"Are you really in the same class as my son?"
Mitsuki's voice sounded incredulous through the phone. Ren was walking down the deserted street at 6:45 AM, still fifteen minutes away from UA.
"That is what my assignment letter says," Ren replied, adjusting his uniform tie with one hand while holding the phone with the other. "Class 1-A, second floor, right next to the main staircase."
"My God, karma exists and it is punishing me," Mitsuki sighed dramatically. "I already have to deal with Katsuki blowing things up at home. Now I also have to worry about your bald head exploding at school."
"Hey, my head is beautiful," Ren protested. "Aerodynamic. It reflects sunlight with elegance."
"It reflects light like a damn mirror. At dinner yesterday, you nearly blinded me when you sat under the dining room lamp."
Ren could not help but laugh remembering the scene. Dinner had been incredible and the food was delicious. Bakugo had spent the entire evening growling every time Mitsuki spoke to Ren with familiarity. During these last few days before the start of classes, Mitsuki had frequently invited him to dinner. The explosive boy clearly did not approve of his mother treating the weird bald guy as if he were part of the family.
"Has Katsuki left yet?" Ren asked.
"He left half an hour ago. He said something about arriving early to establish dominance or some alpha stupidity he probably learned on the internet," Mitsuki sounded exasperated. "That boy needs therapy, I swear."
"Or a girlfriend to put him in his place."
"Please, no girl would stand that little demon for more than five minutes without wanting to murder him," Mitsuki laughed. "Anyway, I just called to wish you luck on your first day. And to remind you that if Katsuki bothers you too much, you have permission to use your telekinesis to throw him out a window."
"Official permission from Momma Bakugo?"
"Completely official permission. Though try to make sure the window is on the first floor; I do not want to pay hospital bills."
Ren reached the main entrance of UA just as the call ended. The building loomed imposing under the morning sun, with students from all years entering in noisy groups.
Here we go, he thought while climbing the stairs. First day at the most prestigious hero school in Japan. With a classroom full of future heroines in tight uniforms. And me with X-ray vision.
Johnny Sins, give me wisdom, please.
The door to Class 1-A was absurdly large, as if it had been designed for students ten feet tall. Ren pushed it open.
"AND THAT IS WHY IT IS COMPLETELY INAPPROPRIATE TO PUT YOUR FEET ON THE DESK! YOU ARE DISRESPECTING THE STUDENTS WHO CAME BEFORE US! THOSE WHO SAT IN THAT VERY..."
"SHUT UP, FOUR-EYES!"
The chaos had already begun. Bakugo was reclined in his chair with his feet on the desk, looking with absolute disdain at a tall boy with dark blue hair and rectangular glasses who was gesturing as if he were conducting an invisible orchestra.
Tenya Iida, Ren identified him immediately. The human robot obsessed with rules.
Several students were already in their seats. A girl with short brown hair watched the argument with evident amusement. Another, with black hair in a high ponytail, read a book, completely ignoring the scandal. A boy with half-red, half-white hair stared out the window without any expression.
Then, Bakugo's eyes found Ren.
"YOU!"
The entire room turned toward the door. Ren waved casually.
"Good morning, Bakugo. What a joy to see you so early."
"DO NOT PRETEND WE ARE FRIENDS, YOU DAMN BALDIE!" Bakugo jumped up, pointing at him accusingly. "JUST BECAUSE MY OLD LADY FEELS SORRY FOR YOU DOES NOT MEAN WE HAVE TO TALK AT SCHOOL!"
"Your mom specifically asked me to watch over you so you do not blow up anything important on the first day," Ren lied with a completely serious face as he walked toward an empty seat. "She made me promise I would keep you under control."
Bakugo's face turned red.
"THAT MEDDLING OLD HAG! I DO NOT NEED A NANNY!"
"Technically it would be a manny, not a nanny," a female voice corrected in a perfectly neutral tone.
Ren looked for the source. A girl with long dark green hair and eyes of the same color looked up from her notebook. Her features were soft, almost delicate, but there was something in her presence that radiated absolute tranquility.
Inko Midoriya, Ren thought, feeling his pulse accelerate involuntarily. The wielder of One For All.
She wore the UA uniform impeccably, but even the fabric designed to be professional struggled visibly against her natural curves. The blazer tightened slightly across her chest. The skirt that on other girls reached mid-thigh barely managed to cover what was necessary on her due to her wide hips.
