AN: Merry christmas! Its a bit late, but some of you celebrate on the 25th anyway.
Next chapter is close to done. I hope to pop it out today. Consider it a late Christmas present. If i manage. If not then... idk.
This chap does have a Riku Pov. And the next one will too. I've been sidelining my own MC Whoopsie.
I also forgot to write the amount of points Riku got at the end of his exam.
66 (54 + 12) (Second place for villain points due to lacking speed, didn't focus on rescue work much.)
But honestly, just make up your own number. I just don't think he should be 1st place. I don't want to write a speech for the sport festival. Bakugo's speech is awesome anyway.
-
(Pov: Narration)
It had been a few weeks since the Entrance exam, and now the day had finally come for the newly accepted students to start their first day of school at UA. Acceptance letters had been delivered, dorm assignments were finalized, and the students schedule ready.
The campus buzzed with quiet energy as the new students trinkled through school gates, their expressions giddy with excitement or filled with anxiety.
Some of the students started conversations to ease their nerves, others avoided them, preoccupied with their own thoughts. Some even mentally prepared their introduction, not wanting to make fools of themselves for their first impression.
Among the Sea of students walking through the gates, walked a large lonesome figure with Mutant traits.
Chatter and glances were thrown at the figure which bore the demeanor and size of a teacher or member of staff, only to be betrayed by the grey Uniform he wore.
He himself seemed unbothered as he walked through the gates with large strides, wings twitching and Tail rigid. His facial traits were unreadable and his exposed teeth gave the impression of a perpetual grin.
-
(Pov: Riku)
'Man, these kids never seen a Mutant or what?'
He was annoyed. A little bit. It wasn't as though he had not expected the stares. But he thought the students would be more concerned with their own anxiety to worry about him.
He was apparently wrong as he had successfully attracted quite the number of student's attention. Nevertheless, he continued onwards with his stride, his attention shifting from student to student as he observed their emotional state, all the while being careful not to bump into the... relatively smaller students who were in his way.
'Now... where the hell is my class?'
Riku did not follow the signs pointing to class 1-A... because he was blind and couldn't read.
Instead, his Cursed Energy simply scanned the place, soon locking onto Tokoyami who was solemnly sitting in a classroom. Riku had originally wanted to come to class with Tokoyami, but the Over-achieving Bird-Man wanted to be among the first to be in Class for a good impression, something Riku did not feel like doing. Being the first meant awkwardly greeting each and everyone who entered after all.
He had no issues finding the classroom and soon stood in front of a massive door, behind which sat Tokoyami and another bunch of students. 'Alright, big door. Good to know UA accommodates for big boys.'
He remained standing there for just a moment, scanning the emotional state of those in class, then reached out to open the door.
'Alright let's go!....Hmm? There is fear behind me?'
His focus on his Cursed Energy whipped around and located a ... very small person standing a few steps away.
"..."
"..."
'That... that kid is 1m tall... Is he some kind of overachieving middle schooler?'
How would that even work? He didn't look big enough to disable even just a single 1-pointer? Maybe his Quirk is just that good?
"Eh, Umm... S-sorry but c-can i pass?"
Riku turned his head, a gesture to let him know he heard him and then opened the door and stepped aside, watching as the toddler waddled through the doorway.
'...The kid either is a prodigy or UA's standards are lower than i thought.'
With that thought, Riku waited a short moment before following the child into the classroom, silently thanking UA's Architect to have built such an oversized door.
'Lets ignore the stares. Hmmhm? Woah, No way, i got a custom chair?'
In the back of the classroom, stood a chair, larger than others and reinforced with steel. Whoever the person was who organized said chair's presence, Riku was very grateful.
His seat was to the right/behind of Tokoyami's, in the last row, probably to avoid his frame blocking other student's view.
He walked towards his chair, greeting Tokoyami with a flick of his tail, who in turn opened his eyes, nodded with a faint smile before returning to the meditative state he had been in.
Riku plopped down onto his seat and scanned the room again. Some seats were still empty, notably the one to his right, but the one to his left was already taken by a boy who acknowledged Riku's presence with a simple glance, then simply stopped paying attention to him.
'Now, how do i greet this dude...?'
Simply speaking to him was certainly possible, but the fact remained that his voice was uncomfortable. And frankly, introducing himself was a bit awkward with the glances people threw him.
