A few days later,
Aizawa and Midnight were visiting the homes of Class 1A students to meet with their parents. The main goal of these visits was to convince them to continue sending their students to U.A. Academy.
They understood and empathized with the parents' fears. After all, it had been publicly broadcasted that the Symbol of Peace could no longer fight. This wasn't just a rumor—it was the truth, witnessed by the entire nation. And if the world knew, then the villains did too. There was a high chance they would use this opportunity to cause destruction, and the academy, being the place where the Symbol of Peace had stayed, would be an obvious target for revenge.
This visit was mainly to reassure the parents that their sons and daughters would be safe, to bring back confidence in the academy's ability to protect them. To make their case stronger, they had brought along the former Symbol of Peace himself, All Might, who had only recently recovered from his injuries. This was because they had expected that convincing the parents of hero course students would be much more difficult since their students were at the highest risk compared to others. Having All Might with them significantly increased their chances of success, making it easier to calm the fears of the parents somewhat.
They also had another strategy to ensure the safety of the students—introducing dormitories. This was a major step the academy had never taken before, but it was crucial. No matter how secure the school was, if the students went home every day, they would still be vulnerable. Villains could easily track them down and attack them outside the academy's protection. But by keeping them on campus, they could minimize that risk and provide them with round-the-clock security.
Nevertheless, their task for the day was to visit every first-year hero course student's home before returning to U.A. To do this efficiently, they had created a list, ranking the visits based on travel distance and the estimated time needed to convince each family. Following this plan, they moved from house to house, starting with the ones expected to take the most time. One by one, they checked off the names on their list, making steady progress until they finally reached the last destination—a massive bungalow with an even more spacious garden. The place was breathtaking. Just sitting there and taking in the view could completely relax someone. The large, well-maintained garden stretched out in front of them, creating a serene and peaceful atmosphere.
But time was not on their side—it was already 9 PM, and they still needed to return to the school to finally get some much-needed sleep. The reason this house was last on the list was because the student was an orphan. This meant they wouldn't have to convince any parents—just speak to the student, complete some paperwork, and then it would be over.
Easy, right? Yeah, they thought so too—until they were invited inside by a maid.
The moment they stepped in, they were met with complete chaos. The entire building was bustling with activity. People were engaged in different discussions, half of which went over their heads. Others rushed back and forth, carrying stacks of documents and papers. There was an energy of urgency in the air, making it hard to keep track of everything going on.
All Might immediately recognized some of the people there—they were members of the Hero Association. And just as he recognized them, they noticed him as well. The atmosphere of the room shifted instantly. In seconds, people began swarming toward them, throwing questions at All Might about his health and well-being. The situation quickly became overwhelming, as the sheer number of people surrounding them made it difficult to respond to everyone at once. All Might, caught off guard, could barely process all the questions being asked.
He was not the only one—Aizawa and Midnight were also receiving the same treatment, no matter how hard they tried to extricate themselves. No matter what they said or did, people kept swarming them with questions, refusing to let them go. This went on for a long time, and in the process, they learned that this place was being used as a temporary headquarters for the QTF (Quirk Task Force).
The QTF had only been officially announced just a week ago, and in that short time, it had already begun training thousands of individuals. It was a large-scale initiative, bigger than anything they had expected. And what surprised them even more was learning that Shin was the one who had proposed the program and was now a part of the QTF Council.
After nearly an hour of nonstop conversations, they finally managed to get the information they were looking for—the location of the room where Shin was. Wasting no time, they quickly made their way there, slipping out before they could be dragged back into the chaos once again.
They walked up to the room and knocked on the door. A tired, irritated voice came from inside. "Who the hell is knocking again? I already said not to bother me while I'm sleeping. If it's another damn report, I'm throwing it out the window."
The door opened to reveal Shin, looking half-asleep and completely disheveled. His hair was a mess, his eyebags were deep, and he squinted at them like his brain hadn't fully processed what was happening. He blinked once. Then twice.
"I must be hallucinating… How tired am I?" he muttered to himself.
Midnight, in her civilian attire, crossed her arms. "You're not hallucinating. We're here because of the mail you received a few days ago."
Shin groaned, rubbing his face. "Oh… that mail. Yeah, I skimmed through it. Something about convincing my parents?" He yawned. "Not sure how that's supposed to work unless you guys suddenly developed a quirk that revives the dead."
Aizawa sighed. "We still need to go through the official process."
Shin just stared at them, then at the clock on the wall. Then back at them.
"So… you guys came all the way here. At this hour. For something that clearly could've waited till morning?" He raised an eyebrow, voice flat.
Midnight sighed, already tired of the conversation. "You were the last on our list. We wanted to finish all the visits today."
Shin peered past them and gestured toward the main hall, where people were still running around in organized chaos. "And I'm guessing that plan didn't involve getting caught up in that mess?"
