[ Please Re-read 5th chapter again as I have changed it. So it will be more enjoyable . The fight b/w Bakugo and Ren]
The evening air at U.A. was cool, the campus bathed in soft orange light as the sun dipped beneath the skyline. Birds chirped, students laughed in the distance, and somewhere on the rooftop of the dorms, Ren Takami sat alone, cross-legged, eyes closed, and breathing in rhythm with the wind.
Around him, droplets of moisture floated lazily—like a galaxy of stars suspended midair.
He opened his eyes slowly.
"Seventy-nine percent..."
That was how much of the surrounding moisture he could control now without exhausting himself.
His quirk, Hydro Core, was evolving—not just manipulation, not just absorption, but precision, depth, complexity.
He looked at his hand, then focused. Water formed around his arm in a translucent, protective spiral. He flicked his fingers, and it sharpened into a blade, then dulled, then shattered into mist.
He didn't smile.
He rarely did anymore unless he was acting.
---
Meanwhile – Class 1-A Common Room
"Ren's been quiet lately," Mina said, twirling a pen between her fingers.
Jiro nodded. "He's strong, but no one really knows what he can do. Or who he is."
"He's flirty," Hagakure added, giggling. "Like, lowkey flirty. I catch him glancing at Momo, and even me sometimes."
"I don't trust people like that," Bakugo muttered from across the room.
Midoriya, who had been quietly writing in his notebook, looked up. "I think he's… calculating. Not in a bad way, though. Just… like he's always a step ahead."
"I think he's lonely," Momo said suddenly, and the room quieted.
Jiro raised an eyebrow. "You mean emotionally? Or like, no friends?"
"Both."
---
The Rooftop – Later That Night
Ren's concentration was broken by a knock behind him. He didn't turn.
"I heard you come up here a lot," a soft voice said.
Yaoyorozu Momo stepped into the moonlight.
"I didn't take you for the spying type," he said, voice calm but laced with amusement.
"I wasn't spying. Just… wondering." She sat beside him, leaving space between them. "Your Quirk... it's more than water control, isn't it?"
He didn't answer.
She pressed, gently. "When you fought Bakugo, your body moved unnaturally fast. And today… I saw you create blades out of mist. You're enhancing yourself, aren't you?"
"You're observant," he said, still not confirming anything.
"Why not tell Aizawa-sensei? Or All Might?"
He turned to her then, eyes serious.
"Because power like mine draws attention. And attention draws control."
Momo blinked. "You think they'd try to use you?"
"No. But they'd ask me to limit myself. I've done that my whole life." He looked back at the stars. "I'm done hiding what I'm capable of… even if I have to lie."
She stared at him. "That's… a lot to carry alone."
"I'm used to it."
---
Flashback – Two Years Ago
Rain fell in sheets.
Ren, only 11 at the time, stumbled through the wreckage of a burning streets. Buildings crumbled, smoke choked the sky, and somewhere in the distance, sirens wailed.
He found his parents' bodies beneath a collapsed home. Crushed. Lifeless.
A villain's work. Some deranged man with a liquefaction quirk who didn't care about "collateral damage."
Ren had screamed for hours. His quirk hadn't awakened yet, but the tears never stopped.
Then, in that moment of despair, it triggered. The rain around him froze midair, then dropped like stones.
And everything changed.
---
Back to Present
Momo reached out without thinking and rested her hand on Ren's.
"I'm sorry about your parents," she said gently.
He glanced at her, mildly surprised. "I never told you."
"You didn't have to," she said. "The way you fight, the way you act… you're always chasing something. Or running from it."
He was quiet.
Then, softly, he asked, "Do you think I'm a bad person?"
"No," she said without hesitation. "I think you're scared of being vulnerable."
He chuckled. "Maybe. Or maybe I'm just good at lying."
She squeezed his hand. "Then lie less around me."
Their eyes met for a brief, warm moment.
___
Principal Nezu sipped tea as Aizawa stood beside him.
"You're watching Ren again?" Aizawa asked.
"He's... interesting," Nezu replied. "Too composed. Too controlled. But not evil."
"Yet."
"I don't think he's dangerous," Nezu said. "But I think he's hiding a second Quirk. Or a secondary effect of his main one."
Aizawa frowned. "That's illegal."
Nezu smiled. "So is keeping secrets."
They both stared at the screen—Ren and Momo sitting side by side beneath the moonlight.
---
The Next Morning – Class 1-A Dorms
Ren was cooking breakfast. Eggs, toast, and miso soup.
Several girls wandered in one by one, surprised.
"You cook?" Mina asked, impressed.
"I absorb energy from water. Doesn't mean I don't enjoy flavor," he said, flipping a pan expertly.
Hagakure giggled. "You're like, mysterious and domestic. Dangerous combo."
Jiro sipped coffee. "Still don't trust you."
"That's okay," he said with a smirk. "Trust is earned."
Momo walked in next and sat beside him at the table. She said nothing, just quietly accepted a bowl of soup from him.
Their eyes met briefly, and something unspoken passed between them.
---
Later That Day – Training Grounds
A new challenge awaited Class 1-A: simulated hostage rescue in a flooded facility.
Perfect for Ren.
He moved through the water with inhuman grace, his skin drinking the moisture, converting it into muscle, strength, and awareness.
At one point, he even healed a small cut on his leg from debris—silently, efficiently. No one noticed.
"Ren!" Midoriya called. "There's a dummy trapped under that pipe!"
"On it!"
Ren raised both hands, water surging beneath the pipe and lifting it like a hydraulic jack. Midoriya gasped.
"You're crazy strong!"
Ren just winked. "Hydration matters, Midoriya."
---
That Night – Ren's Journal Entry
> "Day 17 at U.A.
I've officially joined the top ranks in terms of strength, and no one knows the truth yet.
Hydro Core is growing. I can now absorb water from living organisms—small amounts, harmlessly.
Tried it on a plant. Gained solar absorption for about an hour.
My stamina is endless if I stay hydrated. Healing factor still minor, but better than human level.
Momo...
I think she sees through me. But she doesn't judge.
I might need her.
Not for power.
For sanity."