[5 years later]
—Shinkou Academy, Tokyo—
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
In a small apartment style dorm in the East Wing of Shinkou Academy, a loud blaring alarm sounded from a young boy's phone.
Unfortunately for the boy, clock style alarms had gone out of style years ago, so the best he could do was grab his phone from the stand and manually turn it off.
There was an option to turn off alarms through vocal cues but Renji thought that would be too easy and would ultimately result in him going back to sleep within the minute.
Letting out an annoyed sigh, Renji swung himself upright off the bed and stretched his arms fully into the sky.
After setting his phone back unto the stand, he slipped into the comfy slippers kept under the bed. Ever since he came to Shinkou Academy, Renji realized that the small things mattered the most, and not one day went by without his shark styled fuzzy slippers.
Every morning was like a routine. Moving toward the private bathroom, Renji groggily splashed some cold water in his face to wake himself up.
He looked up, and staring back at him was a young 15 year old boy with messy dark brown hair and sharp hazel eyes. The years had caused the once naive boy to become a hardened figure, his gaze carrying a weight beyond his age.
Moving out of the bathroom to get himself situated, Renji grabbed his clothes for the day and turned on the shower.
While lathering up his body, Renji thought about what was in store today.
Today was a big day. It was time to meet with his advisor about his choices for the future. Of course, everything was pretty much set in stone but there were still some finalizations to be made.
As far as Renji was concerned, there really was no point in their meeting but it's not like he could just opt out of it. Not even if he was the top student at the academy.
The bathroom grew quieter as he shut off the water and dried himself off.
"Wow, I need a haircut." Renji said, noticing the messy and wet mop of hair on his head. "I'll get one before the admission exams."
He dressed quickly, sliding into Shinkou Academy's standard blazer uniform. The fabric was crisp against his skin.
Renji grabbed the small framed photograph on his desk with a sorrowful look on his face. "You don't need to worry about me anymore. I got it all under control."
Slinging his bag over one shoulder, Renji stepped out into the corridor. The East Wing was already alive with motion. Doors were creaking open and you could hear the murmur of conversations nearby.
Some students wore their uniforms with practiced precision while other looked as if they'd barely crawled out of their beds. Renji's outfit fell somewhere in between, his appearance neat enough to pass routine inspections.
As he made his way toward the lobby, he caught glimpses through the tall windows lining the hall. The morning light painted the courtyards in gold, the trees nearby swaying lightly in the breeze.
Waving at the familiar faces, Renji stepped outside onto the lively campus. Groups of first years were clustered outside, their voices hushed as they compared notes for the final exams. In contrast, the upperclassmen were lounged on benches trying to look unconcerned.
Renji paused on the steps leading out of the dormitory, breathing the fresh spring air. His advisor meeting loomed in the back of his mind, but he paid it no mind.
Adjusting his blazer, he started down the stone path toward the main academy building where his classes awaited.
[Later that day]
—Advising Office—
Renji knocked on the door to his advisor's office. Taps on a keyboard could be heard from inside.
"Come in!" A low but bright voice echoed into the hallway.
Opening the door, Renji was greeted by the man who had been there for him every step of the way since he had arrived at the academy so many years ago.
Endo Hikaru, a tall middle-aged man with stripes of gray littering his head, sat at a small couch in his office. The man looked as if he had just woken up from a nap a few minutes ago, likely due to an alarm he set prior to the meeting.
"How's it going, Sensei?" Renji asked, resting his bag next to one of the chairs opposite the couch.
"I'm doing just fine, Renji-kun." Endo adjusted his posture and sat up straight. He couldn't be outdone by his own student. Endo didn't think he was that old, at least that's what he told himself these days.
"Let's get right into it," Endo declared, not wanting to waste both his and Renji's time, "Shall we?"
"Sure." Renji replied starkly, sitting firmly in the coushioned chair.
The advisor set the laptop onto the table dividing them and clicked onto Renji's file.
"Alright," He began, "I'm assuming that nothing has really changed so far, right?"
Renji gave him a quick nod, "Nothing at all, Sensei."
Letting out a light chuckle, Endo replied, "That's what I figured. You can't apply to a place like U.A. without having some level of conviction."
"Although." He continued, "Are you still sure you want to go through with the Hero course? It's not like you have a quirk suited for combat, I know you won't settle for any kind of rescue hero work."
Endo turned to face Renji with a serious look on his face. "I've also looked over your research in the Innovation Department recently. Not the typical passion project, people might get the wrong idea."
