirk history—and I found something interesting."
He took out a paper with a graph showing Itsuka's family Quirk lineage.
She was a third-generation Quirk user—meaning her ability was a combination of both her parents' and grandparents'. That's when Ai's theory started to make sense.
"Big Fist" might not be about enlarging her hands.
Itsuka listened silently as Ai continued his analysis. He shoved another paper in front of her.
"First-gen Quirk user—Kendo Isaki. His Quirk? Shake. He could shake his body."
Itsuka read the document. It said Isaki's Quirk let him make subtle vibrations—not exactly anything special.
"So… was there anything special about my long-gone relative?" she asked curiously.
"Here's the deal," Ai said. "When I saw your punch during the Zero Pointer incident, I was convinced your Quirk was more powerful than it looked. But during the Quirk Apprehension Test, you didn't use that punch—you just enlarged your hand."
"I started thinking: how can you do that punch again?"
"I came up with two theories."
Itsuka perked up.
"First—" Ai held up a finger. "Expansion speed. You've gotten really good at controlling your Quirk's speed, right?"
Itsuka nodded. She used to break things all the time because her hand grew too fast—
Her eyes widened.
Yeah… her Big Fist used to grow way too fast. So she trained herself to slow it down. It eventually became her normal.
She lifted her arm, closed her eyes, and let her Quirk activate without controlling the growth speed.
BOOM! A shockwave echoed around them. Her fist had grown so fast it blurred before stopping at full size.
"I-I can do that all this time?!"
Her jaw dropped.
"That's the same punch," Ai said. "Try punching this." He handed her a punching bag.
Itsuka nodded and stood in front of it, cocked her arm back, and punched.
BOOM! The punching bag exploded.
Ai nodded. "That's it. We found it."
Itsuka turned to Ai with a massive grin.
This is what she'd been looking for. Now she could keep up with Ibara and Itami.
She was about to thank him when he raised two fingers.
"Now let's move to my second theory."
Her words got caught in her throat.
There's more?!
"Kendo," Ai said slowly, "have you ever considered the idea… that your Quirk isn't Big Fist—but actually… Tremor?"
End of Chapter 23