“My Hero Academia: Temporal Gamer”

Cassidy strolled down the quiet hallway of the apartment complex, her boots barely making a sound on the worn carpet, as she approached the door to Kenji's place. The building was just starting to stir with the early morning sounds—distant footsteps.

In her hand, she carried a small package—the essentials for Calvas that he'd need. It had taken her all night to forge the documents and embed the necessary data into the system, but it was done. She smirked a little, pleased with her work. 'It's practically flawless.'

When she reached the door, she raised her hand and knocked lightly; it swung open a moment later. Kenji stood there, bleary-eyed and unbothered, his snow-white hair in its signature state of chaos.

For a split second, his gaze was unfocused, but as his eyes landed on her and recognition set in, he broke into a tired, forced smile—an expression that felt more like habit than effort. "Cass!" he greeted, stepping aside to let her in. "What's up?"

Cassidy pushed past him with a roll of her eyes, stepping into the warzone that was his apartment. "I'm here to drop off Calvas's things," she said, holding up the package. "And to check on how the new guy is settling in."

She gestured broadly at the battlefield of ramen cups, snack wrappers, and scattered clothes strewn across the coffee table and the floor.

"So… this is what happens when you live completely unsupervised. Honestly, it's sending some very conflicting messages."

"I mean, yeah, it's a little messy, but it's functional," Kenji said, gesturing vaguely around the room. "See? Snacks are within arm's reach, and the laundry's pre-sorted by category—clean-ish…" He pointed toward a particularly questionable pile near the corner, his voice trailing off to a near whisper, "…and the definitely not."

He caught Cassidy's disapproving glance as she surveyed the mess, her raised eyebrow practically boring into him. He scratched the back of his neck, his half-smile faltering just slightly. "I mean, I was gonna clean it… eventually. Maybe. Probably."

Cassidy sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she gestured vaguely to the mess. "You've got someone staying with you now. Try not to scare him off with your... 'aesthetic.'" She paused, her tone turning a touch curious."But, seriously, how is he settling in?"

Kenji flopped back onto the couch, grabbing a stray chip from the table and crunching down as he gestured vaguely toward the closed door. "Quiet. Weird. But fine, I guess. He hasn't said anything about the mess, so either he's cool with it, or he's just too polite to complain."

He paused for a moment, leaning a little more into the cushions as his arm draped lazily over the back of the couch. "Boss told me to keep an eye on him, so I did. Last night, the guy said he was going for a walk. Figured I'd follow him—y'know, just in case."

"And?" Cassidy prompted, clearly interested in hearing more.

Kenji sat up straighter, getting into the story. "He just… ran. For, like, half an hour. At first, I thought he was doing something shady, but nah, he was just running. And before coming back, the guy just stood there for a sec, staring off into space. Then, just started grinning like an idiot."

Cassidy's lips quirked into a half-smile."And what happened after that?"

Kenji shrugged, "He came back inside, went straight to his room. Haven't seen him since."

Cassidy shook her head, letting out a small laugh. "Be easy on him, Kenji. From what I hear, he's got some kind of amnesia or something." She tilted her head slightly. "At least, that's what Glide says."

Kenji furrowed his brows, chewing on that bit of information for a second.

Cassidy glanced toward the clock on the wall, then at Kenji, still sprawled on the couch. "You know it's a school day," she said pointedly.

Kenji's eyes widened slightly, like a switch had been flipped. "Ugh, don't remind me," he groaned, throwing his head back dramatically.

Cassidy rolled her eyes and shifted her attention to one of the doors Kenji had vaguely pointed out earlier. "Is he in there?" she asked, tilting her head toward it.

Kenji didn't even bother sitting up, giving the door a quick glance before muttering, "Yeah, that's him."

She followed Kenji's lazy gesture, slim parcel tucked securely under one arm. Reaching up with her free hand, she knocked lightly on the slightly ajar door. The faint sound of movement inside gave her pause. 

Her hand lingered on the door for a moment before she nudged it open a fraction more, curiosity pulling her forward as she glanced inside.

Calvas was on the floor, mid-push-up, his body moving with sharp precision. His back was straight, arms flexing with each controlled motion, and his breaths came steady and even. Cassidy tilted her head slightly, leaning against the doorframe without stepping in. 

'What's he doing?' she wondered, watching the quiet rhythm of his workout. There was a calm intensity about him that she hadn't expected.

After a moment, she cleared her throat softly to announce her presence. "Hey," she said, her tone casual but curious.

