Chapter 15: Immersion

It was bad enough that Tenko was going to have to see that creep Kai Chisaki on occasion, but that was only one of the strikes against this program that was putting him through school. He could understand why the heroes of U.A. wouldn't consider the education he had received from Garaki and All-for-One as valid, but he didn't really need another one.

He had decided early on that he would simply ace all of their stupid tests and prove that he had the skills to finish his general diploma early. But strikes two and three were really bothering him. Strike two was the damned uniform. He hadn't expected them to actually demand that he outfit himself in the school uniform.

It was uncomfortable and hot. He pulled at the collar irritably as he gazed down at the standard outfit, which very much made him feel like he had been branded yet another cog in the great machine of society, his look now matching every other little bee buzzing around him. Conformity had never really been Tenko's thing, and it sucked.

The third strike was the class itself, of course. All around him kids much younger than him stared at the awkward old guy who was somehow attending their class. Maybe he was imagining what they thought of him, but the stares were certainly real, and that made him want to start shouting at them to mind their own damn business.

Before he had the chance to lose his cool and get himself in trouble with the heroes watching over the class, most of his classmates shifted their attention away from him as Bubaigawara Jin entered the room, the middle-aged man causing quite the stir from his appearance alone, never mind the fact that Twice wouldn't stop prattling away.

Tenko put his hand on his face, slouching defeatedly into his desk as he sat. He still couldn't believe that were actually going to let him wear that ridiculous mask to class. He has to wear a uniform to fit in, but Jin gets to dress like sort of BDSM sub? What the hell? It was only made more comical by the fact that the older man was otherwise sporting the same school outfit.

Which of course also looked really out of place, a full-grown man sporting a school uniform and sitting with kids half his age. Not that Tenko had many stones to throw in that department, since he himself stuck out like a sore thumb.

Of course, Jin didn't bat an eye at the situation, though, the captured villain cheerily greeting everyone with the same excitement and gusto he always displayed when meeting new people. From his demeanor and tone, it was as if nothing at all was strange with the situation, though the fact that his personalities both gave input visibly worried the surrounding youths.

"Hi there, nice to meet you! We'll be rivals! Let's all study and do our best! School is boring!"

Tenko let out a slow sigh as he leaned his face on one palm, leaning into the top of his wooden desk and watching Jin's doomed attempts at appealing for friendship. Not many people understood Jin, and few could, because with an overbearing personality like that, almost no one was going to want to hang around him.

He let his gaze travel the room, noting that the few whom had been looking his way to get a feel for the new arrival looked away when they noticed he was looking back. Not that Tenko had anything to say on making new friends. He could tell already that the kids around him weren't interested in knowing him either.

After so many years of isolation, it was rather hard for Tenko to relate to any of them. Maybe that was why he could be Jin's friend but not theirs. Jin... Toga... Shuichi... they were all at least a little broken, just like him. They could see it in each other, maybe that was why they could understand each other so well.

As he eyes moved over to Toga, he almost chuckled to see that Vlad was standing within arm's reach of her. Maybe some of them were a little more broken than others. All of their hero guard dogs were escorting them to their general classes, but only the big dark haired one stood so close to his charge. Not that he was wrong to do so.

Of all of the League convicts in the room, she was the one most likely to do something impulsive, reckless and perhaps dangerous to others. Vlad stood in a manner that suggested he was only quietly and casually resting against the wall. He even had his arms folded over his chest and his eyes closed as if nearly dozing.

Tenko wasn't fooled for a second, though. He could tell that the blood hero was watching her like a hawk. If she reached out towards anyone, he'd probably restrain her first and then ask what she was doing. It made Tenko a little mad for some reason, even though he knew that the reasoning behind it matched her temperament well enough.

Shimura Tenko had never had the opportunity to go to school. The events that had slain his family and sent him careening into the waiting arms of All-for-One had happened before he had been old enough to enter grade school. Shortly after being taken in by the original Shigaraki, Dr. Garaki Kyudai had taken over for his educational needs.

The scientist had been an enthused and brilliant instructor, and the fact that he taught Tenko one on one meant that the boy grew to have an excellent opportunity for advancement in academic learning. Tenko was more than bright enough to keep up, too, though his recent tragedy had left him rather morose.

Not being anywhere near as excited to excel as Kyudai was, Tenko had become a well-learned child but never pushed himself to go beyond that, despite the doctor's consistent pushes for him to become more inquisitive. He found more and more as he got older that escapism was far more enjoyable than trying to apply himself to the shitty world he lived in.