'Should i just talk with Fumi? He's meditating though...'
Silence it was. He'd just wait for an opportunity later on. Not like his neighbor seemed very chatty anyway.
The conversation in the room soon picked up again, as people introduced themselves and spoke to each other in an excited manner. Riku listened along a bit, overhearing an enthusiastic boy naming himself Kirishima who seemed engrossed in conversation with another called Sero.
Another girl joined their conversation, her voice loud and bubbly, before hopping away to someone else with extroverted enthusiasm. More people were entering the classroom, their nervousness palpable but simply found their way to their seats. One of them was a boy with Mutant features and a hefty anxiety who soon sat down on the seat in front of Riku, only greeting him with a shy nod.
'...an introvert. With anxiety. I'm already bad enough at conversation as is, carrying one is not something i can adapt to.'
His thoughts were soon interrupted as the door was kicked open with a loud Bang. A boy entered the room, his emotional state as unstable as his demeanor. He didn't even bother to look at anyone and simply headed to his seat at the front, crossed his arms and put a leg on top of the table.
'...that guy has anger issues.'
He could have guessed that without sensing the guy's feelings. Feelings of slight shock and anxiety were spread throughout the room, as most seemed a bit intimidated by the dude. Some, however, remained unmoved, such as his neighbor whose emotional state did not even fluctuate or Fumi's, who had a burst of light annoyance before being tempered.
One however... was outside the norm.
'It's the stuck up guy from the Auditorium...'
A boy with glasses stood up from his seat, feelings of Outrage and rightfulness oozing out of him. The guy even pushed back his own seat underneath the table before walking up to the emotional Bomb in the first row.
As expected, the emotional Bomb exploded the moment he was asked to take his feet off the desk and the class fell silent as they watched the shouting match which had started between the two.
The one having initiated the discussion, had strange robotic arm movements accompanying his speech as he introduced himself as "Tenya Lida." Their loud bickering continued but Riku soon blended them out, having noticed something more interesting.
'...Why is there someone crawling along the ground like a Caterpillar...?'
The two students entering the room were ignored as all of Riku's focus was on the... Caterpillar... who crawled along the ground in the corridor until reaching the door, simply laying there in silence.
'This man is... hopeless! Not as an insult but literally!'
A bit of an overstatement but not far from the truth. The caterpillar, who was in fact a Human in a sleeping bag started talking, his voice gravelly and quiet.
"If you're looking for friends, do it elsewhere. This is the department of Heroics."
The entire class was quiet, not a whisper to be heard. The man, presumably their teacher stood up, his sleeping bag simply dropping to the ground. His classmates emotional states were in bewilderment and even Tokoyami had enough shock to wear a confused expression.
"Took you guys some time to quiet down." The man straightened up as he spoke, his tone of voice unchanging. "I'm your homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa. Pleasure meeting you.
There was no pleasure in his voice.
Their Teacher did not waste time and pointed to a small bag with neatly arranged sport uniforms inside.
"We're going to the PE grounds. Wear these."
-
It did not take long as the students hurried towards the PE grounds after changing, not wanting to annoy their already annoyed teacher. They found themselves facing an enormous field, with lines drawn on the ground and a box with small machinery. Riku stood next to Tokoyami, his tail lazily flicking through the air as he curiously paid attention to his classmates, trying to figure out their Quirks.
Anxiety and curiosity lingered, probably wondering what they were doing there in sportswear, instead of being at the ceremony.
"We're doing a Quirk apprehension test." Aizawa's tired voice resonated through the field. "If i'm doing this teaching bit, i need to know where all of you stand with your Quirk."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd. "Wait, what about the ceremony?"
Aizawa didn't even pause to think.
"You kids got freedom here at UA, but so do we teachers. I get to teach how i see fit and i'm not gonna waste time on niceties."
He then nodded towards the boy Riku had labeled "emotional bomb."
"Bakugo. How far could you pitch a softball in middle school?"
The Emotional bomb, now labeled "Bakugo" answered curtly.
"67 meters."
Aizawa didn't bat an eye. "Do it again, this time use your Quirk. How you do it is up to you but don't leave the circle."
Riku's wings twitched in interest as he noticed a positive emotion pop up in Bakugo's swirling vortex of anger.
'Excited to showoff, isn't he?'
