—Renji's Home, Musutafu—
Renji adjusted the uniform that was provided by U.A. High.
It fit him perfectly, almost too perfectly. Almost as if they had someone with a tailoring quirk at the school.
Given the circumstances, they probably did. There were so many different types of quirks that anything could happen.
For Renji, it was just another reminder that there were still a lot of things to learn about the world.
Grabbing his bag from the side of his desk, Renji left his bedroom and headed out onto the street.
The air was beginning to get warmer, but it was still a little too chilly for Renji's liking. Luckily, the uniform he got would be enough for now.
Since he had bought a house so close to the school, it only took Renji about a ten minute walk to get there. Although, he had to take a pitstop to pet a local stray cat he had been seeing ever since he moved in.
About fifteen minutes later, Renji found himself on the U.A. Campus, quickly heading to the building where Class 1-A was located.
It was in one of the buildings he had been able to scout out earlier during the entrance exam. He would have liked to see more of the restricted sections, but unfortunately, even if the world was his to view due to his quirk, there was little he could do about a massive steel door.
Even though Renji was a Hero course student, he couldn't help but feel more excited about all the things he would be able to make with a proper lab.
He had made due with Shinkou's tools for long enough. The funding from Nezu helped of course, but it wouldn't be comparable to a full fledged lab from the most prestigious hero academy.
Renji shivered in anticipation at the thought. Who knew all the fun gadgets he would be able to build to crush his enemies!
After swiftly navigating through the building, Renji found himself face first with a large door that had a massive red A on it.
Without wasting any time, Renji swung the door open and stepped inside.
The classroom was already nearly filled by the time he got there, with multiple classmates already chatting away.
Renji would have been one of the first one's there if not for the fact that he loved taking his sweet time and sleeping in for as long as possible.
"Renji!" Hagakure's voice shifted his attention the moment he stepped in the class.
She waved animatedly with what he guessed was a bright smile, it was hard to tell.
Before he could wave back or say hello, one of his classmates swiftly blocked his way.
"Good morning!" The boy said, "I am from Somei Private Academy. My name is—"
"Iida Tenya." Renji said bluntly, deciding to humor him for a moment.
"You know me?" Iida asked, pleasantly surprised.
"I sure do," Renji nodded along, "You're Ingenium's little brother, right?"
Iida's face lit up brightly at the mention of his brother. "That's right! It's nice to meet you too."
"But I'm a little disappointed you don't know me," Renji formed a mock frown on his face. "I'm from Shinkou Academy. I'm pretty sure we kicked your guys' asses in the last tech tournament."
"Shinkou?" Iida had a confused expression on his face before it suddenly clicked. "Ah! Yes, I recall now! You school specializes in mechanical engineering and support development. You were the one who—"
Renji cut him off with a smirk. "Blew up half the stage with an overclocked rail launcher? Yeah, that was me. Don't worry, it was all under control."
Iida stiffened, chopping his hands through the air. "Under control?! The reports said the judges had to call for an emergency inspection!"
Renji tilted his head, amused. "Sure, but they also gave me the innovation award right after. If I recall correctly, I don't remember seeing you there on the podium."
"Y-You—!" Iida's whole body stiffened like a spring ready to snap. His glasses flashed as his arms chopped the air in rapid bursts, voice rising with indignation.
Before he could launch into a full lecture, Hagakure's voice rang out from her desk. "Renji, knock it off!"
Her invisible hand gave a wagging motion, the outline of her sleeve faintly shifting with the gesture. "It's the first day, don't start bullying people already!"
Renji glanced over at her, feigning innocence. "Bullying? I'm just educating him on the importance of winning."
"More like rubbing it in," Hagakure huffed, but the playful tone in her voice undercut the scolding. "You're gonna scare off your classmates before homeroom even starts."
Iida adjusted his glasses, clearing his throat loudly as he swiftly calmed himself. "No one is scared, I assure you. In fact, I welcome such challenges. It only motivates me to be better!"
Renji smirked, muttering just loud enough for both of them to hear. "Good. You'll need the motivation."
Before Iida could respond again, a sharp voice cut across the classroom.
"Oi! Both of you, shut your damn mouths."
Renji turned his head to see a spiky-haired boy glaring at them from his desk, arms crossed, feet kicked up like he owned the place.
Bakugo clicked his tongue, eyes narrowing. "It's too early in the morning for your nerd-ass debates. If you've got energy to flap your gums, save it for the training grounds."
Iida puffed up in indignation. "T-This isn't mindless chatter! We were discussing important matters of—"
"Did I stutter, Four-Eyes?" Bakugo snapped, slamming his palm on the desk with a faint crackle of explosions.
"Katsuki Bakugo." Renji suddenly said in a grim tone, stopping not only Bakuga and Iida, but all other conversation in the room.
"Age fifteen, birthday April twentieth, Quirk: Explosion." Renji continued with a sinister smile on his face, his voice just loud enough for everyone nearby to hear.
Bakugo's eyes widened a fraction before narrowing into a glare hot enough to burn. "The hell did you just say to me?" His chair screeched against the floor as he leaned forward, palms sparking dangerously.
Renji didn't stop. His tone shifted into something cold and analytical. "Graduated from Aldera Junior High. Top of your class, a perfect score on every physical exam, average on written work because you don't care to try. Explosive temper, short fuse—literally."
You picked fights with nearly everyone, and won most of them. Though I suppose that just fed into your god complex."
The sparks in Bakugo's palms snapped louder.
