On the day of his first day at UA High, Shin was up and about early in the morning, mainly because he didn’t have any sleep the night before. He was quite busy with a meeting that he was attending, and it only ended nearly in the morning. Therefore, he had resolved to just stay up rather than go to sleep, and avoid being late to first day to the high school. After all, first impressions were what mattered the most in these types of matters.
Nevertheless, the meetings, which Shin deems to be much more significant than his school life, were about implementing new rules into hero schools; something, he had been suggesting for quite a while. The meeting, he had to attend the night before, had been with the Hero Association’s HR department, which also managed the education of new heroes and dealt with any issues related to hero development.
Now, although he understood the link between Human Resources and hero education, as heroes could be considered as human resources; but using such a name for their department could make the public really uncomfortable. Still, he was quite that was what they had intended in the first place. Really….these guys didn’t have proper business acumen yet they were as cunning as politicians.
Once he reached the school, it took him a while to ask around and find his own class, especially as there were only few people inside, this early in the morning. After all, it was literally an hour before his classes would begin, at 9 o'clock. When he entered the room, he saw no one, as he had already expected. So, he went and took the seat that was allotted to him.
On the way, Shin saw a sleeping bag near the teacher’s podium. Out of the blue, he felt a bit suspicious. Therefore, he immediately used his Karmic Vision and, lo and behold his suspicions came true. There was literally a person sleeping inside that bedroll. This made him flabbergasted at the resourcefulness yet frugality of the person, whom he had identified as Aizawa Shoto; one of the persons who interviewed him.
Shin shook his head and shrugged at this behaviour, as he diverted his focus onto the more important aspect that he had just realised. He recognised that he was entirely vulnerable to surprise attacks. “If that guy was an assassin, I’d be dead now. I totally overlooked the fact that I had lost my divine sense, this entire time.”
He, therefore, acknowledged the need to develop a skill to scan the area similar to his former divine sense.
“Wait, like my divine sense?” Shin opened his eyes wide as he got an idea, which he started to attempt instantly. He tried sending a pulse of force in all directions from his body as a center. Within a minute, he was successful. He then infused the force with his intent, essentially his wish, for it to rebound upon encountering an obstacle. This process took a bit more time to achieve success because he had only recently learned that he could incorporate his intent into skills to shape them however he wished.
After achieving minor level of success, Shin shut his eyes and swiftly emitted force pulses in a similar fashion, aiming to organize the information by utilizing his advanced mental abilities and the awareness of various forces that he had naturally acquired through the force manipulation skill. In approximately ten minutes, he could discern his environment within a 10-meter radius in all directions, even with his eyes closed. And regrettably, this success was marked with the arrival of the System notification.
[You have gained a new skill, Force Pulse]
At that moment, Shin noticed the door opening thanks to his newly acquired skill. Lifting his eyes to see who had entered, he spotted a girl stepping into the classroom. She was tall, with a charming face, black hair tied in a ponytail, and striking onyx eyes. Wearing the school uniform that accentuated her well-endowed figure, she appeared to be greatly startled to find someone else there before her.
Upon seeing Shin, she retracted her surprise, smiled at him and introduced herself, saying, “Hello, good morning. My name is Momo Yaoyorozu. Nice to meet you.”
Shin replied with a pleasant smile. “I am Shin Akatsuki. Nice to meet you too.” He consequently stopped his skill practice as he began to converse with the girl who had introduced herself.
“When did you arrive?” Momo asked curiously as she sat on her allotted desk. “Why did you come so early?”
“Oh, just around 15 minutes ago. Honestly, the only reason I’m this early is that I didn’t sleep last night because of a late meeting. I was sure I’d doze off if I stayed home, so I just decided to head straight to school,” Shin answered after he posed a question of his own. “What's your reason for coming this early?”
“Oh, it's my first day and I normally like to reach my school early.”
“Oh, an overachiever type, huh?” Shin muttered in understanding as he gave her a look over. She was definitely quite good looking, that along with her good brains and excellent work ethics, was a rare combination, that you don’t see in many people.
“You could say that,” Momo didn’t seem offended by the slang and took it in stride. In fact, it even felt that she was quite pleased with that title.
Suddenly, Shin recalled her introduction, and got stuck by a realization. He therefore inquired to clear his doubts and confirm what he just grasped, “You mentioned your last name is Yaoyorozu—is that the family known for being the second-wealthiest in Japan?”
“Yeah, I am a part of that very family,” Momo said proudly, “In fact, I am the only child in this current generation, making me a promising heir.”
Shin felt his brows twitch as he recalled an occasion when the current head of that family asked him to marry their youngest, claiming that she was his age. He couldn’t and still didn’t comprehend why the request was made with such insistence, especially considering the vast difference in their wealth compared to what he had earned. Moreover, he hadn’t even disclosed his true abilities, which made the head’s request even more puzzling.
