Alr Alr I heard your voices yall were screaming for another chapter right? I gotchu.
Song of choice this time is: Ratchet & Clank 3 (Up Your Arsenal) - Zygan System - Obani Draco
Also join the discord I just made lol 6ME67Wd4 (re edit of code because i fucked the first one lmao)- First 10 get special roles!
And todays fun fact is: Yuta faked a domain expansion cause he never learned it but the kind Kurourushi broke ryu's and Uro's domains so yuta wouldnt be embarassed infront of them
W kurourushi (yes kurourushi is the goat❤️❤️)
---
Ren walked down the third-floor corridor with a cup of tea in his hand.
He didn't remember picking it up. But the tea was there and the door was behind him and the corridor was empty.
Three hundred and twenty-nine. All guilty. Every single one.
And then Nezu.
He drank the tea. Green. Slightly bitter. Nezu made good tea.
0.1%. Japan's courts convicted at 99.9%. Nezu was his 0.1%. The first person to stand at the defence podium and walk out clean.
He kept walking. The corridor was long and the light from the windows made rectangles on the tile floor and his footsteps were the only sound.
There was warmth in his chest.
He noticed it after the domain dropped. After the scales tipped right. After Nezu said "that was educational" with a voice that was gentle in a way Ren hadn't earned.
Warmth. He knew warmth. He'd catalogued it.
The warmth from the hunts was dark. A heat that sat low in his gut and pulsed when the gavel came down and the verdict was delivered. Satisfying. Addictive. He'd lived on that warmth for months. It filled the hollow. Temporarily.
The warmth from saving the girl at the entrance exam was different. Brighter. Higher in his chest. Closer to his throat. It had scared him because it felt like caring and caring meant the hollow might notice it was empty.
This was neither of those.
This was quieter. Lower. Somewhere behind his sternum where his breathing started. It didn't demand anything. It didn't fill the hollow or scare him. It just sat there. Patient. Steady. Guiding.
Nezu's warmth.
Ren stopped walking.
He stood in the corridor and felt all three side by side. Dark. Bright. Gentle. Three different temperatures. Three different directions.
His brows went up.
If there were three kinds of warmth then warmth itself was not the thing he'd thought it was. He'd been chasing the dark kind. The hunt kind. Treating it as fuel. But the dark warmth and the bright warmth and the gentle warmth were not the same emotion. They shared a feeling but the feeling pointed in different directions.
Which meant the dark one might be pointing somewhere he shouldn't follow.
He filed that thought. Didn't examine it further. Not yet. There was a classroom to get to and a face to arrange and a principal's advice to follow, however reluctantly.
He drank the last of the tea and kept walking.
---
Ten minutes earlier.
Nezu's office. The domain was gone. Midnight's syllabi were on the corner of the desk with a sticky note. Sign these or I'm teaching whatever I want.
Nezu had glanced at it, chuckled, and turned back to Ren.
"Before you go back to class, there are two practical things we need to address." He held up a paw. Two fingers raised. "First. Your gavel."
Ren's jaw tightened.
"I've seen it on camera. The HPSC has impact marks from it at dozens of crime scenes. If you carry a gavel-shaped weapon into a hero exercise, someone will make the connection I did. And they won't offer tea first."
Silence.
"Show it to me."
Ren held out his hand. The gavel materialised. Dark metal. Solid weight.
Nezu hopped down from his chair, walked around the desk, and examined it up close. Tapped the striking surface with a paw. Tilted his head. Tapped again.
"It manifests from your energy? Not a physical object?"
"Yes."
"And dissolves when you dismiss it?"
"Yes."
"Good." He climbed back into his chair. "Here's what we're going to do. I'm having the support department build you a physical gavel. Reinforced carbon fibre. Collapsible. Adjustable size, extends for combat, retracts to fit in a coat pocket. Serial number, production date, procurement paperwork, all of it documented and traceable to a legitimate supply chain."
"A decoy."
"A registered support item. You carry it visibly. It's in your file. If anyone asks, it's your weapon. Custom built, perfectly legal." He folded his paws. "Heroes carry weapons. Eraserhead has a capture weapon. Snipe carries firearms. A student with a blunt instrument is unremarkable."
"And my actual gavel?"
"You manifest it inside your coat when you need it. The physical one stays visible. Nobody sees the switch. Nobody questions why a student who registered a gavel also happens to use a gavel. The shape matches. The explanation is on file." He smiled. "One rule. Never have both out at the same time. The moment two gavels exist in the same room, someone starts asking questions I can't paperwork away."