Renji tilted his head, eyes glinting with amusement. "Oh, and one more thing, you've got a habit of barking at people to shut up when you feel cornered. Don't bother wasting your efforts on me."
The classroom had gone dead silent, every eye locked on the standoff.
Kaminari whispered, "Yo… this guy's nuts," while Mina leaned forward with wide, fascinated eyes.
Bakugo's chair screeched again as he stood up fully, veins bulging on his forehead. "You've got some nerve, extra. You think you can psychoanalyze me and walk away with all your teeth?!"
Renji only grinned wider. "Guess we'll find out."
Hagakure wanted to de-escalate the situation as soon as possible, but seeing the fire in Renji's eyes and the literal cracks of explosions on Bakugo's hands, she trusted that Renji could take care of himself if something happened.
However, just as Bakugo took a step forward, the door to the room swung open again and a boy with dark green hair walked into the classroom.
"S-Sorry I'm late!" The boy with messy green hair stumbled inside, clutching his bag nervously. His wide eyes froze the second he noticed everyone staring, the atmosphere still buzzing with static.
Midoriya Izuku blinked, completely oblivious to the storm he had just walked into.
Switching his view off of Bakugo, Renji turned to greet Midoriya. "Hey there, Green Bean, nice of you to finally show up."
"G-Green Bean?" Midoriya echoed, pointing to himself in confusion. His freckled face flushed as a few students snickered under their breath.
Renji gave him a lazy grin. "Yeah. Green hair, green eyes, nervous energy like a sprout in the wind. Kind of fits, doesn't it?"
Midoriya stammered, not knowing whether to be embarrassed or argue, when a furious shout tore through the room.
"DON'T YOU DARE IGNORE ME!" Bakugo exploded forward. His chair clattered to the ground as a blast rocketed him across the room, palm outstretched and sparking.
Gasps rang out. "Hey, wait—!" Kirishima yelled. Iida chopped his arms frantically, "Violence is strictly prohibited—!"
But Renji didn't even turn around. His gaze stayed lazily on Midoriya, as if Bakugo wasn't even worth the effort.
Then, just as Bakugo's blazing fist came within inches of his skull, Renji shifted half a step to the side, almost casually.
Bakugo's momentum carried him forward with nothing to hit. His palm slammed against empty air, and instead of smashing Renji, his blast hurled him past the boy entirely.
WHAM!
Bakugo skidded across the tile and landed hard on the floor right beside the door. Midoriya yelped and nearly fell down too, clutching the strap of his bag as a counterweight.
The room froze, then erupted into a mix of gasps and snickers.
"Oh my god, he just—" Kaminari choked out, laughter bubbling up.
"Dude, Bakugo just faceplanted!" Mina squealed, trying and failing to stifle her giggles.
Even Jiro smirked, muttering under her breath, "That's gotta sting."
Midoriya blinked rapidly, torn between panic for Bakugo and confusion at what just happened.
Renji, meanwhile, didn't spare Bakugo a glance. He brushed at his sleeve like he was flicking away dust, walked towards one of the few remaining desks next to Hagakure. "Careful, Bakugo. Wouldn't want you to get hurt now, would we?"
Bakugo snarled, sparks snapping wildly around his palms as he pushed himself up off the ground, face twisted with rage. "You bastard—!"
But the laughter around the room only fueled the humiliation burning in his chest.
"Woah, what's going on here?" a soft, curious voice piped up.
Standing at the doorway just behind Midoriya was a round-faced girl with warm brown eyes and bobbed hair. She blinked at the scene: Bakugo bristling on the floor, Renji strolling away like nothing happened, and half the class either snickering or staring in shock.
"Oh, uh—Uraraka-san!" Midoriya stammered, practically jumping at the chance to redirect attention. He fumbled with his bag. "Y-you're here too!"
She tilted her head, confused but smiling brightly. "Yeah? Was I… interrupting something?"
"Nope," Renji said smoothly, sliding into the desk beside Hagakure as though he hadn't just made Bakugo eat the floor.
He leaned back, hands behind his head. "Just a friendly welcome party."
"FRIENDLY?!" Bakugo roared, sparks snapping at his palms again. His glare swept the room, daring anyone to laugh harder.
"Pipe down pipsqueak," Renji said offhandedly, pointing behind Uraraka, "It's about time we get started."
While Bakugo kept glaring at Renji, the others chose to see what he was talking about.
"Ah!" Uraraka yelped back when she noticed the yellow caterpillar slinking on the floor.
Slowly standing up, the man inside pulled down the zipper and stepped out of the suit.
He turned to look down at Bakugo on the floor, looking up with shocked expression. "Getting in a fight on the first day?"
Aizawa stared blankly at Renji at the back of the class. "You should know better, Renji. Don't think you get any special priveleges just because you're our top scorer."
Whispers spread like a fire through the class.
"Top scorer…?" Kirishima mouthed, leaning toward Mina.
"No way," she whispered back, eyes flicking between Renji and Bakugo.
Bakugo froze mid-step, the rage in his expression flickering into shock before doubling down into pure fury. "What the hell did you just say, old man?!" he barked at Aizawa.
Aizawa's tired eyes didn't even twitch. "Exactly what it sounded like. Sit down before I expel you."
The words hit like a hammer. The whole room sucked in a breath.
With a deep sigh, Aizawa finally introduced himself as he walked toward the front of the class. "I'm your homeroom teacher, Aizawa Shota."
"This is pretty sudden," Aizawa continued, "But get in these uniforms and follow me."