Part 1: Beginnings Arc

Chapter 1- Ambition

What is a hero?

It seems like a stupid question at first, a hero is somebody who uses their Quirk to beat villains, rescue people and be generally upstanding and inspiring members of society.

But those are only the surface qualities that people think of, in truth, there is a lot more somebody needs to be a hero. A positive attitude, charisma, and a heroic and powerful quirk, and that last category is where I fall short. My Quirk is powerful enough, but heroic? Definitely not.

I got a little ahead of myself there, let me take a step back for a second.

My name is Hitoshi Shinso, and ever since my Quirk manifested I was told by everybody around me that I would be a perfect villain. My Quirk, Brainwashing, lets me assume control of anybody if they reply to anything that I say. I can't blame all the people who told me I'd be a good villain, they aren't wrong, and I'd probably make the same assumptions if I ran into somebody with my Quirk.

Despite all that, I had always wanted to be a hero. Even before my Quirk had manifested I had spent days imagining what my Quirk would be, and how I would use it to beat the villains that seemed all too common, even with All Might around. I was so focused on that dream, even at that young age. Then my Quirk manifested.

Was I disappointed? A little.

It wasn't the kind of Quirk a hero would have, and despite the assurances from my parents and family that I could still do a lot of good with that Quirk, I couldn't help but feel that my dream of being a hero had been eroded a little with the discovery of my Quirk.

That said, I am still determined to be the best hero I can, no matter what people say about my Quirk. I guess that's why I applied to UA, to prove that I could be a hero as good as those with the right Quirks. I know it's not going to be easy, but I'm not going to let that slow me down.

No matter what, I will become a hero.

I looked up from the note I had written, still not entirely sure why I had written it. It seemed like a good idea at the time, a way to remove some of my stress from my body and mind by writing down my frustrations. After a few seconds of contemplation, I screwed the note up and threw it into the small bin that sat beside my desk.

Though airing my frustrations was probably a good idea I didn't realise how in depth I would go, and I seemed to get a little carried away. I didn't hate my Quirk exactly, but I couldn't help but be jealous of my classmates who were blessed with Super-Strength, Fire Manipulation or other flashy and 'heroic' Quirks. And whether or not they were judging me consciously or not, I always saw the subtle change in body language and demeanour that would come over any of my classmates that learned of my Quirk, and I could tell they were afraid of me using my Quirk on them.

Despite all that I refused to let other people's perceptions of me stop me from becoming a hero, and so I worked as hard as I could to prepare myself for the career that I had always dreamed about. And all the effort came to a head today, the UA High School practical entrance exam.

I had taken the written exam for the Hero Course yesterday, and the exam for General Studies the week before that. Both written exams were far from easy, but I hoped that I had managed well enough to earn a passing grade. I had no real desire to enter the General Studies course, but I was well aware of my Quirk's limitations and I knew that having a backup plan was a sensible precaution to take, and if the worst happened, General Studies at UA was still a prestigious course. Besides, a distant relative who had passed through General Studies told me that any student who excelled in their studies had the opportunity to move up to the Hero Course, so even if I didn't make it in initially, I still had other opportunities.

Despite that, the thought of failing to make my way in UA's Hero Course churned my stomach in ways that I hadn't quite expected. I knew that failure was always a possibility in life, and I'm not foolish enough to think that good intentions are the only thing needed to make it into UA, but the idea of falling short of such a monumental goal sent a shot of fear into my system.

The clock on my desk turned over to 8AM, and I knew that I couldn't afford to delay myself any further. When I took the written test in my Middle School yesterday I had received a letter telling me to be present at UA campus at exactly 9AM, and I had also received a small pass badge, which would let me through the apparently high-tech security system that the school boasted.

I grabbed the bag that contained the 'sportswear' that we had been told to bring and exited my bedroom, pausing only to throw a small glance at the crumpled note that I had thrown aside. Before I could become caught up in the emotion that that note contained I closed the door behind me and, clenching my fists, I made to leave towards the exam that would decide my future.