Focus, idiot, he ordered himself. Now is not the time to activate the vision.
"Manny?" Bakugo repeated, confused.
"The masculine equivalent of a nanny," Inko explained, returning to her notebook as if the conversation no longer interested her. "Though I doubt Hayashi-kun qualifies for the job considering you are the same age."
Wait, she knows my name?
"Do we know each other?" Ren asked, genuinely surprised.
Inko looked up briefly.
"I read the list of students assigned to 1-A. I memorized all the names last night. Ren Hayashi, mental quirk categorized as telekinesis; forty-two points from robots plus twenty-eight rescue points in the practical exam."
The silence that followed was absolute.
"That is..." the boy with the glasses began.
"...extremely efficient," the girl with the ponytail completed, finally closing her book. "I did the same. It is logical to know the capabilities of your classmates before the first day."
Momo Yaoyorozu, Ren identified. The rich girl with the creation quirk.
"I DID NOT READ A DAMN THING!" Bakugo shouted. "I DO NOT NEED TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT YOU EXTRAS!"
"Extras," Inko murmured with the slightest touch of amusement in her voice. "An interesting way to classify your classmates."
More students began to arrive. A girl with bright pink hair and skin of the same tone entered practically dancing, followed by another with short purple hair and earphone jacks hanging from her ears.
Mina Ashido and Kyoka Jiro, Ren cataloged mentally.
Then another girl entered.
Long black hair with a blue-green tint that caught the light hypnotically. Large, expressive eyes. A long tongue that poked out slightly from her mouth even when she was not speaking. And a body that defied all logic of adolescent proportions: long, muscular legs, wide hips; a figure the uniform barely managed to contain without looking inappropriate.
Tsuyu Asui, Ren thought, and he had to make a conscious effort to close his mouth. Seeing her in person was something else.
Tsuyu walked directly toward the seat next to his.
"Ribbit," she said as a greeting, sitting down with a natural grace that suggested superhuman flexibility. "You are the telekinesis boy from the exam."
"Guilty," Ren admitted. "Ren Hayashi."
"Tsuyu Asui, but you can call me Tsuyu-chan. Everyone does." She tilted her head, studying him with evident curiosity. "I saw your fight against that type-two robot. The way you threw it was impressive, ribbit."
She is being friendly. Be normal. Do not activate the vision. Do not be an obvious pervert on the first day.
"Thanks. Your quirk is great too," Ren said, and he genuinely meant it. "Frog abilities, right?"
"Exactly. I can jump high, swim fast, climb walls, camouflage myself a bit, and my tongue reaches twenty meters, ribbit." She stuck out her tongue to demonstrate, extending it almost half a meter before retracting it. "I can also secrete slightly paralyzing toxins from my skin, but I only use them in emergencies."
Do not think about the perverted possibilities of a twenty-meter tongue. Do not do it. Focus.
"That is incredibly versatile," Ren said honestly. "Multifunctional for combat, rescue, and stealth."
"Ribbit, thanks. Most people just think it is weird." Tsuyu's eyes lit up slightly with appreciation. "It is refreshing to talk to someone who sees tactical applications instead of just saying, Oh, you are like a frog."
More students kept entering. A boy with a thick tail, another with multiple arms, a girl with permanent earphones...
And then, Ren felt a change in the air. As if someone invisible had just entered.
Hagakure.
"Good morning everyoooone!" a cheerful voice sang from the air near the door. "I am so excited to be here!"
Several students startled, looking for the source of the voice. A chair in the back row sank slightly, as if someone invisible had just sat down. Ren made eye contact with the space where he calculated her face to be.
Keep the secret, he reminded himself. Act like everyone else.
"Hagakure-chan!" Ashido exclaimed with excitement, turning toward the chair. "I knew you would get in! We are going to have so much fun!"
"Ashido-chan!" the invisible voice replied. "Your hair looks amazing today! Is it a new shade of pink?"
While they talked, Ren felt the temptation. Enormous. Overwhelming.
A quick peek, his brain suggested. Just to confirm it is really her. For safety. For professional reasons.
No, he told himself firmly. You promised not to abuse the vision. Keep your composure. But his right hand was already trembling slightly from the effort of restraining himself.
