Chapter Text
Walking through the halls of UA High was a strange feeling, its high walls and massive doors giving the impression that these are halls meant for giants. In a way, it felt like they were. Ren's good mood began to wane as whispers followed him, pointed fingers and suspicious looks directed at him as if his mere presence was an anathema to UA's prestige. Ren tried his best to ignore them, but the isolation smothered any hope he had left for something more than a year spent effectively by himself. His brow furrowed slightly as he approached the door to Class 1-A, looking up the giant door. What just moments ago felt majestic, regal almost, now felt imposing. He steeled his nerves and pulled open the door, bearing witness to a kaleidoscope of colorful students. His eyes were drawn to two people arguing, the blonde explosion guy from the exam, whom he later learned to be Katsuki Bakugo, with his feet kicked up. He placed first, with 77 villain points and 0 rescue points. Judging by his expression and tone, Ren wasn't shocked by the lack of rescue points.
"Dick."
Arguing with Bakugo was a guy with well groomed blue hair, a sharp jawline and glasses. The broad man, gesticulating in chaotic movements that somehow remained formal in their choppiness, was arguing about Bakugo putting his feet on his desk. He turned away and made a mental note of everyone present: Kaminari, Kirishima, Yaoyorozu, Ashido, a veritable collection of various people. Somehow, that green haired kid, Izuku Midoriya, had gotten in. Good for him. But who caught his eye was that frog girl, Tsuyu Asui, the one he saw performing better than many in the entrance exam. At least in the practical, he knew nothing about the written exam's scores. He scanned the room before finding his spot, but when he stepped into the room proper, people looked at him. He suddenly felt like he was dead center in the spotlight, and it wasn't a good feeling. News of his record had, unsurprisingly, spread to here. Surprisingly, they brushed off his presence and continued their chatter. Ren wasn't sure if this was better or worse, but took the small blessing of temporary anonymity and took the empty seat, towards the back of the classroom and sat beside the window. He remained there, silent, eyes drifting to the clouds above in an endless blue sky. His mind wandered, wondering how a kid with a Quirk that somehow broke his body so severely managed to get into UA. The rescue points were high, sure, but still.
"You're that probation guy."
The sudden voice snapped Ren out of his reverie, turning to find Asui in the seat next to him. He stayed silent for a moment, wondering why in the world she would be talking to him. He got these fake glasses to blend in, to seem unassuming. They must not work. Or perhaps Asui is simply different, which would make sense seeing her eyes. He eventually composed himself and replied
"Yeah. And you're that girl with the frog Quirk."
Asui didn't seem to react, her face surprisingly neutral. She was hard to read. Sounds familiar, huh.
"Yep. What's your Quirk? I saw you project some red energy in the exam I couldn't tell what you were doing."
"Oh, it's Psychokinesis. I manipulate psionic energy."
"Ah. Do you have any psychic powers?"
"Just one."
"Kero."
Silence fell over the two, oddly comfortable, oddly. For once, Ren didn't feel any pressure to reply or carry the conversation. This was easier than normal. How odd. As Ren opened his mouth to ask something, silence fell across the class a man in a yellow sleeping bag entered the room. Ren recognized him immediately, despite the strange fashion choice. Aizawa, aka Eraserhead.
"Hello, I am Shota Aizawa. Your teacher."
A wave of surprise washed over the students present, though Ren had met Aizawa prior, it was jarring seeing him arrive like a worm would, or perhaps a caterpillar. Amusing, really. Aizawa exited his sleeping bag and rummaged in it for a moment before producing a blue, white, and red uniform with UA's symbol on it.
"Put these on and head outside."
Ren was surprised but didn't question it, just got up and followed the thoroughly confused class into the locker rooms. While the other male students chatted about whatever came to mind, Ren stayed in his own isolated bubble, trying to figure out why, out of nowhere, Tsu had approached him. It must just be his Quirk, which is fine, but she seemed unfazed by the rumors following him like a thick cloud, she must either be oblivious or simply didn't care. Once again, Ren found himself pulled from his thoughts, though this one was louder, brash even.
"Yo! You good, man? You've been quiet all day!"
Ren turned to find a man with a shark tooth grin that reminded him of Ryuji, but red instead of yellow and much spikier hair. He pulled on his gym shirt and stood up. Eijiro Kirishima, his Quirk was Hardening.
"Hehehe, his Quirk makes him hard."
Ren looked him up and down for a moment before deciding to reply.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Do you need something?"