I was the only one home right now, my younger siblings were on their way to school already, and my mother had left for work, having wished me luck the night before. As for my Father, he had passed away about 9 years ago, having been killed in an attack by a villain that was randomly terrorizing people on the street before being taken down by All Might. Though thinking of him was still a painful experience, it had been a long time ago, and though none of my family could ever really move past something like that, we at least managed to get on with our lives. Of course, it was still a painful experience to think of him, and certain days would always be harder than others, but I always strived to do him proud and honour his memory, and that motivation kept me from being caught up in my own grief for too long. In a strange way I way grateful that my siblings were too young to remember much about him, as I would have hated to have seen them go through the same grief my mother and I did..

Thinking of my parents led me to thinking of their Quirks, my Mother, Jōnetsu Shinso, had a Quirk called 'Empath' which allowed her to read the emotions of anybody she wished; and so she used her Quirk to earn a good living as a psychologist, and my younger sister, Maindo Shinso, had inherited this Quirk from her. My Father, Miryoku Shinso, possessed a Quirk called 'Mesmerize' which let him hold people's attention and made him far more persuasive than the average person, and he had used this Quirk to make a career in Sales, my younger brother, Karisuma Shinso, had inherited some variation of this Quirk as well.

Somehow the combination of these two Quirks had led to me gaining the 'Brainwashing' Quirk, something far more strange and powerful than the sum of its parts. Though I understood how two mental-based Quirks could combine to create another mental-based Quirk, I still didn't fully understand the genetics behind Quirks; no one really did for that matter, but maybe UA could shed some light on that as well.

I shrugged my shoulders and briefly glanced in the hallway mirror to check my appearance, and after another futile attempt to tame my messy purple hair I just shrugged again and left as quickly as I could, as ready as I could ever be to take on the infamous UA practical exam.

The bus I had barely caught was full to the brim with people, but I somehow managed to find a seat, albeit an extremely cramped one, as the occupant next to me had some kind of mutation Quirk that gave him six arms, reducing the space available for me somewhat.

The boy with six arms seemed to notice my discomfort somewhat and moved his arms out of the way, which I murmured my thanks for. I then watched with only barely disguised fascination as he lifted one of the extra limbs he possessed, the end of which quickly formed into a mouth that faced towards me.

"So, are you going to UA?" He asked, his head facing towards me with an expression hidden by a cloth mask and angular hair.

"How did you work that out?" I asked, still amazed by his Quirk, though Quirks were commonplace in our superhuman society it was still an impressive ability.

"You're dressed in a school uniform on a Saturday and carrying a sports bag." He said, the mouth on his arm talking while his actual face stayed still "Same as me." He gestured to his uniform from a school I didn't know and the bag at his feet.

"So, I guess you're here for the physical exam then?" I asked, and after he nodded to the affirmative I continued "Any idea what we're up against?"

"Unfortunately, I haven't any idea" He replied, his seemingly stoic demeanour briefly giving way to some anxiety in his expression "I've heard from previous graduates that it changes every year, sometimes you're fighting each other, sometimes you fight in groups against low-level pros, it seems to be totally random every year."

"Hopefully it's something I can use my Quirk against." I muttered, unsure as to why I would bring up my Quirk when talking to somebody I had just met "Some scenarios work against me."

"What is your Quirk anyway?" he asked, "I'm sure you can guess what mine is."

"It's called Brainwashing." I answered, looking to the ground to avoid the judgemental expression I would surely receive "It lets me assume control of anybody who replies to something I say."

I waited for the inevitable comments to arrive, telling me how creepy and villainous my quirk was, perhaps with an additional shocked look as whoever I was talking to contemplated the possibility that I would use my Quirk on them.

"Sounds like it could be useful." He said, "I suppose it all depends on whether or not you can get them talking?"