Calvas froze mid-push-up, glancing up at her with a surprised look. For a moment, he simply stared. Then, he shifted back onto his knees, wiping at the sweat beading on his brow, his breathing still steady.

~~~A few moments earlier~~~

Calvas pushed himself up, sweat beading on his forehead as his arms burned from the last of his push-ups. The system screen floated in the corner of his vision, keeping him updated on his progress. He glanced at it between reps:

[Quest: Vigilante Training - Part 1] (Repeatable)

Objective: Complete a basic workout routine to improve your physical abilities.

Stay in top form, as a vigilante must be ready for anything at any time.

Requirements:

Run for 30 minutes: (0/30 mins)

Perform 50 push-ups: (47/50)

Perform 50 sit-ups: (50/50)

Perform 10 pull-ups: (10/10)

Stretch and cool down: (0/1)

Rewards: 1 Stat Point, 5 XP 

Just a few more push-ups left, he was nearly done with the routine. He paused for a breath, glancing back at the system again.

[Skill: Language Proficiency (Japanese) – Lvl 6]

'That's probably from last night,' remembering how he'd stayed up going through the language-learning app Cassidy had added to his phone.

Just as he was about to push up for another rep, a soft voice broke through the quiet, smooth and casual.

"Hey."

Calvas glanced up toward the voice, his movements halting as surprise flickered across his face. "Cassidy," he said, his tone steady despite the exertion. 'What's she doing here?' He'd been expecting Osamu—this was a surprise.

"You're up early," Cassidy noted, her eyes scanning the room—small bed, minimal desk, and not much else. She seemed to take in the emptiness of the space with a quick glance. "Already working out, huh?"

Calvas nodded, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Oh, uh, yeah… Osamu mentioned training, so I figured starting with the basics would be a good idea."

'Nothing weird about that, right?'

Cassidy gave a slight nod, her expression shifting to one of faint approval. "Good idea. We'd usually set something up for you—a routine or program to get you started—but we'll help make sure it's the right fit and covers everything you'll need moving forward."

She lifted the slim parcel tucked under her arm, holding it up briefly for him to see before stepping over to the desk. "Here," she said, setting it down neatly. "Your ID, school uniform, and some paperwork you might need to show at the school. You'll be attending today, so make sure you're ready."

"Wait—today?" Calvas blinked, the question escaping before he could fully process it. He'd known school was coming—they'd mentioned it—but he hadn't expected it to happen so soon.

 'I thought I'd have more time to adjust.' 

Cassidy gave him a quick, half-amused look. "Yeah, today. Better to start earlier than later, right?" She crossed her arms, leaning against the desk with an easy confidence.

Calvas nodded, glancing at the desk. "Thanks… for this," he said, motioning toward the parcel. After a beat, he looked back at Cassidy. "I thought Osamu was coming?"

She shrugged. "He's busy, so I'm playing delivery girl today. Don't worry, he'll check in later." She pulled a small card from her pocket and slid it across the desk. "This is a prepaid card with some cash on it—don't spend it all on one thing."

Calvas picked up the card, inspecting it curiously. "Money?"

Cassidy chuckled, shaking her head. "Yeah, well, aside from the clothes you've got, I doubt you'll want to wear the same stuff all the time. You'll need more clothes, and, well, basic things. We can't have you looking like you've got nothing."

'She's got a point,' Calvas admitted to himself, remembering how little he actually had. The card would come in handy. "Does everyone get a card?"

Cassidy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, even Kenji. Though he wastes most of his on junk food and games." She glanced toward the door, clearly thinking about Kenji's habits. "Anyway, you're going to school today. You'll be attending the same one as Kenji."

Calvas raised an eyebrow. "What school?"

"It's a standard public school. They've got an exchange program for foreigners. It's not all that rare here—Japan's got plenty of students from other countries who want to take their shot at the bigger agencies or maybe even UA."

Calvas tilted his head, considering her words. 'An exchange program… makes sense. They'd need something like that to pull in talent from outside the country.' And then there was UA. Of course. How could I forget? Just thinking about it—hearing its name—gave him chills.

 "So, they've got a setup to help people adjust?"

"Yep," Cassidy confirmed. "You'll be in a class designed for students who aren't fluent in Japanese yet. They help people like you—foreigners—get settled in and learn the language while attending classes."

Calvas let out a breath. 'At least I won't be totally lost.' He was grateful for that.

Cassidy tossed him a more serious look. "But don't think it'll be easy."

Calvas nodded, appreciating the heads-up. "I figured as much."

Cassidy leaned back, stretching her arms behind her. "Alright, that's pretty much it. You'll catch on fast enough, Just focus on getting through today."

Calvas stood. "Thanks. For all this." His tone was sincere, if a bit awkward.

Cassidy smirked, waving a hand dismissively as she headed for the door. "Don't mention it. Just don't screw it up, alright?" She glanced back over her shoulder with a teasing grin. "And try not to let Kenji be a bad influence."

Calvas couldn't help but crack a small smile. "I'll try."

With that, Cassidy slipped out, leaving him alone with his thoughts—and a faint hope that school wouldn't be as bad as it sounded.

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Quill's Note:

Hey everyone! I know I originally planned to release this chapter on Friday, but as I was preparing to publish, I felt something was missing. Instead of rushing it, I decided to take an extra day to freshen it up, refine the dialogue, and make the interactions more engaging for you all. I hope the extra effort shines through. Thank you for your patience and for reading this—it means the world to me!

＼(￣▽￣)／ Hugs from Quill!