Kirishima seemed caught off guard by the bluntness of his question, not expecting such directness. But his energy didn't waver
"Nah, man, just wondering what's up. I hear you're on probation, but you don't look like a criminal, I bet it's bogus. You're in UA, right?"
It was Ren's turn to be caught off guard. That's two people now that have dismissed the gossip about him, so brazenly too. Asui did too, in her own way. Already, this place was proving strange.
"Thanks. Kirishima, right? It's a pleasure."
Kirishima beamed and gave him a firm handshake
"Nice grip. Super manly!"
Ren smiled softly as he let go, hands returning to his pockets. As the group exited the locker room, they walked outside to an open area with various markings on the grounds.
"Alright, now that everyone's here, we're going to have a Quirk Assessment test. This way, I can see where you're at. Most of you have been taking standardized tests without really using your Quirks. This is isn't rational. The world wants to pretend everyone's equal by keeping the strong from excelling. Bakugo, you scored highest on the entrance exam. You go first."
Bakugo, whom Ren had elected as the class douchebag, stepped forward into a white circle painted on the dirt. He was given a softball.
"Use your Quirk when you throw it. Go."
Bakugo had a wide sneer as he held up the sof ball, winded up his pitch, then added some ordnance to the softball. A huge explosion rang out from his hand, sending the softball hurtling high into the sky. When it finally landed, the device in Aizawa's hand recorded the distance: 705.2 meters. Ren shifted his weight as he mentally catalogued the number. To say it was absurd would be an understatement. Bakugo may be an arrogant prick, but he had to admit, the blonde had power to back it up. Aizawa turned his gaze to Ren nextr
"You. Delinquent. Your turn."
The class seemed excited about this, Kirishima above all. He slammed his hardened fist into his palm
"Ah, man, this looks fun!"
Aizawa shifted, turning to the class as Ren wordlessly stepped to the spot Bakugo originally stood in. A smile formed on Aizawa's perpetually exhausted face
"Fun, huh? You have three years here, you think this is going to be all fun and games? Idiots. You will be competing in eight different tests to see where you're at and whether or not you belong here. Anyone who fails will prove they do not, and will then be expelled."
Ren went rigid, much of the class exclaiming in a mixture of fear and indignation. While Ren imagined he wouldn't or, hopefully, can't expel anyone on the first day, he knew full well that did not apply to him. The look in Aizawa's eyes said it all; if there was one person the tired teacher thought didn't belong here, it was the thug on probation. Ren can't afford to lose, not when any hope for a brighter future was on the line.
"You think this is unfair? Well, you're probably right. The world is filled with unfairness, and as heroes, it's your job to make the world a fairer place. You won't do that if your hand is held the entire time. Go beyond. Prove to me that you belong here."
Aizawa then turned back to Ren, who had been standing quietly, softball still in hand
"What are you waiting for? Throw the ball."
Ren nodded and turned to face outwards. He began to gather psionic energy in his arm, glowing a dull red, then a vibrant crimson, and finally a whiter red with crimson wisps flowing out of his arm and hand. He began to set his pitch, rocks and dirt around him floating upward before he threw the ball, a blast of red energy erupting from his hand with explosive force, sending the soft ball far off into the distance like a red comet. When it landed hard on the ground, the screen on Aizawa's device displayed the distance: 685.7 meters.
"Not bad. But you don't have good control of your Quirk. We'll work on that."
Ren nodded, again not saying a word, and walked back to the crowd of students. This was going to be a long day. The next test was a 50 meter dash, something Ren could handle fine. The other students performed to varying degrees, and Ren couldn't stifle a snicker when the most self-centered boy in the class tumbled hard. Yuga Aoyama, an annoying guy Ren has so far elected to take extra caution to avoid. A pink girl, Mina Ashido, outran him. That was satisfying to watch. When it came to Ren's time to run, he was pitted against Asui. He waved silently at the frog girl, a gesture she returned. He knelt down and got into a running stance. The moment the little bot at the end signaled to start, he gathered power in his hands and sent himself hurtling forward a majority of the distance, with Asui fast approaching. He landed roughly and managed to get to his feet, then ran the rest of the way, Asui barely beating him at 5.58 seconds, while Ren took 5.70 seconds. He smiled softly at her.
"Well done."