Those words shocked me, and when I looked up to see the same stoic expression I was talking to just a few moments ago I was even more shocked. I was so used to having people react poorly upon hearing about my Quirk that it came as a genuine surprise that somebody would react so nonchalantly towards me.

"I guess so." I replied, still a little taken aback "At the very least I can count on the fact that most villains aren't too smart, so I should be able to trick them."

"Maybe." He muttered, seemingly deep in thought "The only issue is that people will learn more about your Quirk as you become more famous."

"I don't have any desire to be famous." I shrugged "Anyway, what's your Quirk? I can see the extra arms, but are there any other aspects to it?"

"It's called Dupli-Arms." He said, shaking me from my train of thought "It lets me replicate any appendage on the end of my arms, even other arms."

"You could do a lot with that." I noted, though I thought that improved physical strength would be the best use of that Quirk in this upcoming exam. "I guess you're hoping for something that you can use your enhanced strength on in this test?"

"Of course." He replied, pausing for a few seconds before continuing "I should introduce myself, I'm Mezo Shoji." He held out a hand for me to shake.

"Hitoshi Shinso." I answered, taking the offered limb and shaking it "Hopefully I'll see you in the Hero Course."

Something about that statement didn't quite ring true to me, it was a strange assurance for me to give to someone, as my own place within the Hero Course was far from a certain thing, and I didn't intend on making promises I couldn't keep. I was certain enough that Shoji would be able to earn a place in the peak of UA's heroics program, but my own future was far less certain.

It looked like Shoji was going to say something else but something he saw in the window behind me caught his attention instead.

"We're here."

Shoji and I were only two of many students exiting the bus to go towards UA, and he stated that he had preparations to make before disappearing into the crowd, an impressive feat given the fact that he towered over everybody else by almost a foot. I waited for the crowd to thin out before making my way towards UA.

I paused when I realised that I was stood underneath the UA archway, the great symbolism of the gate that I was about to pass under catching me off guard for a moment. Though it seemed somewhat of a strange thought, I couldn't help but think that passing under this arch would be the first step on a path that would lead to me becoming a hero. If I could just pass this exam I would prove everybody who had talked about how evil and villainous my Quirk was wrong, I would be able to show people that anybody could become a hero, no matter their power.

After a few more seconds of contemplation I steeled myself again and pushed forwards, hoping that I would be able to fulfil my dream of being a hero. It felt strange to take those first few steps onto the campus, and it was even stranger to realise that everybody else around me was a prospective hero as well. I could see the whole spectrum of emotion on the faces of the students around, from smug confidence to barely-contained nerves at the upcoming challenges.

I was lucky in this regard in that my demeanour seemed to radiate quiet disinterest, or so I was told. It wasn't really something that I did deliberately, but it seemed to be the mood my expression projected, no matter what. At the very least this kept people from bothering me during middle school, as anybody looking for someone to push around or annoy would seem to instinctively ignore me.

It was strange enough to be entering UA, to go from an ordinary middle school to one of the most prestigious schools in the country seemed like some kind of fantasy, and the fact that I had a chance to earn a place in this school was more than a little surreal. I eventually managed to overcome this sense of awe that was washing over me, and made my way towards the imposing building that was UA High.

I took notice of the various students around me, they were as varied as any other group of people after the advent of Quirks, with physical characteristics of almost indescribable diversity. There was only one commonality between them all, each and every student had an expression of utter determination and drive, an unspoken willpower to prove themselves and show that they were willing and able to prove that they deserved a space at UA. It was daunting to see such force of will amongst those I would surely be competing against, but I knew that I would have match their willpower with my own, and prove that I was just as capable as anybody else here. Setting my jaw, I kept moving forwards, thoughts of determination coursing through my mind.