Seeing his expression, Momo asked with confusion, “What? Why are you making that face?”
“Well…..I have met your grandfather, and how do I put it….he is a really annoying person,” Shin said, showing an irritated face. “Don’t you ever go and mention that I am in your class to him.”
“What..? You have met him.” Momo replied with astonishment, and continued with great interest, “Where did you meet him and why exactly should I not mention you to him?”
“We met at a business party, where our mutual connections introduced us to each other. The reason I don't want you to bring me up to him is a bit embarrassing, and I’d prefer to keep it private for now. However, I can tell you that if you ever mention to him that I’m in your class, it could cause a lot of annoyance for you as well, and I would rather avoid that.”
“Oh, please tell me! Why are you keeping me in suspense after getting me this far already?” Momo said, clearly eager to know. Especially since his description of her grandfather as bothersome indicated that he was really telling the truth, as she had heard similar remarks from everyone who had gotten to know him well. Though she never had ever felt that way with how caring he is towards her.
“Hah….Okay I will tell you. Just don’t regret about it later.” Consequently, Shin recounted the incidents of that day along with various other similar happenings during his other meetings with her grandfather. As his narration progressed, Shin could see the visible traces of embarrassment on her face from the slight reddening of her cheeks and it was gradually increasing. Though by the end of it, it had been changed into a full blown blush. After that she even avoided direct eye contact with him leading to an uncomfortable moment of silence between them.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Thankfully, they both hadn’t need to deal with the awkwardness for long, as some girls entered the classroom, and Momo immediately moved towards them to converse with them, leaving him alone to dwell in his thoughts. Though even that didn’t last long enough as some boys also arrived. One of them was Iida, whom he had seen during the entrance exam. He was behaving in a stiff manner and trying to act like a model student or something. Shortly afterwards, he started verbally quarrelling with a guy named Katsuki Bakugo over some mannerism issue.
He later met a guy called Shoto Todoroki, whom he recognised as the youngest son of Endeavor. He and Shoto hit it off quite well, and Shin didn’t dare to mention anything about Endeavor, as he knew it would be a sour spot for him. From what he said, Todoroki had a quirk called Half Cold-Half Hot, which uses both ice and flames, making Shin impressed. After all, it was a quirk which had great potential to become very very strong.
Still, through it all, he couldn’t stop thinking about Momo. Her pretty, blushing countenance earlier had mesmerised him. She looked so beautiful, that it nearly made him re-consider his reluctance to her grandfather proposition. However, he was instantly reminded of the fact that he was a temporary resident of this plane, and if he would pursue a relationship, that relationship would always end when he made his exit.
This made him think if pursuing such relationships, throughout his journey, was even worth it. Especially considering the fact that he was now sterile, which would be a major red flag for many women. And even if some agreed despite such issues, it would certainly end with disappointment and sadness for both him and the women, he courts.
As he was thinking about it, Aizawa, whom he knew was sleeping in the bag near the podium, stood up, surprising the entire class by doing so. Without giving them a moment to process this, he declared that he was their homeroom teacher. Consequently, he announced a physical examination, which he termed as ‘The Quirk Assessment Test and instructed everyone to get changed to the PT dress and assemble in the ground within 10 minutes.
…
In the ground, all the students were gathered within the allocated time, waiting for Aizawa to provide further directives.
Aizawa looked around and started speaking, “The Quirk Apprehension Test is conducted to realize, each of your own current starting points. Now, everyone knows that you are obligated to participate in a physical testing to understand your strengths and limits properly during your middle school. Right….?”
This caused everyone to nod their heads in agreement. He continued, “But at that time, you were not allowed to use your quirks. So, technically that data is completely wrong and should not be used as a true reference. Therefore, this time you will use your quirks. There will be multiple different tests to find out relevant data from various aspects, which will be used for customising your individual future trainings.” Aizawa observed the students and once he was satisfied with their understanding expressions, he dropped a bomb in his nonchalant tone, “And the person who scores the least overall in this test will get EXPELLED and a new student from Class B will take their spot.”
“What…?”
“Expelled on the first day?”
“You can't be serious.”
“No way that’s fair.”
“Why are you talking about unfairness? Life is not fair, kids. It is instead the duty of real heroes to overcome that unfairness and make any situation into a positive one.” Aizawa said with all seriousness.
Consequently, he commenced the tests which consisted of short-distance runs, long-distance runs, softball throw, continuous sidesteps, sit-ups, grip strength test, long-distance jump, and various others. The students were excelling in some and failing in some, like Iida getting highest in races, Ochaco getting an infinite score as she used her float quirk on the ball in softball throw earning her the first place in that test, Bakugo using his explosion quirk through his hands to jump and propel himself in the air and many others.
Shin, through this test, was able to clearly observe and critically analyse the various quirks, his classmates had and how well they used their imagination to efficiently use them. He was not doing his best but was still consistently maintaining a middle score which Aizawa noticed.
