My Hero Academia: New Students and Unexpected Love

Chapter 4: Sparks Fly

The following week at U.A. felt like a blur of training, classes, and endless encounters with new faces. But today, it wasn’t me who was about to have an interesting meeting—it was Gino. The guy was usually calm, collected, and difficult to fluster, but today was going to be different.

We were both walking out of Gym Gamma after another exhausting quirk training session. My horns were still tingling from the thunder I’d called on, while Gino’s usual cool demeanor remained intact. His Electromagnetism quirk allowed him to control electric fields and manipulate metal, and he was getting better at it each day.

“Man, I could use a break,” I said, stretching my arms as we headed toward the common area. “What about you?”

Gino adjusted his glasses and smirked. “I’m good. Just need to recharge a bit.”

As we walked, I noticed a familiar voice coming from down the hallway, full of energy and excitement.

“Kirishima! You really gotta see how far I can shoot my acid now! I’ve been practicing all week!”

I knew that voice anywhere. Mina Ashido. She was always full of life, her vibrant pink skin and acid powers making her stand out wherever she went. Beside her, another voice chimed in—Eijiro Kirishima, the always-hyped red-haired student with his Hardening quirk.

Gino’s eyes flicked in their direction as we approached the common area. He didn’t say anything, but I could tell by his silence that something had caught his attention. As we got closer, we saw Mina and Kirishima practicing together. Mina was laughing, her smile infectious, and Kirishima was grinning just as widely. They had a natural ease about them, like they were having the time of their lives just training together.

“Hey! Takadoshi, Gino!” Kirishima called out, waving us over. “Come check this out!”

I glanced at Gino, and for the first time, I saw him hesitate—just a brief flicker, but it was there. He walked forward, and I followed, curious about what was going through his mind.

“Hey, Kirishima, Mina,” I greeted as we stopped in front of them.

Mina gave us both a huge grin, her pink eyes sparkling. “Yo! You guys are the new students, right? I’m Mina, and this is Kirishima, though I’m sure you’ve already seen him around.”

“Yeah,” Gino said, his voice smooth but quieter than usual. “We’ve seen you two in action.”

Mina tilted her head, giving Gino an appraising look. “Electromagnetism, right? That’s such a cool quirk! I bet you could do some crazy stuff with that!”

Gino cleared his throat, trying to keep his usual calm, but I could see the slight twitch in his fingers. “Yeah, it’s useful in a fight. You’ve got acid, right?”

“Yup! Acid’s my specialty,” Mina said, her grin widening. “And I’m working on controlling it better—so I can make it more or less corrosive. Wanna see?”

Before Gino could answer, Mina shot a small stream of glowing green acid at a nearby wall. The acid sizzled against the surface, leaving only a faint burn mark. She beamed, clearly proud of her control.

“That’s awesome,” Gino said, his voice a little softer than usual.

Kirishima clapped Gino on the back, almost knocking him off balance. “And what about you, bro? Controlling electricity’s gotta be manly as hell!”

Gino steadied himself, adjusting his glasses, and smiled. “It has its perks. I can magnetize metal, manipulate electricity, and disrupt tech if I need to.”

“Whoa, no way!” Kirishima’s eyes lit up. “That’s so cool! We should totally spar sometime. I bet our quirks would go head-to-head really well.”

“Yeah!” Mina added, her eyes flicking between Gino and Kirishima. “You three would make an unstoppable team. You’ve got the electricity, Kirishima’s got the hardening, and I’ve got the acid. We’d be unstoppable!”

Gino gave a small laugh, something rare for him. “Maybe. That could be interesting.”

I watched as Gino’s usually composed exterior seemed to waver a little more each time Mina or Kirishima spoke. There was something about their easygoing nature that was starting to get to him, and I had to admit, it was funny seeing him in a situation where he wasn’t completely in control.

“So, Gino,” Mina said, crossing her arms and leaning closer, “what do you like to do when you’re not training? You seem like the quiet type, but I bet you’ve got some hidden hobbies.”

Gino blinked, clearly caught off guard. “Uh, I... I guess I like reading. Mostly strategy and science books.”

Mina’s grin widened. “Smart and strong, huh? That’s a winning combination.”

Kirishima nodded in agreement. “Totally manly. You’re the whole package, dude!”

I had to suppress a laugh as I saw Gino’s face turn the slightest shade of red. He was not used to this kind of attention, especially not from people like Mina and Kirishima, who were so open and full of life.

As the conversation continued, I couldn’t help but notice how well they all clicked. Mina’s wild energy, Kirishima’s unwavering positivity, and Gino’s calm intelligence created an odd but perfect balance. They talked about everything—training methods, quirk strategies, even their favorite foods.

And Gino, for once, wasn’t just nodding along. He was genuinely engaged, asking questions, and even laughing with them. It was like a switch had been flipped, and I could see it—the beginnings of something more.

By the time the conversation wound down, Mina and Kirishima were both looking at Gino with newfound admiration, and Gino... well, he was looking at them in a way I hadn’t seen before.

Mina stretched her arms over her head, a satisfied grin on her face. “You know, Gino, you should totally hang out with us more. I mean, we’ve got a lot in common. Strong quirks, good strategies, and we all like to push ourselves to the limit. Plus, you seem like a cool guy.”

“Yeah, man,” Kirishima chimed in, punching Gino lightly on the arm. “We could really use someone like you in our training sessions. You bring the brains, and we’ll bring the brawn.”

Gino smiled—actually smiled. “I’ll think about it.”

As Mina and Kirishima walked away, waving goodbye, I turned to Gino, eyebrow raised. “So... that was something.”

Gino adjusted his glasses, the calm, collected expression back on his face. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, nothing,” I said, smirking. “Just didn’t expect you to hit it off with both of them so quickly.”

He gave me a sideways glance. “They’re... interesting. Good people.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “Yeah, sure. ‘Interesting.’ Whatever you say.”

But deep down, I knew what was really going on. Gino wasn’t just interested—he was hooked. For the first time in a long time, something—or rather, someone—had gotten under his skin.

And by the looks of it, maybe even two someones.

This year at U.A. was going to be even more interesting than I thought.