The rest of the week at UA fell into a rhythm.
Morning classes—math, English, modern hero history. Lunch. Afternoon hero training or foundational studies. Then home, personal training, sleep, repeat.
Rei found himself adapting faster than expected.
In his previous life, routine had been survival. Every day was about staying alive, completing contracts, avoiding enemies. Structure existed, but it was built on paranoia and necessity.
Here? Structure was different. Purposeful. Building toward something instead of just surviving.
'So this is what a normal life feels like,' Rei thought on Thursday morning as he walked into Class 1-A. 'Or at least, what passes for normal in a hero school.'
The classroom was already filling up. Kirishima and Kaminari were arguing about something—probably video games based on the hand gestures. Ashido was showing Hagakure something on her phone. Iida was organizing his desk with mechanical precision.
And near the window, Bakugo sat with his feet on his desk again, glaring at nothing in particular while Midoriya carefully avoided eye contact from three rows away.
'Some things never change,' Rei thought with mild amusement.
He took his seat—middle row, window side—and pulled out his notebook for the day's lessons.
"Good morning, Mizuki-san."
Rei looked up. Yaoyorozu stood beside his desk, textbooks in hand, her expression polite and composed.
"Morning, Yaoyorozu," Rei replied.
"I brought my analysis notes from the battle trial," she said, pulling out a notebook. "As promised. Would you like to review them during lunch?"
'She actually brought notes,' Rei thought. 'Of course she did.'
"Sure," he said. "I've got some observations too. Could be useful to compare."
"Excellent." Yaoyorozu smiled—that small, genuine smile she'd shown after their victory. "I'll meet you at lunch then."
She walked to her seat near the front, and Rei didn't miss the way several classmates glanced between them.
Ashido leaned over to whisper something to Uraraka, both of them giggling.
'Great,' Rei thought. 'We have one successful team exercise and suddenly everyone thinks there's something going on.'
Which was ridiculous. They were just two strategically-minded people discussing tactics.
Nothing more.
Probably.
The door slid open, and Aizawa shuffled in, looking even more tired than usual. His sleeping bag was nowhere in sight, which meant this was serious teaching mode.
"Sit down and shut up," Aizawa said flatly. "We've got a lot to cover today."
The class immediately quieted.
"Today's foundational hero studies will focus on rescue operations," Aizawa continued, pulling up a presentation on the screen. "Natural disasters, building collapses, civilian evacuation. The boring stuff that doesn't make the news but saves more lives than villain fights."
He clicked to the next slide—images of pro heroes performing rescue work.
"Most of you want to be combat heroes. Fight villains, look cool, get famous." Aizawa's tired eyes scanned the room. "But statistically, you'll spend more time pulling people out of rubble than fighting villains. So pay attention."
The lecture that followed was dry but informative. Search and rescue techniques. Triage protocols. How to assess structural stability. What to do when your Quirk is useless in a rescue scenario.
Rei took notes diligently. In his previous life, he'd been the one causing problems, not solving them. This was new territory.
'Rescue work,' he thought, writing down key points. 'Saving people instead of eliminating targets. Complete opposite of everything I trained for.'
But that was the point, wasn't it?
He wasn't an assassin anymore. He was trying to be a hero.
And heroes saved people.
---
Lunch came with its usual chaos.
The cafeteria was packed with students from all courses—hero, support, general studies, business. The noise level was intense, hundreds of conversations overlapping.
Rei grabbed his lunch—katsudon and tea—and looked around for somewhere to sit.
"Mizuki!" Kirishima's voice called out. "Over here, man!"
The red-haired kid was waving from a table where he sat with Kaminari, Sero, and Ashido.
Rei walked over, and Kirishima immediately started talking.
"Dude, that battle trial performance was insane! The way you just dropped on Jirou out of nowhere? So manly!"
"It was pretty cool," Sero agreed. "I didn't even see you on the cameras until you were right on top of her."
"Stealth-type Quirks are so unfair," Kaminari complained. "How are we supposed to fight someone we can't even detect?"
"By not relying on just one sense," Rei said, taking a bite of his katsudon. "Jirou was listening for footsteps. I didn't make any."
"See, that's the kind of tactical thinking we need!" Ashido said excitedly. "Most of us just... use our Quirks and hope for the best."
"That works until you fight someone smarter," Rei pointed out.
"Speaking of smart—" Ashido's grin turned mischievous. "You and Yaoyorozu seem to be getting along really well."
'Here we go.'
"We work well together," Rei said neutrally. "That's it."
"Uh-huh." Ashido clearly didn't believe him. "Is that why she asked you to study together?"
"We're comparing tactical notes. Professional development."
"Sure, sure. Very professional." Ashido wiggled her eyebrows. "You know half the class is already shipping you two, right?"
'Shipping.' Rei had heard that term in his previous life—internet culture thing. People wanting fictional characters to get together romantically.
'Except now I'm apparently one of those characters.'
"People need hobbies," Rei said flatly.
Kirishima laughed. "Don't worry about it, man. Ashido ships everyone. Last week she was convinced Todoroki and Midoriya were secretly best friends."
"They could be!" Ashido defended. "The rival-to-friends dynamic is classic!"
"Todoroki barely talks to anyone," Kaminari pointed out.
"Yet! He barely talks to anyone yet!"
Rei tuned out the shipping discussion and continued eating. These were good people. A bit chaotic, a bit noisy, but genuine. No hidden agendas. No ulterior motives.