Just in front of me I saw a rather strange sight, a boy with green hair floating a few inches above the ground engaged in a somewhat animated conversation with a girl who seemed to be at least partially responsible for his predicament. The strange site distracted me for a few seconds, but I realised that I stood in the grounds of UA High now, and that Quirk usage was to be expected, even in a situation as strange as this one. I shrugged my shoulders and moved on, hoping that any other strangeness would be kept to a minimum for the rest of the day.

"Hey there listeners!" A painfully loud voice called out

'Well, so much for keeping the rest of the day normal' I thought, looking at the sight of a man with a wild mohawk dressed like a Radio DJ, my confusion was compounded by the fact that he stood at the podium in the forefront of the lecture hall I was seated in, indicating that he was a member of the UA faculty.

The lecture hall itself was an expectedly grand affair, it seemed to be a fairly new building and it was currently packed with hundreds of hopeful heroes looking to get into UA. The realisation that so many people would be applying was a sobering thought indeed, and the knowledge that only 36 of the people in this room would be accepted was even more concerning.

"That's Present Mic! The Voice Hero! He has a radio show on Quirks that I listen to every day!" The sudden interruption by a student located somewhere behind me solved the mystery of who was addressing us at least, but the reply to his interruption was just as jarring.

"Shut the hell up Deku!" This second voice was almost as loud as Present Mic's, though it was filled with barely disguised anger.

I was confused about this exchange, it seemed that two of the students had already made enemies of each other. I wasn't sure about who they were or what had caused the latter's outburst, but I could only hope that I would be able to avoid whoever the latter student was, as such a loud and aggressive personality would surely grate on me.

Most of the students within the lecture hall just shrugged at this disruption and faced towards Present Mic again, who wore the same wide grin he had been toting since the start of the speech.

"Let me explain the task that you aspiring young heroes will be undertaking today!" He yelled, his voice seeming the reach every corner of the room without any difficulty "You will be conducting ten-minute urban battles against faux villains, who will be worth 1, 2 and 3 points."

This didn't sound too bad, my only concern was that I struggled to use my Quirk against groups of people, but at least I would be able to beat the high scorers fairly easily.

"And what are these faux villains I hear you ask?" Mic yelled, apparently unaware that nobody had asked a question like that aloud "In previous years we would use volunteers to give you a real-life challenge. But this year we have upgraded! We now use combat robots to provide a consistent challenge to all applicants."

Shit

The word 'Robots' rang around my head, in the space of a few seconds my prospects of passing this test went from decent to practically zero. I briefly debated walking out of the exam hall right there and then, but something compelled me to remain. Even though I knew that my chances were practically zero, I felt that I had to try and pass the exam, no matter how small my chances were.

Despite this resolve I was trying to muster, I couldn't help but feel that my prospects of being a hero had already been crushed. The sudden interruption by a tall student with a stern voice faded into the background of my mind. All of the comments I had heard in the past about my Quirk seemed to come to the forefront of my mind again, and above all else, one thought burned in my mind.

I'm so screwed.

The rest of the lecture from Present Mic seemed to pass me by nearly instantly, I was far too absorbed in my own worry to really pay attention to what he was saying. Though I did notice the picture of a giant robot that was being emphasised as an impassable obstacle in the trial, which only added to my woes.

We were then given a small piece of paper which denoted which battle zone we would be participating in, and we were then instructed to change into our sportswear and board busses that would take us to our battle zone. I walked down the corridors of UA towards the changing rooms, barely even registering the crowd around me. I was too busy trying to think of a way to take these robots down, but no matter what kind of strategy I came up with I always came to the same conclusion:

These robots were designed to test the strength of potential student's Quirks, and I would be essentially without a Quirk for this battle. There was no way I could beat these machines.

I was so absorbed by this fact that I barely even noticed when a large figure clad in black stepped in front of me. I only registered the figure when it spoke.

"Hitoshi Shinso?" He asked, I looked up to see an impassive face with tired eyes. Not giving me a chance to respond he turned around and started to walk down a deserted side corridor "Follow me."