Aizawa pinched the bridge of his nose. "No. It didn't."
Shin shook his head and leaned against the doorframe. "Figures." He let out another yawn. "Well, if you were expecting some deep conversations right now, then you're out of luck. I'm running on fumes, and you guys look like you're about to pass out too. You should just stay the night and talk in the morning when I'm actually awake enough to care."
Aizawa and Midnight looked at each other before nodding. They were exhausted. No point pushing it now.
"Fine. We'll talk tomorrow," Aizawa said.
Shin gave a lazy wave before shutting the door. "Great. Good night."
Midnight let out a long sigh before turning to one of the maids. "Could you prepare some rooms for us?"
The maid nodded and led them away. As they followed, All Might, who had been silent until now, finally spoke. "…That could've gone worse."
…
The next morning, Shin woke up feeling completely refreshed. He had gone to sleep early—8 PM, which was unusual for him. Normally, three hours of rest was all he needed, a perk of his superhuman physique. But after an entire week of no sleep, his body had taken a little longer to recover.
After getting out of bed, he took a quick shower, the warm water helping shake off any lingering drowsiness. A simple use of Force Regen erased the dark circles under his eyes, making him look as if he had never been exhausted in the first place. Once dressed, he headed to the dining area for breakfast. As he ate, he sent out a subtle Force Pulse, sensing the presence of his teachers, who were already awake.
Shin smiled to himself as he finished his meal. He called one of the maids over and asked her to inform his teachers to meet him in his room in about half an hour. Once the maid left, he took his time with his breakfast, relishing the food as he let the morning pass by at a slow pace. When he was done, he made his way back to his room, relaxing on one of the cushions. He leaned back, closing his eyes for a moment, and waited patiently for his teachers to arrive.
Shin, who was sitting in his room, heard a knock.
"The door's open; you can come inside," he called out.
A moment later, Aizawa, All Might, and Midnight entered and took a seat on the sofa in front of him. All Might, taking the initiative, spoke first. "We wish for you to join the dorms the school is building."
Shin gave a short, confused glance. "Why?"
"To protect you from villains who could be targeting you because you're one of my students," All Might explained.
Shin narrowed his eyes. "And you think I can't take care of myself?"
"I'm just saying you'd be safer on school grounds," All Might said, his tone calm but firm.
Shin shook his head slightly, leaning back in his seat. "I kindly doubt that anyone at the school could protect me from things I can't handle myself."
Aizawa, who had been quiet up until then, spoke up. "You may be strong, but there are quirks like mine that could easily overpower you. So don't get too overconfident."
Shin looked at Aizawa, unfazed. "I'm aware there are many things that could endanger me in this world. But I'm still not convinced that staying in the dorms is the best way to go about it." He paused, then continued, "And there's a problem with what you said. I don't think you or anyone else with similar quirks can defeat me in any way, even if I'm caught off guard."
Aizawa shook his head, clearly disappointed by his student's overconfidence. Just as he was about to open his mouth to rebuke him, Shin smirked and interjected, "I think you don't believe me, do you? Then, use your quirk on me," Shin challenged, leaning forward slightly. "I'm giving you full permission."
Aizawa's expression darkened with frustration, shaking his head. He had a lot of reprisal in mind for Shin when he returned to the school. But then, a thought crossed his mind. The best reprisal would come from a failure. His eyes brightened, and without hesitation, the clothes around his neck floated as he activated his quirk. In an instant, he could feel his quirk had worked from experiencing the familiar feeling he always gets whenever he uses his quirk.
Shin, the recipient of this, simply smiled as he felt his skills cease functioning. This applied to every single one of them—even those that were completely passive, such as one of his very first abilities, Superhuman Physique. As a result, he felt himself weakening, a sense of powerlessness seeping into both his mind and body. He had grown so habituated to the passive enhancements that their sudden absence made him feel strangely incomplete.
Normally, something like Aizawa's quirk should have never been able to suppress his skills, thanks to the TrueSoul he possessed. One of its greatest advantages was granting him supreme control over his abilities—not only allowing him to wield and shape them in ways the residents of this plane never could, but also ensuring that his skills could neither be stolen nor sealed away by any means. The only reason Aizawa's quirk had any effect on him at all was because he allowed it to.
Now, why would he do that, you ask? He could have effortlessly prevented Aizawa's quirk from taking hold, instantly proving his point. But that would have been a wasted opportunity—an opportunity to test something he had regained upon reaching Rank Two. This ability allowed him to manipulate his Eth by imbuing it into his energy, which, in this world, manifested as stamina. Or, as people from his original plane would have called it—Ki.
What is Eth, you ask? Well, basically it was one's willpower manifested which is everpresent in every living being.
Anyway, by channelling his Eth through his energy, he could effectively integrate it into his skills since they were powered by stamina in the first place—something he had deduced his very first day in this plane.