Just teenagers trying to become heroes.
'I could get used to this,' Rei thought.
"Mizuki-san."
He looked up. Yaoyorozu stood beside the table, her own lunch tray in hand.
"Are you still available to review notes?" she asked. "Or would you prefer to do it another time?"
The table went immediately silent. Everyone stared.
"Now's fine," Rei said, standing up. "Thanks for the company, guys."
"Anytime, bro!" Kirishima said, giving a thumbs up.
Ashido was practically vibrating with suppressed squealing.
Rei and Yaoyorozu walked to a quieter corner of the cafeteria, found an empty table, and sat down.
"Your friends seem... energetic," Yaoyorozu commented diplomatically.
"They're alright," Rei said. "Little too interested in other people's business, but harmless."
Yaoyorozu pulled out her notebook—meticulously organized, color-coded, with detailed diagrams.
'Of course it is,' Rei thought. 'She probably started planning this notebook in elementary school.'
"I've broken down each team's performance during the battle trial," Yaoyorozu explained, flipping through pages. "Analyzed their strategies, Quirk applications, mistakes, and successful tactics."
She pointed to a section about their own match.
"Our victory was largely due to information advantage. By neutralizing Jirou's detection Quirk first, we controlled the flow of information. Kaminari had no idea where we were or what we were planning."
"Information warfare," Rei said, reading her notes. "Cut off the enemy's senses, operate in their blind spots."
"Exactly." Yaoyorozu looked pleased that he understood. "Most students approach these exercises as pure combat scenarios. But the most effective heroes are the ones who control information and positioning."
Rei pulled out his own notebook—significantly less organized, but functional.
"I noticed the same thing," he said, showing her his observations. "The teams that won weren't necessarily the strongest. They were the ones who adapted faster and used their environment."
They spent the rest of lunch discussing tactics, analyzing matchups, debating theoretical scenarios.
And Rei realized something.
This was... fun.
Talking strategy. Breaking down problems. Working through solutions with someone who could keep pace with his thinking.
In his previous life, planning had been solitary. Assassins didn't collaborate. You trusted no one, worked alone, kept your methods secret.
But this? Sharing ideas, building on each other's insights?
'This is better,' Rei thought.
"You're really good at this," Yaoyorozu said suddenly, looking up from her notes. "Strategic analysis. Most people our age don't think this deeply about combat applications."
"I've had time to practice," Rei said vaguely.
'Decades, actually. But I can't exactly tell her I'm a reincarnated assassin.'
"Still," Yaoyorozu continued, "it's refreshing to work with someone who takes this seriously. Most of our classmates are talented, but they rely on instinct over analysis."
"Nothing wrong with instinct," Rei said. "But strategy gives you an edge when instinct isn't enough."
"Agreed." Yaoyorozu closed her notebook. "I think we should continue this. Regular tactical discussions. It would benefit both of us."
"Like a study group?"
"Exactly. Though..." she hesitated. "I wouldn't mind if it was just the two of us. Group dynamics can sometimes dilute focused analysis."
'She wants to keep meeting one-on-one,' Rei realized.
Was that professional interest? Or something else?
Hard to tell with Yaoyorozu. She was composed, analytical, hard to read.
"That works," Rei said. "Let's make it a regular thing."
"Excellent." Yaoyorozu smiled, and Rei noticed—not for the first time—that she was actually really attractive when she smiled.
'Focus,' he told himself. 'Professional. Tactical discussions. Nothing else.'
The lunch bell rang, signaling the end of break.
Students started heading back to class.
As Rei and Yaoyorozu walked back together, he caught Ashido giving them a very obvious thumbs up from across the hallway.
'Unbelievable.'
---
The afternoon classes were hero-focused again—this time with All Might teaching rescue scenarios.
"RESCUING CIVILIANS IS THE FOUNDATION OF HERO WORK!" All Might announced, his voice echoing through the training ground. "TODAY, WE'LL PRACTICE EVACUATION PROCEDURES!"
The class spent two hours running through simulations—building collapses, fire scenarios, flood evacuations. Each student had to demonstrate how their Quirk could be applied to rescue work.
Rei's turn involved using his webs to create evacuation lines from a "burning" building—stringing them between structures so civilians could slide down to safety.
"EXCELLENT IMPROVISATIONAL THINKING, YOUNG MIZUKI!" All Might praised. "USING YOUR QUIRK TO CREATE INFRASTRUCTURE IS EXACTLY THE KIND OF OUTSIDE-THE-BOX THINKING HEROES NEED!"
By the end of the day, Rei was exhausted—not physically, but mentally. Class 1-A was intense. Every lesson pushed them, every training exercise demanded creativity and adaptation.
'This is what hero school is,' Rei thought as he changed back into his uniform. 'Not just learning to fight. Learning to think. To save people. To be better.'
He grabbed his bag and headed for the train station.
Tomorrow would bring more of the same—classes, training, slowly building relationships with classmates who were starting to feel less like strangers and more like... friends.
'Friends,' Rei thought as the train carried him home. 'When was the last time I had those?'
Not in his previous life, that's for sure.
But maybe here, in this world, he could.
Maybe he could be more than just a weapon.
Maybe he could be human.
---
Author's Note:-
Chapter 15 done! Rei settling into UA life, building friendships, and continuing to develop his connection with Momo. Slow and natural development!
Next chapter: The actual study session and more character moments!
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