The door opened again.
A man entered dragging what looked like a giant yellow sleeping bag. Long, messy black hair. A few days of stubble. Tired eyes that conveyed a clear message: I have not slept in four days and I am considering professional suicide.
Shota Aizawa, Ren identified. Eraserhead. The toughest teacher at UA.
The entire room went silent instantly. Aizawa stopped in front of the chalkboard, still half-wrapped in his bag, and observed them with an expression that distilled existential disappointment.
"It took you eight seconds to shut up after I entered," he said in a monotonous voice. "In a real emergency, eight seconds are the difference between saving lives and counting corpses. That is completely irrational for future heroes."
No one dared to breathe.
"I am Shota Aizawa, your teacher," he continued while stepping out of the bag and letting it fall to the floor without ceremony. "Class 1-A. We are not going to waste time with unnecessary orientations or welcome ceremonies. Put on your gym uniforms and meet in the outdoor training field in five minutes."
"Gym uniforms?" Iida asked, raising his hand with robotic rigidity. "Shouldn't we first...?"
"Four minutes and forty seconds," Aizawa interrupted, looking at his watch.
The side walls of the classroom slid away, revealing lockers with perfectly folded gym uniforms. Chaos erupted.
Bakugo was the first to move, grabbing his uniform and running toward the locker rooms while shouting something about being number one even at changing clothes. Iida tried to organize a line and failed spectacularly. Ren grabbed his uniform and followed the other boys.
The room was spacious, with wooden benches and numbered hooks.
"Is he always like this?" a boy with wild purple hair (Mineta) murmured while taking off his tie.
"Apparently so," another with multiple arms (Shoji) replied. "My older brother warned me about him. Katsuki Bakugo, the explosive prodigy with a superiority complex."
Ren changed methodically. Blue track pants, white t-shirt with the UA logo; everything designed for movement. While he tied his sneakers, his traitorous brain processed unsolicited information.
The girls are changing in the locker room next door. Right on the other side of this wall. Putting on gym uniforms that are probably even tighter.
No, he ordered himself. That is a line I do not cross. Locker rooms are sacred territory. Even Johnny Sins would respect that... or would he?
He walked out with the other boys. The girls were already waiting, and Ren had to make a superhuman effort to maintain a neutral expression. The UA gym uniforms were criminally tight.
Yaoyorozu was discreetly tugging at her shirt, clearly uncomfortable. Uraraka seemed comfortable, but Jiro had her hands in her pockets to hide her shyness. And Tsuyu looked relaxed, as if the tight uniform were her natural state of existence.
Do not look. Do not look. DO NOT LOOK.
Ren walked toward the field, keeping his eyes fixed on the back of the neck of the boy in front of him. Self-control, he repeated. Do not ruin your reputation on the first day by being the obvious pervert. Be the subtle pervert.
The training field was massive. Aizawa was waiting for them in the center with a softball.
"Quirk apprehension test," he announced. "You will perform eight basic physical tests. The difference is that this time you can use your quirks without restrictions. Bakugo, you finished first in the practical exam. Come here."
Bakugo walked forward with a smile of concentrated arrogance.
"Stand in this circle," Aizawa ordered. "Throw the ball as far as you can using your quirk. Do not step out of the circle."
Bakugo grabbed the ball and his smile turned maniacal.
"DIE!"
The explosion was massive. The ball went flying like a projectile, disappearing into the sky. Aizawa showed the screen: 705.2 meters.
Excited murmurs broke out.
"This looks fun, doesn't it?" Aizawa said, and his tone became dangerously serious. "You think the next three years will be like a glorified sports festival where you can show off your skills and receive applause. You are completely wrong. UA will test you in ways you cannot imagine. And the student who finishes in last place in this evaluation will be expelled immediately. Today. No appeals."
The silence was absolute.
I see, Ren thought. The famous logical deception of the expulsion.
He looked around. Inko had a determined expression. Yaoyorozu looked worried. Todoroki remained expressionless, as always.
*****
Clicking the like button is the easiest way to tell me you want more.
I'm happy to announce that we've reached our Power Stone goal! As promised, here is the chapter I owe you. The next one will be released once we hit 50 Power Stones. Thank you all for your amazing support
Followme on patreon.com/shurazero