In the end, the decision to attend Shiketsu came down to three reasons: One, it'd remove you further from the influence of your father. Two, it'd let you grow independent of your brother, away from the family quarrels that were inevitably going to happen.
And three, the uniforms straight up looked the best.
If there's something a hero needs to consider, it's presentation. It was your father's biggest weakness, after all. Though he's competent and powerful, his personality was not just rotten, it was abhorrent.
The dress code was also a lot less strict than people thought. In the end, the hat is the only thing truly required of the uniform. Any modifications for custom purposes under said hat, as long as they weren't excessively embarrassing for the school, were fine.
Luckily, your quirk made it easy to modify the costume to your liking.
This left one thing to do. Make a good first impression. No standing in front of the principal holding a speech. No messing around. All you got were the instructions to go to your classroom on your first day, and that's what you were going to do.
Shiketsu looked more like a prison than a school from the outside. You could see students, likely upperclassmen, running laps around the building. A man stood in front of the gate with a wooden sword, looking at his watch.
You wanted to call it cliché, but that'd be admitting to reading trashy high school manga at night when everyone else is asleep.
The directions shouldn't be too hard to follow. The big gates were left behind you and the already imposing school building became larger and larger. The interior was not as spartan as you had initially expected. The first thing you saw were pictures.
Hundreds of pictures. Various people with big smiles, wearing the Shiketsu hats. Some of them you recognized as pro heroes. Edgeshot's hairdo hasn't changed in years. Mirko's arrogant grin was still the same. It gave a sense of awe.
Someone stepped up next to you. He towered above you, wearing the same uniform. A student, just like you.
"It's quite something, isn't it?" he asked. You nodded. His voice suddenly got loud. "Let me introduce myself! Yoarashi Inasa, at your service!"
It took you a moment to realize that he hasn't aimed his rather impressive and weighty bowing into the wrong direction, but that he had bowed to the wall of pictures. He straightened his back, then bowed to you as well before raising his hand.
Obnoxious and loud? Yet, he was strangely polite. You took his hand, smiling.
"Nice to meet you," you said. "I'm Todoroki Rin."
He blinked, his grip tightening slightly. You pretended not to notice when his gaze darkened. Your hair was mostly white, with a few red highlights here and there, so you couldn't fault people for not immediately recognizing you.
But that reaction wasn't the usual one. Some people got more respectful, some people got overly friendly. You haven't met one person except your brother that could make an expression like that when thinking about your father.
That sort of twisted disdain, not unlike your father's expressions when he saw the rest of the family.
"I see," he said. His grip loosened. "I'm sorry, but I hate you."
You blinked, your smile weakening. "I see."
You could guess why, so there wasn't any need to bring it up right now. Perhaps when the day was over. You still had a class to attend to, after all.
"My class is 1-1," you said. "What's yours?"
He didn't seem very interested in talking anymore. You shrugged, following after him after taking a quick look at the letter again. There was still some time to kill, but the tense atmosphere was infectious. Inasa in particular stood out, and his sour expression made people think twice about approaching him.
That's too bad, you thought you could bond over dear old dad. It doesn't look like he wants to be friends. By the time the bell rang, everyone had grabbed a random seat. The class was… not big.
Ten people, rather than the usual twenty plus in most schools. A man stood behind the desk in the front of the room. He was thin, hunched over and all around looked like a pushover. The class stood up.
"W-Welcome to Shiketsu," he said, his gaze lingering on Inasa's massive figure. "I'm your homeroom teacher, Onodera Tanaka. I'm here to make you successful pro heroes, please let us treat each other well."
While he looks like a pushover, he does talk like someone reliable. The class bowed. "Please treat us well."
"Shiketsu's approach in training heroes is slightly different to other schools. We're working on a basis called the mentorship program. Due to the smaller amount of students, we wish to give younger students the chance to reach for the stars. As such, you'll have an upperclassman assigned as your mentor. This mentor will take responsibility for you during joint classes, so please don't make it too difficult for them."
The class nodded. You realize that picking a school based on the dress code didn't mean that you shouldn't investigate what classes said school offered.
"Of course," Onodera-sensei said. "That doesn't mean you're going to be cut off from people of your age. I want you to introduce yourself, as well as your quirks. We're going to start in the back.
Inasa coughed. His earlier grimace turned into a massive smile. If he wasn't so good at making it look friendly, you would've thought it was a threat.
"Yoarashi Inasa, at your service! My quirk allows me to use powerful gusts of wind, at the registration office it was given the name Whirlwind! It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance!"
Breaking the metaphorical ice, the rest of the class proceeded to introduce themselves in order. Mikayama Mikata, Urushi Karuto, Hibari Otome, Jagashi Yuri, Onoda Kyouya, Nise Hiro, Jousho Nido, Seikatsu Sekai-
You couldn't really be bothered to listen to each description of their quirks. You're sure if it's important, you'll remember.
That's when your turn came.
"I'm Todoroki Rin," you said. Inasa's gaze was digging into your back. "My quirk was named Rime. It allows me to draw moisture from the air and freeze it into a sheet of ice around my body."
People were staring. As if they expected something more. The sheet's sturdy and you could punch pretty hard-
"I," you began again. "I can also make the air around me sparkle?"
"Thank you," Onodera-senai said, saving you from stammering on. "Now that we're acquaintanced with each other, there's only one more thing to do. Your mentors will pick you up here when it's time to go to the entrance ceremony. I understand that this might be a bit backwards compared to other schools, but due to time constraints, we've decided to do it this way. Take that time to talk with each other, you're going to be classmates for three more years after all."
He left the classroom. Everyone sat down again, Inasa's chair screaming at the sudden weight. As curious as you were about him, someone who could make an expression like your father was hard to approach.
#########
You have some time to meet your classmates before your mentor will pick you up, and the ceremony starting. Inasa didn't look like the best choice right now and might take longer than you have time. In the rushed period before the entrance ceremony, getting to know people who might not hate your guts would be preferable. Pick 3.
[] Mikayama Mikata
A girl with black hair and weird eyes. They occasionally glowed in different colors. She looked rather comfortable, unlike some others.
[] Urushi Karuto
That boy was shiny. His skin made him look like a puppet, varnished to shine. After the teacher had left, he put his head on the table, dozing off.
[] Hibari Otome
Feathers were stuck in her hair. You can see small wings growing out of her back, not big enough to let her fly, but she might be able to glide some with strong upwind.
[] Jagashi Yuri
Her namesake was sitting in her hair, on top of a hairpin. She looked regal, kind of like the oujo-sama kind of character in those manga you're not reading at night after you didn't secretly borrow them from your brother.
[] Onoda Kyouya
A taller boy. Not quite like Inasa, but still noticeable. He was much thinner, though, kind of like a beanstalk.
[] Nise Hiro
Plain. There was no other word. And yet, despite that plainness, he had this strange air around him that made him stand out. Perhaps an effect of his quirk?
[] Jousho Nido
The girl didn't look like anything special. She was a bit hyperactive, but also looked like a fish out of water. She was looking around a lot, as if something was tapping her shoulders.
[] Seikatsu Sekai.
Callused hands and a stout frame. His hair was leafgreen and his skin much more tanned than you were used to. Everything about him said 'hard worker'.
