(Pov: Riku Shindai)
'...Alright, why is dad staring at me like that?'
He was currently eating a very early breakfast at 4 in the morning... with his dad who was awake for unknown reasons. His dad being a little aberrant was nothing new but he couldn't stop himself from wondering about this serious stare he received.
"...SI EREHT GNIHTEMOS NO YM ECAF?"
(IS THERE SOMETHING ON MY FACE?)
That may not be a good or very polite to adress one's father, but this situation warranted it. And it wasn't as though his dad minded.
He just coughed a little. "Nothing, besides wings. Just wondering... how's UA?"
Riku didn't have eyes to narrow, but he did his best to emulate that action with his wings. 'Sketchy...'
Still he answered, pretty much retelling the same stuff he had told them yesterday. Masaki's emotional state fluctuated a little with impatience.
"Alright, sounds great... Now, how are your classmates?"
'Ah. So this is what its about.'
"GNITSERETNI."
(INTERESTING)
"...and? Did you make some friends?"
"..."
(...)[1]
His dad's emotional state fluctuated again, clear resignation pouring out of him.
"Riku... did you at least try to talk to someone?"
'I entertained the thought. Does that count?'
He didn't answer, feigning deafness. Masaki just sighed although there was amusement in his voice.
"I guess its still the first day. But come on, don't just wait for people to come to you. Cuz they probably won't. That means you have to go up to them."
A sly smile appeared on his face. "Or maybe they'll call you the Shy Hero. What's that name you wanted again? Eight something divine general Mahoraga? You won't get it if you don't earn the General title. You need to show your qualities as a leader for that."
"GAHR"[2]
He snarled and lashed his tail a bit at his fathers comment. It wasn't as though he was that shy. It was just that his past experiences with "approaching others" weren't that great. And honestly, he had just kind of gotten used to being by himself or with Tokoyami who was on the rather quiet side as well.
But well, he did understand he'd have to start talking to people. That muscular guy with the many arms would be a good start. Or the guy with the tail? He seemed nice enough. But in the end... he'd probably only talk to someone if a natural opportunity allowed it. He wasn't about to force a conversation.
'...i should stop with the excuses. I'm just shy.'
Breakfast continued with Masaki bringing up random topics and philosophical questions, just as any proper parent should do.
Giving the generous amount of time he had before classes, he went to the gym, doing his usual training Regimen, his dad accompanying him... doing his own stuff. Still, Riku kept his Workout light, not wanting to overexert himself before his classes.
A bit of time later, he abandoned Masaki, met up with Tokoyami who was "fully rested" and they headed towards UA together.
Their conversation in the train was lighthearted, at least as lighthearted as Tokoyami's Chuuni allowed it. He was not as intense as he used to be, but he still enjoyed his occasional comments about darkness and fate. These happened to mesh well when discussing UA's curriculum.
The school grounds bustled with activity when they finally arrived, as students chattered and laughed, excited to be at the school. The duo traversed the school with relaxed gait and entered the classroom.
A few others were already present, most who Riku did not remember the name of.
'Huh, guess we're early.'
Whoever sat to his right was yet to arrive and the not-so-chatty neighbor to his left was also not present. There was however, a girl sitting two seats further to his left, her hair long and figure... developed. 'She's the one who created a Mechanic press for the grip strength assessment.'[3]
She was currently intently focused onto a notebook, which Riku could not identify, only looking up for a moment when she noticed Riku and Tokoyami entering the classroom.
There was a little hesitation, the kind that usually appeared when someone didn't know how to interact before she simply greeted the duo with a nod, who answered in kind, before returning her attention onto her notebook.
Tokoyami plopped onto his seat, his demeanor as calm as ever and Riku did the same. Time passed by rather quickly and more classmates trinkled into the class. The guy sitting to his left soon entered the classroom, wordlessly finding his way to his seat, acknowledging no one. Riku greeted him with a nod, but was just met with an impassive stare.