After a second's hesitation I realised that this figure was likely a member of UA faculty, so I obeyed his command and rushed to catch up with him, unsure of exactly where I was headed.

After several minutes of silent walking we arrived at a small door that the teacher opened and entered, gesturing for me to follow him in. The interior of the room was a small office, nothing to indicate the illustrious status of a UA teacher was present in the room at all. The only notable feature of the office was a large desk in the centre, with a chair either side of the desk and a computer facing towards one of the chairs, which the teacher sat in.

"Sit." He said, gesturing to the other chair.

I sat down opposite him and waited for whatever it was that he wanted. Several awkward seconds passed before I finally spoke up.

"I'm not sure why I'm here but I need to know how long this is going to take? I have to take the practical entrance exam?" I said, hoping that I wasn't speaking out of turn at all.

"You're not going to take that exam." He murmured, sounding bored and exhausted "It's not like you have any chance of passing anyway."

Hearing that spoken out loud was like a punch in the gut, made all the worse by the fact that I knew he was right, I had just been in denial about that fact. Several more seconds passed again, and I found myself unable to meet my gaze in my embarrassment, so I just stared at the floor between my feet.

"I should introduce myself." The teacher said, catching my attention "My name is Shota Aizawa, I'm a teacher here at UA High."

"I'm…" he cut me off with a wave of his hand.

"I know who you are, I read your application from Middle School." He held up the file he was talking about "I admit, it caught my eye, it's the only reason you're sitting here right now."

My face inadvertently twisted into a look of mild curiosity, but I stayed quiet, sensing that he had more to say.

"Your teachers from Middle School describe you as 'Driven, intelligent and well rounded'. From what I can tell, you are just the kind of student we would want at UA, except for one thing. Your Quirk." He seemed to be gauging my response to what he had said, after seeing whatever he was looking for, he continued "If anything, this shows how irrational the acceptance process at UA is, it holds people back just because of their Quirk, even someone who would be an ideal student."

"Fortunately for you, UA allows a great deal of freedom in how it's teachers run their classes, including which students they want in their classes." He mumbled, blinking his tired eyes "I'm going to offer you an opportunity, but I need to be sure it's worth my time."

Aizawa's phrasing and general demeanour threw me off somewhat, as it was highly unusual to see somebody from UA's prestigious faculty act in such a bored and flippant manner. If I had been presented the scene in front of me without context, I would have assumed that I was dealing with some kind of bored government bureaucrat, not a Pro Hero that worked for UA. I found myself unsure of how to present myself to this strange man, as I didn't know how he would react.

In the end I nodded, but said nothing, as I was still unsure as to where he was headed with this.

"I can see that you have a powerful Quirk, but that's not all that matters." He said, putting away the file he was holding "Have you done any combat training?"

"No Sir." I replied, feeling that I was being accused of something "I've always just used my Quirk, I didn't see a need for combat training."

"I see, that wouldn't have done you any good today though." He said, a slight look of disappointment in his eyes "A good hero isn't a one trick pony, you need to be able to perform your heroic duties no matter what, so you can't rely on just your Quirk."

"I see, I'll keep that in mind Sir." I answered, keeping my voice as calm and level as possible. "What exactly is your proposition Sir?"

"I think you have potential, to that end I am offering you another chance to enter the Hero Course." He said, seemingly somewhat motivated for the first time. "UA's entrance exams take place earlier than most schools, so we have a little over 3 months before the term starts, that should be enough time."

"Enough time for what Sir?" I asked hesitantly, though something in my mind told me I already knew.

"I will put you through an intensive training course between now and the beginning of UA's first term. If you exceed my expectations and do well enough in this training I will grant you a space on the hero course."

The offer he had just given me stunned me into silence, it was everything I had ever wanted being offered to me, how could I not accept?