He spent more and more time reading fantasy books and playing video games as he grew, enjoying how he could almost forget the horrible existence that he truly had for a while at a time and instead pretend he was somewhere else. Video games had the strongest appeal, since playing them tended to pull all of his focus away from life entirely.

The twenty-year old villain-turned-student gave the classroom around him a flat, bored stare as their teacher began the lesson proper. He already knew almost everything that he saw in the text book that he had leafed through before class, so really these classes were going to be one long test of patience after the other.

Spending time reading manga as a child had always painted school life to be an exciting time in the development of a young adult, and a part of Tenko had even yearned to have the opportunity to participate in the common and mundane activity. Now that he was sitting in it, though, it didn't seem to have so much glamour.

Deciding that he would pass the time doodling in his notepad, Tenko carefully drew out plans for the ultimate build for his barbarian destroyer for the game Utter Desolation 3 as the hours whiled by. He drew plenty of stick figure drawings of his post-apocalyptic warrior smashing things in the margins to embellish the overall work.

Before he knew it, the class was swapping out, and a new teacher was taking the place of the last one. He pulled out the text book for the second class and looked through it, seeing that the subject had now shifted to Math. He was surprised to see that the formulas in the text were rather advanced for the grade they were in, though they were known to him.

He frowned, scratching at his chin. Now that he thought about it, the other textbook had seemed a little heavy for the first year of high school too. Clearly U.A. had standards so high that even the education Garaki had given him might be tested by his final year. At that point he would likely even have to study. Tenko smirked; all along he had thought hero schools were just spitting out muscle-bound thugs.

The next class came and went, and Shimura made his way to the designated cafeteria where he was told they would be sharing lunch with the entirety of the school. They had received a tour of the place the previous evening, so he knew exactly where to go without having to ask. The heroes wanted them to be as comfortable as possible, they said.

He scowled as he glanced over his shoulder to see that Toshinori was doing an awful job as usual trying to look inconspicuous as he tailed Tenko. They supposedly wanted him to relax into this new setting, but being hounded by heroes had them all on edge...

Tenko frowned as he watched Jin happily greet every new person he met with his never-ending enthusiasm to varying results. Well, almost all of them... Toga laughed as she bounced along after him, Vlad nearby but clearly letting her have more space now. Maybe he was growing more confidant that she wasn't going to attack anyone.

And then the moment he knew he couldn't avoid happened; that boy Midoriya turned to look at him and Tenko froze, glaring him down as the classmates to either side of the wielder of All-for-One tensed.

Gulping and clearing his throat, Izuku gave him a nervous smile and pointed behind himself, "H-hello... you came at a good time; Luch Rush is cooking again today. His dishes are the best, and he'll even make special orders on the fly!"

The awkward silence continued and Tenko could feel Twice and Toga walk up to flank him on either side. If he started something they would back him up. It was kind of nice to see all of the heroes in the room that had followed them tense up. This was the kid whom had given him so much trouble, always getting in his way.

"Yo! He's right; this stuff's great!" Their attention turned to Shuichi, whom sat happily munching from a tray of food, apparently having arrived in the cafeteria just before the others.

Letting out a sigh, Tenko turned and walked up to his lizard-faced friend and frowned down at him, "You need to work on reading the room..."

"Do they have sushi!?" Toga skipped over with a smile, and Jin repeated her question, clearly equally excited at the prospect.

Shuichi shrugged, "I'm not sure, but it couldn't hurt to ask? There's a lot of items on the menu I wouldn't expect, so very possible."

Those two ran off to the counter where an odd-looking hero in a chef's hat stood cooking. A respirator of some kind hid his face, but it was clear from the hero's body language that he was more than happy to help the two convicts. Tenko frowned again and moved around the table that Shuichi was sitting at to go join the others.

"I wonder if he'll do a simple burger for me?"

Behind him, Midoriya and a collective of others let out a sigh of relief. Ida Tenya, standing to Izuku's right, pushed his glasses up a little onto the bridge of his nose and shook his head, "He ignored you..."

The green-haired youth laughed nervously and rubbed at the back of his neck, "Well... I'd rather he ignores me than hold a grudge."

Uraraka Ochaco, a short brown-haired girl standing on the other side of him nodded in agreement, "I'm still reeling from when they told us they were going to be doing this. To think that is the same man whom once attacked this very school..."

Izuku watched Tenko as the gray-haired youth ordered from the cafeteria counter and chatted with his friends Toga and Jin. "I know what you mean; having the League practically all here all of a sudden, and as students no less... but I spoke to All-Might, and I think the idea behind this is sounder that it might seem at first."