The now excited Bakugo entered the circle drawn on the ground, cracked his neck and stretched his arms, a smirk tugging on his lips before being replaced by a look of concentration. He wound up his arm, and then, with a sudden scream, flung the ball forward.
*BOOOOM. "DIEEEEEEEEE!"
Bakugo's scream was overshadowed by a deafening explosion which stirred up wind and dust. The softball disappeared out of Riku's CE range in a blink, his heightened instincts tracing the softballs trajectory.
There was Silence for just a moment, before someone spoke up.
"705 meters? Dude, thats crazy!"
"Awesome! This looks so fun!"
'705 meters??'
Riku was impressed but it soon faded. Bakugo's quirk, seemingly capable of creating explosions was bound to be great when it came blasting things away.
And there was a bigger problem anyway...
'...Aizawa's even more unhappier than before...'
"Fun, you say?"
He turned towards the crowd of students who collectively went silent at their teachers ominous voice and expression.
"Were you all thinking...that you'd spend three years here having a good time?"
His gloomy expression shifted to a smile and he used his hand to pull his hair out of his face.
"Alright then. New rule. The one with the lowest score will be judged as hopeless. And will be expelled."
'...This dude... is he for real?'
Riku's CE rippled. He wasn't particularly worried about being expelled, but hearing these words was still shocking.
School which expelled students based on performance? That was some Classroom of the Elite kind of shit.
Then, Riku turned his focus away from the teacher and noticed their emotions swirling as well. Confidence, competitiveness, outrage and most notably fear.
He snapped out of his line of thought, slightly curious about the curly-haired kid's quirk. Some girl had claimed Aizawa's new rule as unfair and he now went on a rant about the world's unfairness and how Heroes were meant to oppose it.
And honestly? He kind of agreed. Still, expelling seemed very much over the top, especially given that the entire point of an institution is to teach, not to test.
But in the end, this would be the teachers choice, not his. All he had to do, was rank as well as he could.
-
First up, was the paired 50m dash. The stuck up boy, Tenya Lida was first with a ...frog girl?
'...i suppose its something different than these anime cat girls.'
Both achieved a high score and the sight of their race lit a fire in everyone's eyes. Pairing after pairing continued, some with average results, others a lot more interesting, but nearly everyone attempted to adjust their Quirk for the Situation.
Riku did too, as he was paired up with the boy he knew as "Sero."
Cursed Energy filled his legs as he leaned forward, muscles coiling like springs and waited for the starting signal. Next to him, the boy Sero nervously glanced at him.
When the signal came, he practically exploded forward, Cursed Energy enhancing everyone of his steps. His own bodyweight pulled him forward and his large strides soon had him cross the finish line.
"Riku Shindai. 4.3 seconds."
"Sero Hanta. 6.0 seconds."[1]
He wasn't too unhappy with the score, aware of his lacking speed. His built was currently fixed to that of a hard-hitting tank and he preferred that over speed anyway.
The second exam happened to be the one in which his strength could shine. The grip test.
Before his turn came, he observed the others, curious whether one had a strength Quirk. Much to his disappointment, most people's scores were low when it came to strength.
There was one exception, a large boy wearing a facemask. Mezo Shoji, as he was called, had his Quirk seemingly create a large amount of muscles into his arm, and then proceeded to achieve a score of 540kg. Or so the other students said.
He had taken the lead with about 300kg more than second place, creating a huge gap.
Most others did not even come close, only a few even breaking into the 100kgs, but some managed to rise a bit higher, such as Tokoyami who simply used Dark Shadow or a girl who somehow created a makeshift Mechanical press out of thin air.
'Finally my turn.'
He walked forward, taking the Measure device and waited for Aizawa to sign him to start.
When the signal came, Cursed Energy filled Riku's entire Arm and the device was promptly crushed, no number showing up on screen. He turned towards Aizawa with the crumpled device in hand, his gesture questioning but his grin large.
"...the upper limit of these is 750kg."
"...damn."
The voices were deadpan. While impressed, no one really seemed surprised at the over 2 meter tall, muscle clad mutant winning a strength contest.
Aizawa's face did not change as he jotted down a quick 750+ as score before calling on the next.
More such exercises ensued. Another strength and endurance based one, namely upper body exercises, endurance running and standing long jump. Cursed Energy made all of these a breeze.