Ren stared at him.
"You would fabricate all of this."
"I would create documentation for a legitimate support item that happens to resemble something the HPSC is looking for. There's a difference." He took a sip of tea. "A small one. I'm comfortable with small differences."
"Why?"
"Because I told you I was going to teach you. A teacher who lets his student get arrested before the first lesson is a poor educator." He set the cup down. "Also because I've seen what happens when the HPSC gets their hands on children. I'm not watching it again."
The scar around his eye caught the light.
"Second thing." Nezu held up his other paw. "Your quirk registration."
Ren waited.
"Regeneration doesn't explain what you did at the entrance exam or the apprehension test. The HPSC hasn't flagged it yet because they're busy with the Arbitrator case and haven't cross-referenced student files. But Aizawa noticed on day one and he's not the type to let things go."
"What do you suggest?"
"I'm going to update your quirk file. Regeneration will remain the primary classification but I'll add an addendum. Secondary mutation. Your regenerative quirk has evolved to include physical reinforcement. Accelerated cellular repair produces enhanced muscular density, resulting in superhuman strength, speed, and durability. It's not unheard of. Quirk evolution is documented. Recovery Girl will sign off on it because I'll ask her to and she owes me a favour from 2191 that she still pretends to have forgotten about."
He picked up his tea.
"Your adjudication abilities stay off the record entirely. As far as UA's files are concerned, you are a regeneration-type student with an evolved secondary mutation. That's it. That's all anyone needs to know."
Ren gave a nod.
Nezu set the cup down and his voice shifted back to its usual tone.
"Now. Class is starting soon. You should get to it." He waved toward the door. "And Asano-kun? Talk to your classmates. You've been here for some time and the longest conversation you've had has been with me. Flattering, but concerning."
---
Present.
Ren turned the corner toward Class 1-A. The tea was half finished. He drank the rest, set the empty cup on top of a bin, and kept moving.
Three figures ahead. Walking toward the classroom from the opposite direction.
Iida Tenya. Midoriya Izuku. Uraraka Ochaco.
Iida saw him first. Adjusted his path immediately and closed the distance.
"Asano-kun! I don't believe we've been formally introduced. I am Iida Tenya, from Somei Private Academy." He bowed. Forty-five degrees. His arm chopped the air. "Your performance during the quirk apprehension test was extraordinary. I look forward to learning alongside you."
"Likewise, Iida."
Behind Iida, Midoriya was trying to look at him. His eyes came up, reached chin-level, and dropped. His mouth opened. Closed. Nothing came out. His ears were red.
They looked at each other for half a second. Then Midoriya looked away.
Uraraka stepped forward. Brown hair, round face, already smiling.
"Hi! You're Asano-kun, right? I'm Uraraka Ochaco!" She stuck her hand out. Four finger pads visible, pinky held apart. "You scored first in the entrance exam! That was super cool! Nice to meet you!"
Ren shook her hand. Brief.
"Nice to meet you."
"We should head to class," Iida said, already walking. "The bell rings in ninety seconds."
They walked. Four of them in the corridor.
"So Asano-kun, what made you want to come to UA?" Uraraka asked, bouncing slightly as she walked.
"I want to be a hero."
"Same! Well, obviously, we're all here for that." She laughed at herself. "But like, was there a specific hero that inspired you or anything?"
"No."
Most people would've let the conversation die there. Uraraka didn't even slow down.
"That's fine too! Iida-kun, what about you? Was it Ingenium?"
"Naturally!" Iida's arm chopped the air again. "My brother is the hero I admire most. His commitment to public safety and his disciplined approach to heroism are qualities I strive to embody every single day."
"That's so sweet! Deku-kun, what about you?"
Midoriya flinched at being addressed. His eyes darted to Ren, then back to Uraraka. "A-All Might. Since I was little."
"Classic!" Uraraka said. "I mean, who doesn't love All Might? He's just so... him, you know?"
Iida nodded vigorously. "All Might is an exemplary symbol of what heroism should represent. His dedication to—"
"Iida-kun, you're doing the speech thing again."
"My apologies."
Ren walked with them. Midoriya stayed quiet beside him, listening to Uraraka and Iida go back and forth about hero rankings and whether Present Mic counted as a combat hero or a support hero. Every now and then Midoriya's eyes would drift over to Ren and then drift away again.
They didn't peel away from him. None of them flinched.
Strange.
