"Let's get some positive energy going!"
Aizawa said in a dry tone with half-closed eyes, turning toward the massive glass entrance of the new dormitory building and leaving the students behind in a state of complete astonishment. His words contradicted entirely the harsh scolding he had just delivered, making the air in the courtyard feel heavier than usual.
The moment Aizawa moved a few steps away and partially disappeared behind the doors, the wall of silence cracked. Uraraka rushed forward toward Midoriya and Iida with quick steps, her eyes gleaming with a mix of reproach and held-back tears. "Iida. Deku. Why did you do that in secret? Why didn't you tell me?" Her voice carried a deep wound, not jealousy of their heroics, but fear at the thought that she had almost lost them without even getting the chance to say goodbye or stand by their side.
Midoriya stumbled over his words, waving his hands in a desperate attempt to find a justification that would calm her worry. Iida adjusted his glasses and spoke with a seriousness that masked a feeling of guilt. "I was completely opposed to the idea from the start, but I joined them only to prevent them from doing something fatally stupid. Everything happened too fast and there was no time to tell anyone."
Todoroki stepped in with his usual calm, hands in his pockets, adding a dose of cold logic. "It was better that we didn't tell anyone, so it wouldn't look like you were covering up what we did and make you accessories in front of the academy."
And in another part of the courtyard, the girls were gathering around Yaoyorozu with the same questions and reproachful looks. The girl who had always been a symbol of compliance with the rules had participated in this act of defiance. She answered them with regret and embarrassment as she rubbed her arms. "It was a difficult and confusing situation for everyone. Secrecy was necessary to ensure the thing worked without pro hero interference, since they would have stopped us without question."
Away from the drama, an entirely different scene was taking shape. Mineta and Kaminari rushed toward Zoro who was standing with his usual cool composure, arms crossed over his bandaged chest. Mineta screamed while trembling. "How are you still alive after all that, you monster?! I saw what happened on television and I was about to wet myself from sheer terror!"
Zoro replied, placing his hand on the back of his head with boredom, ignoring his short classmate's panic. "It was just a long and annoying fight. Don't exaggerate and turn this into a legend."
Zoro had barely finished his sentence before Aizawa cut through all the side conversations with a thunderous shout from inside the building that made everyone jump. "Are you planning to sleep outside like vagrants? Get in immediately!"
Everyone snapped to attention and rushed inside like a beehive. The moment they crossed the threshold, they were caught off guard by the splendor and spaciousness of the interior design. The smell of new wood and paint still hung in the air.
Aizawa began explaining the details in his monotone voice. "This building is called Alliance A-1 and it's dedicated to your class only as a secure fortress. The ground floor where you're standing now is a shared space for everyone. It includes a large kitchen, a dining and lounge area, and laundry facilities. As for the personal rooms, they start from the first floor upward."
The students set off exploring the place with a childlike enthusiasm that made them forget the tension of the previous moments. Uraraka fell to her knees on the gleaming floor from sheer admiration, murmuring with wide spinning eyes. "It's exactly like a palace! Are we really going to live somewhere like this?"
Meanwhile Mina Ashido was jumping around the space and shouting with excitement, gesturing at the large glass windows. "There's a courtyard and wide comfortable sofas! The place is so clean and bright!"
In another corner, Mineta stood like a statue with his eyes gleaming with mischief after his ears had caught only one sentence from what the teacher had said. He whispered to himself while analyzing the situation. "The bathrooms and laundry facilities are on the shared floor? Is this a dream? Are we finally in paradise?!"
Zoro, who was standing directly behind him, heard every word. He looked at him with contempt and replied with sharp sarcasm. "All that fills your head is girls even at times like this. You're a pathetic little creature."
Aizawa didn't miss it either. He turned toward Mineta slowly with his eyes igniting in their terrifying red color and his hair rising in the air. "Don't let your disturbed imagination wander. Everything is precisely separated by gender with soundproof walls. You'd better watch yourself or I'll expel you."
Mineta swallowed hard while sweating. "Yes sir! Instructions understood!" Then Zoro laughed and patted the frightened boy's shoulder with a force that sent him to the floor. "He genuinely needs psychological treatment."
Aizawa sighed and returned his hair to normal, then continued the explanation as he distributed the keys. "The rooms are distributed across seven floors above this ground floor. Each floor has only three rooms to ensure quiet. Each of you has your own private room equipped with a private bathroom, a refrigerator, and an advanced heating and cooling system."
The students looked at the board on the wall showing the room distribution. Ground floor: shared lounge, kitchen, and laundry. First floor: Uraraka, Asui, Mina Ashido. Second floor: Yaoyorozu, Jirou, Hagakure. Third floor: Midoriya, Iida, Aoyama. Fourth floor: Tokoyami, Shoji, Ojiro. Fifth floor: Zoro, Todoroki, Sato. Sixth floor: Bakugo, Kirishima, Sero. Seventh floor: Kaminari, Mineta, Koda.
After Aizawa finished his strict security instructions, the students dispersed quickly, each carrying their bags toward their new room.
As night fell and the sky outside the glass windows shifted to deep blue, everyone gathered in the shared lounge on the ground floor to unwind after a long day full of conflicting emotions. The atmosphere was filled with laughter and lively discussions about the different decorations for the new rooms, and everyone was trying to shed the remnants of the Kamino shock and return to life as students.
Midoriya looked around him and appeared to be searching for someone among the smiling faces, then asked with a note of surprise. "Where is Zoro? I haven't seen him in a while."
Todoroki replied, sitting on the adjacent couch and calmly sipping a cup of hot green tea. "He finished setting up his room on the fifth floor very early on. He threw his bags down and told me before he left the hallway that he was going to sleep and asked not to be disturbed no matter what."
Midoriya smiled and an imaginary drop of sweat slid from his forehead. "Zoro sleeps at any time and in any place as if the world around him doesn't concern him." Then he added with greater seriousness. "But he really does need the rest. What he's been through recently isn't something easy."
While the students downstairs continued their evening with challenge games and confrontations, their laughter and enthusiastic cheers rising to fill the corners of the ground floor, the situation was entirely different above.
Zoro was indeed sunk in a deep sleep in his dark room. The room was empty of any entertainment or posters. Just a bed, a traditional rug, and some heavy iron weights thrown in the corner.
And his hand gripping tightly to the sheath of Wado Ichimonji, ready for anything, even in his dreams.
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For Advanced Chapters:
Chapter 107 is Available Now
Zoro doesn't look up; he completely ignores Inasa. Zoro was among the first to qualify and was on his way to the waiting room, while Midoriya, Bakugo, and Todoroki had not yet qualified.
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