His neighbor on the right arrived as well, and it happened to be the girl whose name he'd overheard to be "Uraraka." She hurried to her seat, a little out of breath then turned to him.
"Good Morning! We didn't talk yesterday, did we? I'm Ochaco Uraraka! What's your name?"
'...she's enthusiastic.'
"DOOG GNINROM. I MA UKIR AIDNIHS."
(GOOD MORNING. I AM RIKU SHINDAI.)
Riku kept his sentence short, not wanting to weird-out the nice girl with his way of speech. As expected, discomfort and confusion momentarily popped up, but as not expected, they disappeared rather quickly and were instead replaced by curiosity.
"Oh- That's so weird! It was like..." The girl paused a bit, as if trying to find the right words. "...the sound of my own voice in my head! But like, not the same! That's your Quirk, right?"
Riku was a bit surprised, the girl's enthusiastic speech catching him off-guard. Still, he didn't let it show.
"EREHT SI EROM OT TI, TUB SEY."
(THERE IS MORE TO IT, BUT YES.)
"Whoah, i never met anyone with a Quirk like that. Its like Telepathy, right?"
Riku just nodded, a bit dumbfounded at how easily the girl was carrying the conversation.
"It's so cool, i bet it'll be super useful for like, coordination and stuff." The girl flashed him a thumbs up. "Ah! That's present Mic! Looks like class is starting. We'll talk later."
And as easily as it started, the conversation came to an end.
-[4]
The ensuing class was... boring. It was taught by Present Mic, but despite his best efforts to liven up the class... there was not much you could do to make an english course interesting.
That was true, even more so for Riku whose English... was maybe a little out of practice but it was still his real mother language. He wasn't the only one who was bored, as nearly everyone had expected something different, especially when comparing it to the day before.
And just when Present Mic's class ended, the students expectation came to be fulfilled.
Riku was the first one to notice, as a large presence entered his Cursed Energy radar's range.
His wings twitched in slight confusion. The energy signature was... frighteningly similar to what he had sensed in Midoriya's arm yesterday. The difference was, that it enveloped the large presence's entire body. 'Who is that?'
Then...
"I AM HERE..."
A loud voice reverberated through the class. Everyone was jolted into attention and even Riku recognized the tone of voice he had heard on Radio.
"...COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A REGULAR PERSON!!!"
'That's... All Might?'
The class exploded in uproar and large waves of excitement rolled of every. single. person. in class. That included the stoic boy to his right. It included the emotional Bomb "Bakugo. It included Tokoyami. Goddamnit, it included himself.
His classmates buzzed in excitement, talking about his looks and costume, stuff Riku couldn't care less about. He had never seen him. Nor sensed him. He had only heard of his deeds. But the moment the large, person-shaped bundle of Energy entered the room, he sensed the overwhelming amount of power coursing through the Hero's body which was seemingly fueling it with pure strength. It just wasn't something someone without Sensory abilities could comprehend.
"HERO STUDIES! IN THIS CLASS, WE'LL BE UNDERGOING TRIALS TO BUILD UP ON YOUR HERO FOUNDATIONS!!"
The excitement in the class soared, momentarily stunning Riku who could quite literally feel everyone's excitement.
"AND WE'LL GET RIGHT INTO IT WITH THIS! THE TRIAL OF BATTLE!!"
The Atmosphere shifted, the moment the word "battle" was used. The excitement remained but nervousness and battle-lust were mixing into the atmosphere.
"AND FOR THAT... YOU NEED... YOUR COSTUMES!!!"
Somehow, the excitement soared even more as the students got up from their seats. The costumes were in boxes outside of the classroom, in the corridor.
"GET CHANGED AND MEET ME AT GROUND B!!!"
And with that, the Hero, All Might, took on a sprinting Position and simply vanished out of sight, leaving a powerful gust of wind permeating through the classroom.
'Holy shit.'
Riku felt like the grin on his face couldn't get any larger and his tail lashed around in sheer anticipation of what was to come. The sheer power of the Hero, the atmosphere in the classroom... and the upcoming battle-trial lighting a fire in him.