Though, he didn’t say anything to this behaviour as Aizawa had realized that the tests were kind of a waste of time for Shin, with his former record of being a part of SUBLIME. Additionally, with how effortlessly he had secured the top score in all the three exams, including the written, practical as well as the interview one, there was a not a single doubt in Aizawa’s mind that the only reason Shin was attending the hero course, was because of the fact that, a permanent hero licence would only be awarded to a student, who completed their entire three years at a hero school.
Shin, throughout his observations noticed that Izuku, the boy who had demolished the 0 pointer mecha during the practical exam was doing the worst in all the tests, and when the last test arrived i.e. the softball throw, he finally utilised his quirk to throw the ball, with the full intent of sacrificing his arms for it. But he was unable to do so as Aizawa quickly erased his quirk. Izuku was initially confused, but when Aizawa admitted that he had erased the quirk, Izuku realized what had happened as he comprehended who Aizawa really was, as he proclaimed, “EraserHead.”
Some of the other students, who had heard this had their eyes widened. It seemed to Shin, that they hadn’t realised who he was till now. Subsequently, Aizawa went on to say his take about how Izuku could not ever become a hero with his crappy quirk mastery. He additionally pointed out a severe flaw about Izuku, that before even saving a single person, Izuku would be completely disabled with his quirk. Aizawa, after his reprimand, ceased blocking his quirk and ordered Izuku to throw the ball.
Shin was honestly expecting him to do the same as what he attempted earlier, but was surprised when he saw Izuku only using his quirk on one of his fingers as the ball went flying, crossing a huge distance. The others were surprised at his strength but not as much as Aizawa, Shin, and All Might, whom Shin had seen peeking earlier; at the creativity and determination Izuku possessed. With his innovating and out of the box thinking, Izuku was acknowledged and praised by Aizawa for coming up with a solution on the spot.
However, there was one person in all of this, who was not very happy for Izuku and his success. Instead, he was greatly enraged when he saw Izuku use his quirk. It was Bakugo, the childhood friend of Izuku, from the conversations, Shin had overheard in the classroom earlier. Unable to control his fury, he dashed toward Izuku with the intention to beat him up.
Shin, witnessing this, immediately stopped Bakugo in his tracks, by creating shield using Force Manifestation. He created the shield in a dome shape, which emerged in white translucent appearance, surrounding Bakugo from all sides. Despite this, Bakugo persisted and employed his explosion quirk in an attempt to destroy the shield. Initially, cracks began to form on the translucent dome, but Shin quickly repaired them all by utilizing his stored force. Moreover, he tapped into his stored reserves of force energy to fortify the dome, ensuring that none of Bakugo’s attacks could harm it.
Yet Bakugo kept attacking and Shin allowed him to do that, as it was not really causing any harm other than Bakugo and himself, suddenly becoming a center of attention for the entire class. After a little while of venting out his frustrations, Bakugo calmed down and took a deep breath while looking at the source of this obstacle that was blocking him. He shouted with a harsh voice, "Why are you stopping me? This situation has nothing to do with you. This is between me and Deku."
"You were about to attack Izuku. I felt it necessary to intervene.” Shin replied in a calm voice, “Why did you want to do that? Do you realise that you could have suspended or even worse expelled, if your actions were to come to pass. "
Bakugo had calmed down enough to understand the veracity in Shin’s words, yet he answered with a tinge of anger, "He tricked me. Deku lied to me the entire time, claiming that he didn’t have a quirk."
This made Shin comprehend what was this about. And it was neither party’s fault. It was not like Izuku had lied in the first place. Therefore, he simply criticized, "That doesn't give you any right to attack him. Neither it is how a future hero should reacts. Instead, it is how a villain usually behaves." Aizawa, observing this, approached them and requested Shin to remove his barrier, which he promptly did, freeing Bakugo. Subsequently, Aizawa started lecturing Bakugo in Shin’s place as his rightful teacher’s duty.
During this, Shin moved near Izuku and engaged him in conversation. "Are you a fan of All Might?" Surprised, Izuku asked, "Yes, I am. I mean, who isn't? Why are you asking?"
"Well, I noticed you were using your quirk in a way that seemed misguided, so I came to offer some advice." Shin spoke up with an intension to help. After all, he didn’t like when people wasted their potential. So, many a times, he just takes it upon himself to guide them and as a result, one of his titles in his original plane became, the Mentor Saint. It was an absolutely cringe worthy title, but it did best describe his many actions. He continued speaking, "I can see that your enhancement quirk is quite similar to All Might's. Therefore, you seem to want to do, what he does in the same way he does it."
Izuku wore a startled expression, likely due to the implied meaning behind his words. But Shin ignored this look and continued, "In simple words, you try to emulate your quirk in the same manner that you think All Might does.”