Ren gave her a thumbs up before returning to the crowd. Next came grip strength. Ren achieved a solid 40 kilogram squeeze. Less than he hoped for. He seriously needed to hit the gym. The grip strength test was followed by a standing long jump, something Ren dealt with fine like many others; he just floated forward. He picked up a lot of rocks where he want, the rocks and dust falling back down when he left them. Then came repeated side steps; he did better here than he did with the grip strength. Then a ball throw, this time the rest of the class got to perform. Mostly about what Ren expected, save for that antigravity girl, Ochaco Uraraka. She literally sent her ball into space. He chuckled at that. Then came Midoriya, this being a test he wanted to see. He had been wondering about the kid for awhile, what his power was, why it hurt him to such a severe degree to use it. When he moved to throw the ball, he watched as Midoriya's entire arm lit up, red lines crackling with barely contained energy, but it faded. Aizawa activated his Quirk, yanked the young man forward with his floating capture scarf which seemed almost alive, and muttered a conversation Ren couldn't make out, but guessed it had something to do with not breaking Midoriya's bones again. When Midoriya returned to the pitch, Ren watched the arm briefly light up, but then it all faded save for his index finger. With just that one finger bursting with power, he threw the ball and sent it sky high, the display reading 705.3. Ren couldn't help but smirk, leaning forward subtly to look at Bakugo. The blonde looked ready to kill someone. Imagine being beaten by a single centimeter. When Midoriya turned back to the crowd, Ren's neutral face managed a small smile directed at the frizzy haired boy. The rest of the test went on without much else of interest going on, though Ren performed marginally better in the long distance run. Stamina was something he had an abundance of. Finally, the accursed Quirk Assessment came to a close with the class gathering outside of a large building with a curved roof, where Aizawa stood waiting.
"I've ranked everyone here from best to worst, but you should know where you're at already."
He produced another projector and displayed the results. Ren scanned the scoreboard to find his own name in twelfth place. He raised a brow in surprise.
"Twelfth? I'll take it."
And there at the very bottom sat Midoriya's name. He frowned softly, turning his gaze to him. Poor kid looked devastated.
"And I lied. Nobody's going home."
Ren, much like his classmates, stood stunned. Then a smile formed as he allowed himself a quiet chuckle, so quiet it may as well have been lost in the sound of the breeze.
"I get it. Give us a dose of fear to force us to give it our all."
"That was just a deception. A small death to force you to push yourselves. That's all for today, go to the classroom and pick up a syllabus before you head home."
As Aizawa walked away, Ren did the same, headed for the classroom. He looked back for a brief glance at the class, each of them chatting about the test, the fear of expulsion, whatever came to their minds. Ren stopped listening and simply left.
"You're in a hurry. Do you have somewhere to be?"
Ren knew that voice. He slowed his walk and turned his head to look at Asui, still walking
"Just headed to where I'm staying. Did you need something?"
"Kero. Just walking the same way. You did well in the test. I'm surprised you have that much force behind your Psychokinesis."
"It's hard to control, but you did well yourself. I'm impressed at how fast you were."
"Kero."
The rest of the walk was mostly silent, walking to the classroom and picking up a syllabus before they began to walk to the train station. Ren raised a brow as their path continued to match
"Where are you headed?"
"Yongen-Jaya. Yourself?"
"Same here. I live in the attic at Leblanc."
"You live with Boss? I'm sorry to hear that."
"Eh, he isn't that bad. There's a softie underneath that gruff exterior, it's clear as day." A soft smile touched his lips as tension melted from his shoulders, his guard lowering little by little
"Maybe if you're delusional. I saw you carry a lot of books."
Ren dug the book about Arsene Lupin from his bag, holding it up.
"It kills time. Do you read much?"
"When I have time. I like fiction, sci-fi especially. But I spend most of my free time with my siblings or swimming." She picked up on Ren's lowering guard and found conversation came easier when he began to open up. It was nice, though her face remained as neutral as ever.
The two continued to talk as the train came, boarding it. Ren didn't think about putting in headphones like usual, his attention on the frog girl before him.
"So, the community center just outside of the backstreets. I hear the pool is open 24 hours. Is it any good?"
"Only when nobody else is there, kero. It's packed around noon, but I always go at night."
"Perfect for me. Maybe I'll see you there. It'd be nice to see a friendly face."
"Kero."
The train eventually screeched to a stop, the student duo exiting the station. They didn't verbally bid farewell, instead smiling and waving goodbye. Despite the lack of words, it felt easy, like both were perfectly content with comfortable silence. Ren went to bed that night feeling a lot better than he did this morning.