None of the students in class hesitated as they rushed to take the boxes with their respective outfits, before following the signs to the changing room and the battleground.
Given the sheer excitement everyone felt, it did not take long for everyone to finish changing and soon, the 20 students found themselves at the battleground.
Everyone wore their costume, pride evident in their demeanor and Riku was no different. His simple costume consisted of a Hakama, specially made to be durable and flexible, as to survive whatever attacks would be thrown at him in the future. Prayer-beads were around his neck... although they were just cheap and disposable for the sake of the look. In addition to that, he wore grey wrist wraps... which were special in sense of their durability.
And that was it. His torso was free, his look felt completed.
What the battle trial consisted of, wasn't important.
Because he would adapt and overcome to whatever was to come.
-
-
(Pov: Fumikage Tokoyami)
His heart was beating inside his chest, as he walked out of the training grounds. His excitement was at an all-time high and frankly, it was so bad he felt it'd interfere in his control over his Darkness.
'Fumikage... this is not what a Hero's composure should look like.' He berated himself in his head, doing his best to calm himself, yet failed as his gaze fell upon the large figure of his or rather everyone's favorite Pro Hero.
'We'll get to learn Heroics... under the number one Hero himself.'
A smirk tugged at his lips and Tokoyami paused to hide it. He closed his eyes and forced his smirk to fade, until his expression was worthy of a Hero inspiring confidence. 'I suppose Riku has an easier time to deal with this excitement. He never did understand just how amazing All Might is.'
It was difficult to believe but such was Riku's fate, given his blindness. Being unable to see all those videos with All Might in action was a cruel fate indeed.
'But because of that, he will certainly have an easier time to deal with his excite...ment?'
Tokoyami's stoic face broke into a flabbergasted expression as he watched his friend exit the changing room.
Not because of the costume. He had been quite aware of Riku's costume choice after all. The Hakama with the prayer-beads meshed rather well with his Muscular physique, so everything was fine on that front.
It was because of his expression. Riku bore the largest grin he had ever seen on him, his tail was lashing around, making whip-like sounds and he was clenching and unclenching his fists.
'I uh...'
Tokoyami's brain malfunctioned.
-
It took him a few seconds, but he managed to recover. Tokoyami was now facing another way, not wanting to be face to face with the clearly overly excited Riku who looked like he wanted to break something. Anything.
His legendary composure returned onto his face and his "stoic gaze" returned upon All Might.
'He should explain soon... once everyone is ready.'
To kill time, Tokoyami looked around a bit, admiring his comrades Hero garb... although they were a bit flashy in his opinion. Nevertheless, the spirit and determination everyone had on their face was enough to make everyone look good. Even Midoriya in his ... bunny outfit.
"WELL, YOU ALL CERTAINLY LOOK LIKE FULL-FLEDGED HEROES!"
All Might turned to them with a wide smile. The chattering stopped as everyone's expectant eyes were set upon him. [5]
"NOW, WHAT WE'LL DO TODAY, WILL BE AN INDOOR BATTLE-TRIAL!"
His smile turned slightly serious.
"WHILE MOST VILLAIN'S ON TV ARE USUALLY ON THE OPEN, THAT IS ONLY BECAUSE THEY ARE EASIER TO FILM THERE. THE VAST MAJORITY OF VILLAIN ACTS ARE ACTUALLY COMMITED INDOORS!"
"FOR THIS TEST, YOU WILL OPERATE IN A 2 VS 2, ENACTING A FIGHT BETWEEN VILLAINS AND HEROES!!!"
The Silence enveloping the students was broken in an instant as an array of questions were shot, some about how much violence was allowed to be used, others about the presence of penalties. Someone even asked All Might's opinion on how the cape looked.
"THIS IS A FIGHT RE-ENACTMENT, WITH PURPOSE TO TEST YOUR POWER, SKILL AND THINKING. SO VIOLENCE IS UNAVOIDABLE. THAT BEING SAID, YOU SHOULD TREAT IT LIKE A SPAR, NOT A DEATHMATCH.
