His shadow merged with him, wrapping his body in a dark, sinister aura. Kai no longer had a shadow—because he was the shadow now.
"I feel… strange. Stronger, maybe. Or at least, that's how it feels. How do I even test this?"
His eyes drifted toward the window. His room was on the second floor, but that didn't stop him. He walked over, slid it open, and jumped without hesitation. He landed with effortless grace, barely bending his knees upon impact.
"Wow… I feel light. So this is like a buff it literally boosts all my stats," he said, a grin spreading from ear to ear.
He could tell he'd be able to maintain this state for quite some time.
'Still… walking around in public, or at the academy, without a shadow would look suspicious.'
With that thought, he took off toward the nearest park. His speed was ridiculous; he arrived far sooner than expected.
'Not bad… this body's lean but athletic. Guess the old me used to run at least a little. I can tell just by looking at the running shoes in my room.'
He approached a large tree and slid into a stance for a punch one that came to him naturally. In his past life, aside from the monotonous grind of office work, there were only two things that kept him sane: coffee… and mixed martial arts. He was never good enough to compete, but he'd trained for seven years enough to know how to defend himself and put up a fight.
Focusing every ounce of his shadow essence into his right fist, Kai launched it forward with startling speed.
A sharp thud.
"This… is better than I expected," he muttered, grinning.
Half of his forearm had sunk deep into the trunk.
Kai pulled his arm back, still in awe of the power he had just unleashed.
"I think… I could push even further if I focused more shadow essence into my fist. I didn't even use my full strength… Perfect. Gon, return to normal."
His shadow peeled away from him, and Kai hurried back home. He climbed in through the window to avoid disturbing his sister and headed straight for the shower.
A short while later, lying in bed, he mentally replayed everything he'd learned that day. Tomorrow would be the entrance ceremony for the largest hero academy in the country.
'What kind of Quirks will my classmates have?'
That was his final thought before drifting into a deep, dreamless sleep.
*****
Kai woke up feeling completely refreshed. He had slept well, no worries no stress. For the first time in years, he actually felt… at peace. He got ready fast and slipped into the new uniform that had arrived yesterday, along with the acceptance letter.
"What the hell is this?" he muttered, staring at himself in the mirror. A long-sleeved shirt. A tie. A gray blazer. He shivered, like he was reliving those miserable office days.'Damn it… I hate dressing formal.'
His shadow laughed, bent over like it had a stomachache from laughing so hard.
"This bastard… again."
He went downstairs for breakfast with Rin. She was in uniform too, but hers was way more comfortable a blouse over the shirt, black skirt, relaxed look.
"Well, I'm heading out first, brother. Good luck on your first day," she said, adjusting her bag.
"Ah, today's just the opening ceremony. According to the letter, they'll assign us to classes… probably give us a school tour… and introduce us to the teachers," Kai replied.
Rin frowned, thoughtful.
"I don't think so, brother. This is U.A. there's probably some kind of intro hero class or something. Anyway… I'm off, have fun!"
Kai finished eating and left a few minutes later, phone in hand, scanning for the fastest route. He had no idea where the academy even was.'I just hope I don't end up late on my first day…'
Kai managed to get on the train to his destination, but his timing was a disaster: he'd probably be late on his first day.
'Bah… it won't be that bad… right?'
As the subway moved and the city passed by outside the window, anxiety started creeping in.
'Damn it… I barely remember anything about this world, i know I reincarnated in MHA, but it's an anime I barely know.
'The protagonist… green hair. Yeah, yeah, and a loud friend that I remember, alright… my first mission: make friends with him. Easy, right?'.
'If I manage to get close to the protagonist… bingo. Attention… hero status, money, fame… easy, hehe…' he said with a sinister smile.
Kai arrived late, but he made it. He stood in awe at the sheer size of U.A. Academy. The white, modern buildings towered like giants before him, their enormous windows reflecting the sunlight. Wide hallways, well-kept gardens, and statues of famous heroes gave the impression that every corner of this place breathed power and dedication.
Excited, he began running toward the administrative area to ask where he needed to go. Just then, he saw a wave of students exiting the main auditorium, chatting and laughing while holding documents in their hands.