---
Class 1-A. Last period.
The door opened and All Might walked in.
"I AM HERE! COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!"
The class lost it. Kaminari said "no way" loud enough for three rooms. Kirishima grabbed his desk. Uraraka's hands went to her face.
Ren watched him. The man whose three-hour timer he had mapped down to the minute.
"Today's lesson is FOUNDATIONAL HERO STUDIES!" All Might walked to the lectern. "I'll be putting you through BATTLE TRAINING!"
He held up a card that said BATTLE in bold letters.
"But first!" He pressed a button. Panels in the wall slid open. Numbered cases. One per student. "YOUR HERO COSTUMES!"
"Get changed and meet me at GROUND BETA!"
---
Changing room.
Kirishima was yelling. "BRO THIS IS SO MANLY." He held up something red and jagged.
Kaminari had a jacket with a lightning bolt. "I look so cool. Someone take a picture."
Iida was examining the joints of his armour. Todoroki put on his white and blue outfit without a word. Bakugo's costume was black and orange with grenade gauntlets. He strapped them on and clenched both fists. Small explosions popped from his palms. He grinned.
Midoriya's was green. Full body suit, hood with two points. He was pulling at the fit, muttering.
Ren opened his case.
Black suit. Tailored three-piece. White dress shirt. Dark tie. Shoes polished to a mirror finish.
He stripped off his school shirt and reached for the dress shirt.
"Holy shit, Asano." Kirishima had stopped mid-comb. He was staring. "Dude, you're fucking built."
The changing room looked over.
Ren stood there bare-chested, 138 kilos of reinforced muscle on a six-four frame. His abs were carved. His shoulders were wide enough that the standard school shirt had been straining at the seams for weeks. Every muscle group defined and visible.
"I train," Ren said, and put on the shirt.
"You TRAIN? Bro, I train. Sato trains. Whatever you're doing is something else." Kirishima shook his head. "What's your routine? Actually, don't tell me. I'll get depressed."
Ren buttoned the shirt. Put on the jacket. Knotted the tie without thinking. His hands knew the motion.
He looked in the mirror on the inside of the case door.
Yellow eyes under dark hair pushed back. Sharp jaw. The suit fit him naturally. The tie was straight. The collar was sharp.
He reached into the bottom of the case. Foam cutout. White label. UA Support Department. Reinforced carbon fibre. Custom order. Collapsible. Procurement form signed by Principal Nezu.
The decoy gavel. The one on file.
He picked it up. Compact in its retracted form. Slid it into the interior pocket of the jacket. It fit. Nezu had sent the measurements that morning.
The real gavel, the one made of cursed energy, the one that dissolved after use and left only impact craters, would manifest inside the coat when he needed it. Same pocket. Same hand. Nobody would see the difference.
The changing room had gone quieter around him. Heads turning.
Kirishima was staring again. Costume half-on, comb frozen in his hand.
"Bro. You look like you're about to send someone to prison."
Ren adjusted his cuffs.
"That's the idea."
---
Ground Beta. Sunlight. Twenty costumes in a loose crowd.
All Might stood at the front. His eyes swept the group. Landed on Ren for a second longer than anyone else.
Moved on.
"Time to draw lots for your teams!"
Team A: Midoriya and Uraraka.
Team B: Asano and Sero.
Team C: Todoroki and Shoji.
Team D: Bakugo and Iida.
Team E: Kirishima and Tsuyu.
Team F: Aoyama and Ojiro.
Team G: Kaminari and Jiro.
Team H: Yaoyorozu and Tokoyami.
Team I: Sato and Hagakure.
Team J: Mina and Koda.
Sero Hanta. He looked at Ren and gave a thumbs up.
"Yo. Nice suit."
"Thanks."
"We're gonna crush it."
Ren nodded.
All Might pulled out the first matchup card.
"FIRST BATTLE! Team A as heroes versus Team D as villains!"
Midoriya and Uraraka vs Bakugo and Iida.
Ren watched Bakugo's face. The jaw tightened. The hands sparked. The eyes found Midoriya across the crowd and locked on.
Canon was happening.
He leaned against the wall. Folded his arms. The gavel sat against his ribs.
He'd watch this one.
---
Leave a comment and all that.
Me and the boys have been patrolling the city looking for signs of cliffhanger-kun's disciples. We've had reports that they're searching for an artifact called the "Inverted Spear of Heaven." If they find it, they could free their master from the prison realm. We must stop them at all costs.