THE SCENARIO IS THIS. THE VILLAINS GUARD A NUCLEAR WEAPON IN THE BUILDING AND PLAN ON USING IT. THE HEROES MUST STOP THEIR NEFARIOUS SCHEME BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.
IF THE HEROES MANAGE TO TOUCH THE WEAPON OR CAPTURE THE VILLAINS, THEY WIN!
IF THE VILLAINS MANAGE TO GUARD THE WEAPON OR CAPTURE THE HEROES, THEY WIN!
THE TEAMS WILL BE CHOSEN THROUGH.... LOTTERY!!!"
'I see, this is truly an effective exercise. It serves to test skill, mindset and teamwork. He wishes to see how we would act in such a scenario to assess us.'
Tokoyami narrowed his eyes as he contemplated the topic. The conclusion he came to was simple. No matter who his teammate would be, he'd have to do his best to cooperate with them!
All Might held out a small cardboard box and went from student to student, for each to take their pick.
Barely a minute later, everyone had their paper. 'Tsuyu Asui.'
He looked around for a bit, then met eyes with a girl whose features were froglike. She approached him first.
"Tokoyami? That is you, right?"
He just nodded. "Indeed. I look forward to working with you."
"Likewise."
Their interaction was brief as the two observed the other groups, silently marking those they did now want to fight.
'Riku and ... gloves?'[6]
Next to Riku... floated a pair of gloves. It was a strange thing to say, but the way the gloves were fidgeting made it clear how nervous... they were.
"Ah. It looks like Hagakure is paired up with your friend. Ribbit."
Asui's blunt voice rang out, looking over to the duo. Then back to him.
"He is your friend, right?"
Tokoyami just nodded. "We are comrades sworn by the shadows."
"..."
"..."
Asui seemed to struggle to comprehend his sentence for a bit, before simply dropping it.
"Anyway, how bad would it be if we were to fight him? He certainly seems strong."
Tokoyami's gaze grew slightly melancholic at that. In terms of match-ups, he was actually one of the best counters for Riku, due to Dark Shadow steadily feeding on his Cursed Energy. But despite that...
"It'd be bad."
-
-
(Pov: Toru Hagakure)
She heaved a deep breath... then looked onto the piece of paper she had received.
"Huh, i got Riku Shindai...?" 'Who is that?'
"Ah!" Uraraka perked up. "That's him! He's got a weird voice thingy, just so you know!"
Hagakure's gaze followed the direction her friend was pointing to...
There stood the large Mutant, wings where his eyes should be, a tail at the back of his head and a large floating wheel above his head. She did remember seeing him in the city once. 'Maybe i should bring that up to break the ice?'
'Oh... well lets go!'
Waving and wishing her friends good luck she skipped over to Shindai, preparing to tap his... not shoulder but his arm to let her know of her presence.
Luckily for her however, he seemed to be turning into her direction so she simply jumped up and waved her gloves in front of Shindai's... wings. Although she didn't quite reach them.
"Heyy there! I'm Toru Hagakure! You're Riku Shindai, right? We're partners!"
"SEY, I MA. STI ECIN OT TEEM UOY."
(YES, I AM. ITS NICE TO MEET YOU.)
'Uwah, its really strange.'
She grimaced a bit, for once grateful for her invisibility.
"So, lets hope we get some easy opponents, right?"
Shindai's wings twitched a bit before he spoke.
"D'I REFERP ENOEMOS GNORTS."
(I'D PREFER SOMEONE STRONG.")
Hagakure blinked. 'Should have figured the brutish looking guy is a brute.'
Still, he was pretty strong. As long as they wouldn't have to fight that scary explosion guy, they'd surely be fine.
"So, want to tell me your Quirk? To coordinate better?"
The mutant gave a slow nod.
"YGRENE EPYT KRIUQ. ELBAPAC FO YROSNES DNA TMEMECROFNIER. ELITASREV."