After that came those he struggled the most at: Seated toe touch and side-ways jump. His large body moved clumsily and his score was among the worst in class.
It was sometime later, once everyone went through each exercise that it was everyone's turn for the soft-ball throw. it was frankly the one nearly everyone had anticipated the most and the atmosphere considerably lightened as everyone made their throw.
It was where people were the most creative with their Quirk, although some people's scores were... pathetically weak. Riku was specifically thinking about the toddler known as Mineta, who was in fact not really a toddler. At least so Riku speculated, because toddlers wouldn't speak of such foul topics.
'Can't believe i thought this... pervert to be some kind of genius.'
"Riku. Its your turn."
Aizawa suddenly called out, snapping him out his musings. He acknowledged Aizawa with a low growl before walking into the circle.He didn't have any throwing technique, so he did what he did best. Pump cursed energy into Muscles.
His arm and torso was covered in Cursed Energy and he simply twisted his body and pulled his arm back before throwing as hard as he could.
'...that was too low.'
Another thing on his bucket list of "things to adapt to." It now included "throwing."
Aizawa's gravelly voice rang out.
"487 meters.[2]
"Heh."
'This fucker.'
Bakugo's usual anger was overshadowed by smugness as he looked at Riku. No, he was in fact doing that to anyone whose score remained below his own.
Riku's tail lashed but he didn't bother to turn his head, acting as if it was no big deal.
"Izuku Midoriya. Your turn."
The kid walked up. His emotional state was filled with anxiety and downright fear. Riku felt a pang of pity towards the kid. He had noticed that his performance was amongst the worst... in fact not even using his Quirk a single time throughout every exercise.
The pity faded as Riku noticed Midoriya's fear and anxiety waning, slowly being suppressed by Determination. 'Holy shit, if thats not a main character thing. The underdog to strongest?'
His grin widened as he saw hope and determination eclipse even Tokoyami's.
But then, his grin faded. 'What. is. that?'
Riku's cursed Energy acted as a Sensor. Emotions, Energy and shapes, all of these were things his CE could clearly pick up upon.
And in terms of Energy, this kid here had everyone beat.
Riku tensed as he noticed a massive buildup of energy in Midoriya's arm, partly out of awe of the sheer power, but mostly due to the fact that the arm was threatening to burst.
'....^just how much power can he generate?...'
The energy in the kids arm didn't stabilize, even as he wound up for his throw.
'There is no way he can stand that much power...'
Midoriya threw the ball.
'...what?'
"46 meters."
Riku's wings twitched in Alarm and he leaned forward, now fully invested in whatever the hell had just happened.
He had clearly sensed the massive amount of energy building up. But just the moment in which he was about to throw, all of it dissipated, as if never having been present.
Midoriya himself seemed shocked as well, he stared at his arm with a confused look. Other students watched quietly, seemingly noticing something was off at Midoriya's reaction, but unable to figure out what it was. Until Aizawa spoke up.
"I erased your Quirk."
'...he what?'
That thought was not just limited to Riku as everyone second-questioned what they had heard. But Aizawa simply continued.
"I honestly don't get it. How did someone like you enter the Academy?"
Midoriya's voice cracked as he spoke.
"Y-you erased it?! Oh my God, those Goggles! You are the Erasing Hero: Eraserhead!!"
Confused looks were exchanged between students, but it slowly dawned onto them that their teacher was not just some nobody.
But Aizawa, aka Eraserhead did not pay them any attention. His hair floated upwards and his eyes flashed a red light, his entire vibe not just ominous but angry.
"You can't control your quirks power. You were about to cripple yourself because of your lack of control."
Midoriya only stuttered in answer, a weak attempt at explaining himself. But Eraserhead simply interrupted him.
"Whatever hope you had, abandon it. No matter what power you got, i won't let you pass if it relies on you breaking your entire arm when using it."
The teacher's red-eyed glare persisted for a moment, intently focused on Midoriya who simply stood there, eyes focused on the ground. Aizawa then suddenly closed his eye and his hair fell back, covering his face once more.
"Try again. I gave you back your Quirk."
His voice remained filled with a sliver of earlier authority but the anger was gone. The other students muttered silently, impressed by their Teacher's Quirk and demeanor and theorizing about Midoriya's chances of success.
Said Midoriya, walked into the circle, a heavy frown on his face. He exhaled once, then wound up, his expression turning nearly feral.