"You better wipe that look off your face." Aizawa said, a somewhat sadistic grin creeping along his face "This isn't going to be ordinary training, I will put you through hell every day for the next three months, and if you slack off or fail to meet my standards, I'll cut you from the course and find someone else. Don't take this lightly."

"What kind of training are you talking about?" I asked, slightly fearful of the warning I had just been given.

"Every kind you can think of." He answered, his face returning to his usual bored expression "You need to be fully capable of fighting villains without your Quirk, so we will be focusing on physical strength and technique, but you will undergo just about every type of training you can imagine."

"Your schedule won't be pleasant." He continued, reaching for a piece of paper and scribbling down what I assumed would be the timetable for the next few months of my life "We will start every day at 4AM until 8AM, once you have finished the school day we will training again from 4PM until 8PM. I will be setting you assignments to be done overnight as well, so don't expect to get to sleep before 10PM. We begin tomorrow as well, so I hope you didn't make any plans over the weekend."

I balked at this, but if it was my only chance of entering the hero course I knew I had no choice but to accept. In my mind I knew that a few months of hardship were worth the chance to become a hero, no matter how small that chance was.

"You're still here." He noted "Good, the fact you haven't walked out by now tells me that you at least have resolve. So, are you ready to accept this training?"

"Thank you for the offer Sir." I said, one small thought holding me back "But I need to know, why are you doing this for me?"

"Who knows?" He said, a slightly wistful look in his eyes "You know, when I applied to UA I had to fight robots I couldn't use my Quirk against as well, so I had to work my way up from General Studies to get to the Hero Course. Maybe that's why."

That surprised me as well, I didn't recognise Aizawa as a pro hero at all, and I realised I had no idea what his Quirk was. The implication of his words was clear enough though, and it wiped away the last few doubts I had about accepting his offer.

"Ok." I said, feeling a new determination in my mind "I accept your offer Mr. Aizawa. I promise I'll do my best to get through this training!"

"I'll need more than your best kid." He said, standing up to leave the room "But this is a start."

Author's Note

Hello all, I hope you all enjoyed this first Chapter of Mind over Matter, a story which is essentially asking- What if Shinso was in Class 1A?

I'm not entirely sure what motivated me to make this story, but I do know that Shinso is one of my favourite characters in the show. I find his character to be really interesting, and his situation of being somebody with an 'evil' Quirk who wants to be a hero is a great conflict that could make him main character material, which is what I'm doing here.

That said, the end of this chapter makes it clear that Shinso has a massive task ahead of him if he wants to make it to the Hero Course, and his training begins next chapter.

Unfortunately, that does mean that somebody has to be rotated out of Class 1A. I did at first debate making the class 21 students but due to the fact that so many trials involve the characters pairing up that became a somewhat impractical solution.

I did spend a good bit of time agonising over which character to remove, but I eventually landed on Sato. Mineta seemed like the obvious choice at first but that seemed a little bit too obvious, and I'm aware that this character does have his fans. Koda and Hagakure were also in the running but after reading a few too many UA Traitor theories I'm convinced it's one of those two, so removing them seemed a bit too risky. If Sato is revealed to be the traitor and then receives tonnes of developments making him one of the best characters in the show then I guess I'll have a lot of work to do, but he is currently the most uninteresting student in the class to me, and so he was rotated out.

Though Shinso's appearances in the anime and manga have been fairly brief so far I'll try to stay as true to his character as I can. Though being in Class 1A from the start will obviously affect his development as a character, but I'll try to develop him in sensible ways, including conjuring up a backstory for him. Again, he had practically no backstory at the time this was written, so in the likely even that what I have written is contradicted later on, just remember I wrote this story before all that came to light.

This story is going to be updated on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, so I'll see you all tomorrow for the next chapter.

(Also, you can check out my other story, The Faceless Alchemist, if you are a FullMetal Alchemist fan. I've had issues with updating it recently, but normal updating will resume next week.)