(ENERGY TYPE QUIRK. CAPABLE OF SENSORY AND REINFORCEMENT. VERSATILE)
'what kind of busted Quirk is that? Sensory and reinforcement?'
"TAHW TUOBA SRUOY?"
(WHAT ABOUT YOURS?)
She was about to laugh and say something along the lines of "can't you see it?" but then realized something rather important.
Riku Shindai... had wings instead of eyes.
Meaning that he had no eyes.
So no. He could not see it.
Hagakure was sweating. 'Holy shit, he is blind.'
For a moment, she found herself staring up at Shindai, and only when he tilted his head did she remember the question he had asked her.
"AH! Uh, my Quirk is Invisibility. So... i'm invisible."
"..."
It sounded so useless in face of a blind person.
She coughed a little, then quickly changed topic and addressed something more important.
"So uh, you're blind right? You mentioned your quirk being useable for Sensory? Is that how you get around?"
Shindai just nodded, seemingly a bit distracted. Still, she wanted to know a bit more.
"So, do you like scan the world? Does it have a range? How much do you see? Are there colors?"
Her onslaught of questions snapped her mutant-classmate out of his distraction. He thought for a moment, then answered.
"SEY, SEY, TSUJ SEPAHS DNA SNOITOME, ON."
(YES, YES, JUST SHAPES AND EMOTIONS, NO)
"Ah. Well, i hope we work well together!"
'He's not a good conversationalist, huh?'
Still, a small smile bloomed on her face. It looked like whoever her enemies would be, would probably encounter some struggle.
Then, All Might's loud voice echoed through the room.
"VILLAINS, RIKU SHINDAI AND TORU HAGAKURE AGAINST HEROES, MEZO SHOJI AND SHOTO TODOROKI!!"
Hagakure's smile froze on her face and her body stiffened. 'What kind of bullshit matchmaking is this? I'm just invisible!'
On the other side of the room, stood another large figure, not as big as her own teammate, but still a good 2 meters. Even worse that guy's teammate.
The son of the literal Number 2 Hero. Shoto Todoroki.
'Oh come on, how is this fair?!'
-
-
CHAPTER SPLIT.
AN: Yeah, im gonna write the next part tomorrow. Im gonna fuck it up if i dont go to bed.
I had even more ideas for more fanfics. I'm not gonna start writing them, but i'll put down a few options, then i will set down a structure (without actually writing the story)
I'll only start working on one of the ideas once this fic hits the 50 or more chaps.
Ideas:
-Kenjaku in Bleach. (Geto's cursed technique. Hollows similar to curses. )
-Mechamaru in Naruto. (Heavenly restriction. Puppets. Sunagakure. )
-Danzo and Fukagu learn of the future/they watch Naruto. (Root and Uchiha cooperate, each with their own goals. Glory and protection of their own heritage. More into psychology of these characters, not a "you will regret this" fic. Competent characters.) Danzo uses the knowledge "for Konoha" and Fugaku tries his best to reign in his trigger happy clan.
-Malenia the severed, reborn as an Aburame. Not a developed idea.
-Elden ring system. Guy reincarnates in one piece, is a wimp, so he uses incantations and sorceries. Weak MC.
Again, i won't start any of them before reaching the end/running out of ideas for this fic. This is just preparation, for when/if it'll happen.
[1] In case you don't understand what he said
[2] For those thinking: Oh, why does he still does that? I think its hilarious, thats why. And if you need a real reason, then consider his Vocal cords to be made for snarling and growling. Speaking in curse (reverse) is possible, but takes some effort. Speaking normally is impossible for him.
[3] There is genuinely no other way to describe her, given that Riku is blind. His observation literally only consists of Shape and Emotion -_-
[4] Convo feels forced, but idk. I remember Uraraka having been rather airheaded at the beginning.
[5] *one's expectant Cursed Energy.
[6] My first idea for a match-up was Mezo Shoji and Riku vs Hagakure and Mineta. Insane fight potential right there. I fear my writing skills are not enough to put such a world-shattering battle into words.