Ida leaned onto one foot as the taller student rubbed at his own chin thoughtfully, "Well... It is no secret that U.A. has a security level on par even with Tartarus, and if you were going to really reform people, education isn't a bad way to go. I wonder if they will end up creating a class for the adults once this program has gotten on its feet..."

"After all, it is a little odd having middle aged men like Twice joining a student body of high schoolers. He doesn't seem to mind it, but Shigaraki probably does."

Midoriya waved a hand at Ida, "He is Shimura now, he was introduced in class as Shimura Tenko. All-Might told me that 'Shigaraki' was the name given to him by All-for-One, so we should avoid using it."

As the three sat down at their table, Uraraka made a pensive face, "Age difference aside, what about mental health? From what I've heard both Toga and Bubaigawara suffer psychological problems... is it wise to mix them with the rest of the class? I wouldn't normally have said this, but I've heard Toga has been attacking people, and Twice has been making our classmates obviously uncomfortable."

Izuku frowned as he thought, pushing food around his tray as he did so, "I think barring them from the rest might have been viewed as counter-productive to their recovery. It's all a lot to take in now, but that's because it's the first day. The students here are tough and adaptable; I think they'll become more comfortable with it in time."

"I think Ida is right too; since the largest reason this program is breaking ground here is the security and the heroes that are already present, that means there's still a lot of room to grow. I'd be surprised if they don't get their own building erected once the manpower needed to watch them and teach the rest of the class evens out."

Tenya opened his mouth to say something further but was interrupted by a loud guffawing laugh. The three of them turned to see who was making the commotion and Midoriya groaned, "Oh no..."

Monoma Neita stood next to the table that Tenko, Toga, Jin and Shuichi were seated in, the four of them looking up to see the blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy smirk down at them as he leaned into their table in a cocky fashion. All of the heroes assigned to watch the convicts were glaring daggers at Monoma, but the youth either ignored them or didn't notice.

"Well, if it isn't the League of Villains. Must be pretty hard for you all, having to join us here so humbly after being soundly defeated like that. Don't worry, considering your group's average age I'm sure that even you all will be able to manage high school, even if it must be terribly humiliating to have to attend when you're so old..."

A red-headed girl ran up behind Monoma before anyone could reply, striking the boy from behind in the back of his head hard enough to make his teeth clack together. His eyes immediately expressed fear and he cowered before her as she took hold of him bodily, dragging him away from the table.

Kendo Itsuka smiled at the convicts and waved at them with her free hand, the cheerful girl hauling Neita further away towards the table she had originated from as she spoke, "Please excuse this one; he's socially stupid."

Monoma whined as she shoved him back into his chair, but didn't make any efforts to get up, "Aw... Kendo, that's really mean..." He looked despondent, but clearly feared his classmate enough to heed her glare and stay where he was afterward.

Once again it felt like the entire room relaxed, Vlad letting out an audible sigh as the big man shook his head, muttering to himself, "I'm going to have to talk to that kid."

Tenko glared over at the young hero from class 1-B as he reached for his drink, "Did I know that fool? I do not remember ever having to fight that one, nor do I remember seeing him among the students we attacked that one time."

Jin shrugged, lifting his latex mask enough to put some food in his mouth. He was still chewing when he finally spoke, "I dunno, but the Mistress says that if anyone picks on me here, she'll spank them."

Toga smiled over at Monoma, "I think he might look pretty cute if you roughed him up a bit. Maybe he wanted you to...?"

Shuichi snorted out a laugh, "You're still just as scary as always, Toga. Nah, I don't think it would be in our best interest to fight any of these kids. You see the teach, right? I don't want to mess up this nice thing we got where we all get to chill and eat together..."

The table grew quiet as each of them considered Shuichi's words, and at last Tenko broke the silence again, "You're right. Little shit like that doesn't merit our time. And while I'm hesitant to admit it, being able to hang out with you assholes does make this whole 'rewind to school' farce a slight bit more tolerable."

Toga watched him as he spoke, her coy smile faltering a little, "It won't stay like this, will it? I mean, I'm actually the right age to be a high schooler, but they are probably going to separate us from the class and maybe each other once they get some new teachers or something, right?"

Tenko sat back, shaking his head, "I don't know. It's not really like we have much in the way of a choice, though, so why bother worrying about it?"

Shuichi looked at each of them in turn, "Maybe we could say something... tell them that we..."

An enormous roar suddenly sounded outside, with a crashing sound following it that heralded one wall of the room exploding in a shower of dust and concrete blocks. As a dark behemoth that only faintly resembled a man stood up tall within the ruined wall, the alarms for the school began to blare, and each hero in the room stepped forward to look at the unknown attacker.

Aizawa shouted out first, "It's a Nomu! Get the kids to safety!"