"I'm absolutely sure of my decision, Sensei." Renji replied with an equally serious look. He had been planning this since the day his parents died at the Musutafu Station Incident. "And you know I've gotten everything signed off for my projects. Hell, I even saw a guy making bombs last semester, and nobody batted an eye."
The advisor sighed, "You mean the guy that was making smoke bombs, Renji-kun?"
Renji stayed quiet for a moment as he waited for the right moment to strike. "You look pretty tired today. Have you taken your drugs yet, Sensei?"
Endo froze at his words, trying to laugh it off. "Haha, what do you mean Renji-kun."
"I mean the pills you tried to stuff into the third cabinet down on your desk." Renji retorted, staring intently at his advisor. "You really should try to tone down on those, they can cause some serious problems."
"… Shit, how'd you—nevermind." Endo tried to speak but cut himself off, "Fine, looks like you got it all figured out."
This time, Renji laughed at his words, a tight smile stretching across his face. "About time you noticed."
Coughing into his fist, Endo shook his shoulders and manually reset his thoughts. "Moving on, just to confirm, U.A. is your one and only choice? You don't want to study abroad or something? The U.S. would be happy to endorse your little innovations."
"I got plans for the U.S. later. Right now I need to focus on getting into U.A. High School."
"Also," Renji leaned in slightly, "you might want to hide those pills. Like, right now."
Endo looked up at him with a confused expression. Talking about his recreational habits in an advising session was already pushing it, but Renji telling him what to do?
Wait, who's the advisor here?
"What do you mea—"
Knock Knock
His heart skipped a beat as he froze in place.
After a moment, he finally called out in a stiff voice, "Who's there?"
"Routine Inspection!" A voice called back through the door. "We'll be coming in now."
Panic flashed across Endo's eyes. Shit shit shit. Not now!
The man shot up from the couch and nearly tripped over his own feet, fumbling with the drawer in a clumsy rush. The harder he tried to stay calm, the more obvious his panic became.
Just as the door was about to swing open, Renji called out. "Nakamura Sensei?"
We're in an advisory meeting right now. Could you come back another time?"
"Renji-san?" Nakamura replied, still having not opened the door. "I didn't see your meeting on the schedule."
"Oh you know how Endo Sensei is like," Renji chuckled, "He probably just forgot to update his log."
"Haha, don't I know it!" The inspector laughed wholeheartedly, remembering the times that Endo had forgotten to notify the administration about his vacations. Last time, one of the higher ups had needed something from Endo only to find out that he was halfway across the world visiting family in the United States of America.
What a sight it was to see his boss all red faced yelling at Endo on the phone to get his ass back to Japan as soon as possible. The boss even went so far as to completely void any vacation time Endo had left for the year.
"Okay, I'll let it slide this time, Renji-san, but only because it's your meeting." Nakamura said.
"Thank you! I owe you one." Renji called back, staring smugly at Endo's shocked expression.
Endo collapsed back onto the couch with a heavy sigh, running a hand through his gray streaked hair.
"You little bastard," he muttered under his breath, though there was no malice in his tone.
Renji leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed, his sharp eyes gleaming. "You're welcome. Or would you rather Nakamura had walked in and found your stash?"
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Endo shook his head. "You're fifteen Renji. You shouldn't even know about this stuff, let alone be using it to blackmail your own advisor."
"And it's not like I was even doing anything!" Endo said indignantly, "I was just doing my job, you know, the one where I'm supposed to advise you?"
Renji laughed it off. "I don't make the rules. I just know how to use them. Besides, if I can't handle you, how am I suppoed to handle villains?"
That earned him a strained laugh from Endo. "Villains don't have HR departments breathing down their necks, Renji-kun. They don't have to cover their asses with paperwork."
Renji tilted his head. "Think about it this way. If I can outmaneuver you, then I'll have no problem dealing with people who are actually trying to kill me."
The room fell quiet for a second, the only sound coming from the ventilation system.
Finally, Endo exhaled and closed the screen of his laptop with a click. "Fine. U.A. it is. I'll submit your application today. Just don't make me regret it."
"You won't." Renji said confidently, grabbing his bag. "I'll be out of your hair in no time."
Slinging the bag over his shoulder, Renji moved toward the doorway only to stop abruptly. "But you should probably clean up before the next inspection. I won't always be here to save you."
Endo smirked despite himself. "You've got a smart mouth, Renji. One day it's going to get you in trouble."
Renji replied with a sly grin. "Not today, Sensei. Maybe not ever."