First, however, Shin performed an internal analysis, breaking down the mechanics of Aizawa's quirk in real-time. As expected, it functioned almost exactly as he had theorized—it projected the user's Eth into the target, temporarily severing their innate connection to their quirk.
To fully understand the absurdity, one needed to know that all Rank One beings possessed Eth which covers their soul, but they had no means of consciously utilizing it. However, upon ascending to Rank Two, they gained the ability to infuse their Eth into their energy, allowing them to actively wield it as a force. Moreover, their Eth would even subconsciously resist against any and all abilities used on them.
This reinforced the fact of how broken the quirks of this world were. After all, Aizawa, a mere Rank One, was achieving something that should only have been possible for a Rank Two — using his Eth even though he didn't know about it. And because Rank Ones lacked the ability to consciously manipulate their Eth, they had no means of resisting such an ability, making Aizawa's quirk functionally unblockable.
Nevertheless, after completing his analysis, Shin immediately imbued his Eth into his stamina. As expected, he felt the suppressing effect of Aizawa's quirk fading away instantly. Normally, this process should have taken a few seconds. However, there was one crucial detail that he had yet to mention.
The Eth was so deeply connected to the soul that it was the only other thing he had brought with him from his original plane, aside from his memories. And since Eth grew naturally with the soul's age, his had accumulated over thousands of years. Compared to Aizawa's, which was minuscule in comparison, Shin's Eth was a vast in quantity—so much so that the moment he brought it forth, it completely overpowered Aizawa's without resistance.
And Shin wasn't the only one who noticed. Aizawa did as well. His wide-eyed expression of shock said it all. Doubt and confusion flashed across his face, but before he could voice them, Shin decided to drive the point home. Lifting his hand, he casually manifested an orb of force in his palm, extending it outward for all to see. The following reaction was immediate. Aizawa's mouth fell open in disbelief. Across the room, similar expressions of shock adorned the faces of All Might and Midnight.
"So, were you saying something?" Shin asked, a smug smile on his face.
"How… how did you nullify my quirk's effect?" Aizawa asked, still in shock.
"I'm a quirk researcher," Shin stated plainly. "I know more about quirks than probably anyone else in this world. I understand how most of them work—including All Might's and All For One's." His gaze shifted toward the mentioned hero. "So next time, don't assume your understanding applies to me."
"You—" Aizawa began, but before he could continue, All Might cut in.
"You know how All For One's quirk works?" he asked, clearly stunned.
"Yes. The ability to steal and transfer quirks works on the same basic principle as Aizawa's quirk—just far more advanced," Shin explained. That said, he wasn't entirely sure if All For One's quirk worked exactly like that. He suspected the villain had already reached Rank Two, meaning he might have naturally gained the ability to imbue his Eth into his stamina.
Still confused, All Might asked, "How did you analyze All For One's quirk?"
"By fighting him, obviously," Shin replied as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
"WHAT?! You've fought All For One?" All three of them reacted in shock.
"Yeah. Did you really think he wouldn't try to steal a powerful quirk like mine?" Shin asked, raising an eyebrow. "But he gave up once he realized he couldn't. He tried to kill me instead, but… well, that wasn't going to happen." He lied without hesitation, his expression giving nothing away.
The room fell into silence as they processed his words. Then, Midnight spoke up. "But how do we not know about this? A battle like that should've left signs—destruction, reports, something."
Shin nodded, as if he had expected the question. "I fought him when I was in The Sublime. My guess is that they covered it up. And that massive destruction? Probably his doing. He must've returned for a rematch to kill me, but by then, I was already gone." Another lie, perfectly placed to steer the conversation where he wanted it to go.
Their expressions shifted, deep in thought.
'That could be possible…' Aizawa considered. 'After the League of Villains appeared, we assumed they were responsible. But if All For One was behind it, it would make a lot more sense…'
Shin observed their reactions carefully before delivering the final piece of his fabricated puzzle. "Though, if this is true, then it's very bad news."
"Why?" All Might asked, his frown deepening. "All For One is already captured. There's nothing to worry about."
Shin shook his head. "Yeah, that is true, but I sincerely doubt that's all there is to that conniving snake."
"What do you mean by that?" Their expressions turned serious; the air thick with tension as they braced themselves for what Shin was about to reveal.
"That is because if he had raided the place, he would have stolen the quirks of the other people who were recruited for training. And one of the quirks I remember was the ability to create a clone that could use the user's full power. It had a limitation—the user couldn't move while controlling the clone—but other than that, it was theorized that if they possessed additional quirks, they would be able to use them through their clone as well."
Shin was once again fabricating a lot of lies here, but there were some truths mixed in. During his time in the organization, before they erased the memories of everyone but him, he had discovered something significant—two other facilities operating under the organization's command, also dedicated to creating artificial humans. From the reports he had seen, it was far more secretive, and while details were scarce, there had still been some news he could uncover.