'Damn… I probably missed the welcome speech,' he muttered, embarrassed.
Kai glanced at the papers: they were likely the class and classroom assignments. Feeling like he was falling behind, he hurried even more toward the administrative office. Upon arriving, he presented his ID and acceptance letter. The person behind the counter smiled, "Welcome to U.A., Kai. Your class is 1-A."
Kai headed toward the terminal where the classrooms were, looking for room 1-A and hurrying so he wouldn't be late.
"Found it," he muttered. Yeah, like that was going to fix anything.
As he approached the door, he glanced through the window. His classmates were chatting, laughing… and then there was him: the teacher. Tall, thin, messy hair, tired, sharp eyes.
'What the hell… a scarf in the middle of summer? This guy's insane.'
Kai opened the door slowly.
"Gooood morning," he said, forcing a smile.
"I don't care about your excuse. Sit wherever you can," the teacher said, cold, indifferent, like he couldn't care less about the classroom heat.
Kai glanced at the board: -Aizawa-. Perfect now he knew the guy's name the same guy who looked at him like he was an insect.
He quickly spotted the only empty seat… right in front of the teacher.
'Great… today's not my lucky day either.'
Once Kai sat down, Aizawa started talking.Basic rules of the class, delivered in that dead tone that basically said I couldn't care less what you think: discipline, effort, punctuality. Constant evaluations. Harsh training. And, of course, learning to control our quirks so we could actually call ourselves heroes.
"Alright. Everyone, head to the training grounds. What better way to introduce ourselves than with a few physical tests?" he said, cold as stone.
The room instantly filled with murmurs.Then, some spiky-haired blond, sitting like he owned the place, smirked and said:"Ha! Finally, something interesting. I'm going to crush all your pathetic scores, losers!"
Aizawa didn't even blink.
"The student with the lowest score will be expelled."
The silence that followed was sharp enough to cut air until it broke into protests.
"But… we just got admitted! Isn't that a little unfair, sensei?" asked a boy whose face screamed help me.
Kai turned his head… and nearly burst out laughing.
'What the hell… hahaha… why does that short guy have grapes for hair?'
The complaints kept rolling in, right up until Aizawa slammed the desk.The dry BAM! shut everyone up.
"You think this is a game? Out there, heroes risk their lives every single day. If you want to be like them, you can't afford to be mediocre." His eyes stayed just as lifeless as when he walked in.
Minutes later, we were standing on a massive field, dressed in U.A.'s training uniforms. Kai's fit like it had been tailored for him deep navy blue, slashed through with thick white lines forming a giant "U" across the chest and back. The fabric was firm yet light, made to move without slowing you down.
'Now this… this is my kind of thing,' he thought, grinning.
"The first test will be the ball throw," Aizawa announced.
*****
Everyone stared in confusion as Aizawa explained the rules for the physical test."It's simple. Use your Quirk to throw this baseball as far as you can. Who wants to go first?"
Kai stepped forward without hesitation."Let me go first, Sensei."
'If I go first, I can make a strong impression, then sit back and quietly analyze everyone else's Quirks. Flawless plan.'
Aizawa handed him the ball and pointed to the throwing mark.Kai drew in a slow breath, his fingers digging into the seams.
'I'm not holding back. That green-haired kid needs to understand it's worth teaming up with me… Yeah, I can already smell the money.'
"Gon… merge with me."
All eyes locked on him as his shadow stirred like a living thing, folding its arms before sliding upward. Darkness spiraled around his frame, curling like smoke in reverse until it swallowed him whole. A suffocating, heavy aura burst outward in the next instant.
'It's now or never.'
Kai channeled every shred of power his body and his shadow could muster into his right arm.His skin turned black as onyx, veins pulsing under the surface while strands of shadow peeled away like burning threads.
'What the… hell…? Feels like my arm's about to explode. This is way stronger than yesterday… Damn it, this is my limit. I can't push Gon any further.'
With a savage snap, he whipped his arm forward. The ball shot through the air with a sharp, perfect crack the kind you'd expect from a pro batter… except this time, the "batter" was a sixteen year old kid with bare hands.