The throwing motion itself wasn't better than before, in fact it looked worse as the ball seemed to slip out of Midoriya's hand.
But one finger still touched the ball. Midoriya's index finger was the only part of Midoriya's hand to contribute to the throw.
*BOOOOOOOM
The form of the sloppy throw belied the result. A resounding shockwave echoed through the field as the Ball left everyone's sight. Their eyes were wide as they stared at the small curly-haired Midoriya whose throw broke the sound barrier.
He turned back to Aizawa, a shaky smile on his face, despite the strangely crooked finger.
"Teacher... i can still move."
"Oho..."
A smile bloomed on Aizawa's face as he looked at the result.
"705.3 meters."
The quiet atmosphere was broken with a laugh as the girl "Uraraka" cheered for Midoriya. More people started commenting about his strength and the odd nature of a user-harming Quirk.
Meanwhile Riku remained quiet. He was transfixed on Aizawa's figure, completely ignoring everyone.
'...Can he shut off my Quirk? Stop me from adapting and using cursed Energy?'
Riku wasn't panicking. Definitely not. But he wanted to know. 'How would Erasure affect me?'
-
-
(Pov: Narration)
The class was dismissed a few minutes later, with only a minor instance of an raging Bakugo attempting to assault Midoriya. Despite that, no one was hurt, and everyone changed out of their gym clothes, preparing to head home or to the dorms, depending on their living situation.
Riku and Tokoyami however, met up after changing and headed towards the administrative building to finalize Riku's dorm arrangements. His application was still being processed, due to the need for special accommodations for his large frame. It would probably be a while before he joined the dorms.
Meanwhile, the other students made their way to the exit, some eager to return home, others excited to hang out. A pink-skinned girl, Mina Ashido, clearly rather extroverted, gathered a group of classmates around her, her bubbly voice carrying as she recounted the day's events. The conversation quickly shifted to their fellow students, such as the ones who hadn't made much of an impression yet or those who were harder to read.
"Have you guys noticed how intense Bakugo is? He looks so angry! Like, he's always ready to fight someone," Mina's statement was accompanied by a laugh, recalling the Desk-fiasco in the morning and his performance in the Quirk Assessment.
A redhaired guy with an excited expression, his name Eijiro Kirishima nodded along: "Yeah, he's not exactly easy to miss. I'm pretty sure even the other classes heard his voice. I still don't get why he was so pissed at Midoriya though. He looked ready to destroy him with those explosions."
"Honestly," said Sero, his tone light. "I was half-expecting him to blow up the whole training field today."
The group giggled, but it quickly quieted as the conversation turned to other classmates. Todoroki's cold, aloof nature came up next, with a few students remarking on how little he interacted with anyone.
"He's basically a walking Iceberg. Ribbit." Tsuyu Asui's voice rang out. "He did not even look at anyone. Totally uninterested. Ribbit."
"I mean, he's Endeavors son." Sero spoke up again. "I bet he's got his own problems, son of the number 2 Hero and stuff."
There was a slight pause, people seemingly contemplating that.
"By the way... did you all notice the big guy? The one who left with Tokoyami?" Ashido's voice was filled with excitement as she spoke. "That guy's strength was insane!"
"Yeah, he's massive. And he has that wheel above his head. That has to be related to his Quirk. Ribbit." Asui spoke up. "I noticed he did not speak with anyone though."
"I mean, did you see him?" Sero leaned forward as he spoke. "He's terrifying! There is no way people don't step back if he tries to talk to them!"
"I bet he's just shy!" Ashido's cheerful voice rang out again, a grin on her face. "I'm gonna talk to him a bit tomorrow!"
"Now i feel a bit sorry for him." Kirishima exaggeratedly shook his head. "He'll never escape that conversation."
"HEY YOU!"
A few laughs broke out and the conversation continued, their expectation and excitement renewed as everyone looked forward to their second day of UA.
-
CHAPTER END
AN: There is another chapter following. I should (hopefully) get it done today. Don't get your hopes up though. I'm notorious for lying.
[1] I have no clue if this score is correct. But i gotta say, Sero really made the most with the Quirk he was given. Tapes are not something i'd be confident enough to become a hero with. And he's actually good tbh.
[2] Strength doesn't equal good throw. Just saying....