Chapter 44: Trial of battle (II)

A/N: The next four chapters will be flashback chapters. I realised that I missed some important information, so I decided to insert it here. The word 'battle' in the title refers to both of Shido's battles, so the title is quite fitting and not wrong.

If you can spot the important information within the flashback, I would applaud you. It would be so small that most wouldn't even realise it until you read the future chapters where I would reveal everything. The hint is found in the first part before the divider.

As people often say,'Don't do things halfway.' Since I decided to flashback already, I might as well flashback all the way.

And if you know and managed to connect all the dots, please DON'T comment on it, lest it spoil others' fun. Also, I want to see their irritated faces when they read this line. XD

But if you comment down wrongly, I'll just laugh at you. Enjoy this chapter!

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Two years ago,

"You want to be a teacher at UA? Why the sudden decision?" All Might frowned when he heard Shido's words.

"You are going to teach in UA within the next two years right? So I might as well get used to the job before helping you become a proper teacher." Shido shrugged his shoulders as he replied.

"How did you even know that?"

"Please don't ask dumb questions, Uncle Toshinori. You know that simple information like those wouldn't be able to escape my investigation skills."

All Might didn't reply and just sighed. 'This boy is just too mysterious. Even after three years of living together, I still have no idea about his true abilities or motives at all.'

"Fine, but what about Eri? What did she say about your decision?"

Shido shivered a little before replying,"She's fine with it as long as I don't decrease the time I spend with her in the future. I think she's a little too dependent on me though..." Shido mumbled the last part.

All Might just eyed him weirdly but didn't say anything. He refused to believe that Shido did not know Eri's growing feelings for him and wondered if he was rejecting reality.

'But why?' That was the question that All Might had in his head, but he pushed it aside after thinking of all the effort he would need to convince the mouse to let him in.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

"Shido said that he wants to be a teacher here? Why?" Nezu frowned when he heard All Might's words.

All Might repeated the conversation he had with Shido to Nezu, who frowned slightly after hearing their entire conversation.

"He knew about our conversation five years ago, before the both of you even met. We didn't leave a single trace of our conversation, not a single note, not a single reminder. Yet, he knew about it. This is not normal."

"Shido's ability to gather information is truly frightening. And that is why we should let him be in our sights at all times. Not counting his fighting ability, just his ability to collect information is an asset to UA." All Might continued arguing his case.

He could see that Nezu was a little reluctant to have Shido teaching in his school, which was not surprising seeing the threat that Shido poses. Even if he had worked as a 'pro hero' for the past three years, he still could not find anything about him prior to that, even after using all his connections in the entire world. It was as though Shido just suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Nezu thought about the pros and cons of having Shido teach in his school. The pros were obvious, the school would have an even higher popularity than it already had, being the mysterious rank 0 pro hero. Another pro would be that the school would be much safer with him around. Nezu didn't doubt his abilities despite being ten years old. The fact that he had safely resolved all the hero cases he participated in proved his capabilities.

However, the cons was that Shido was still suspicious. If, by any chance, Shido had malicious thoughts about UA, the school was as good as gone.

Nezu thought for a bit more as he continued sipping his coffee. All Might reverted to his lean form and didn't interrupt him.

"Sigh...all right, I will allow Shido to work here. But as an assistant teacher. Teaching and fighting are two completely different things. Even if he is good at being a pro hero, he might not be good at teaching. I will see his performance first before I decide whether he can be a teacher or not."

"Thank you Nezu. It would also help me in the future when I start teaching since I'm also...well...not very good at teaching." All Might stood up and bowed towards him.

"Don't worry about it. I'm also taking a risk here, so he is under your responsibility, all right?"

"No problem. Is there anything else that he would have to take note of when he becomes a teacher?"

"We'll tell him after he passes the test. Of course, it's just a formality, but it is still a necessary procedure to grasp an accurate analysis of his personality and abilities."

Nezu wanted a more accurate set of data of Shido since he would be teaching in his school, and he didn't want the slightest risk of Shido destroying the school or even worse, harming the students here.

"Well, I'll tell him to prepare then. If there is nothing else, I'll take my leave first. I'm still in the middle of searching for my successor." All Might sighed internally.

'Too bad Shido rejected it. He would have been a perfect vessel of One for All.'

Nezu just nodded at him before turning his attention back to the paperwork piled up on his desk.

Seeing that his objectives have been completed, he left the office and continued with his hero work, deciding to inform Shido about Nezu's decision after returning home at night.

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At night, after a nice and fulfilling dinner made by Eri, All Might told Shido about Nezu's decision, and Shido agreed without hesitation. He knew he would be able to pass both the written exam and practical exam. He could use Zafkiel to see the future, but where's the fun in that? He decided to just wing it.

After all, how hard could a written test be? He had read up on many things, and if they decided to test on any subjects like Mathematics, Sciences, English or History, he would just ace them. But he doubted that it would be anything like that. To be a teacher at UA, the most important thing would probably be 'morality'. Otherwise, the teacher would be able to influence the students in a bad way, and Nezu wouldn't appreciate it very much.

The next week, Shido went to UA to take the test.

He didn't really need the interview since Nezu already knew Shido's reason for applying to be a teacher, but he still needed to take both the field test and written test. Today was the day when Shido had to go to UA to check his knowledge in various areas.

All Might said,"Principal Nezu told me that they had already accepted you, and the test was there to just see where your standards were."

Hearing All Might, Shido smiled and replied,"No problem. The test is in an hour, right?"

All Might nodded to his question and since the test would begin soon, they decided to have a drink near the school so as to not be late, not as if Shido could be late anyways.

Shido wanted to ask about the specifics about what the tests included, but decided not to since he figured that All Might wouldn't tell him either way. Furthermore, he already had an inkling of what was about to be tested.

Noting the time, All Might faced Shido and said,"It's time, we should move."

Hearing the hero, Shido nodded, then got up with All Might and headed towards UA highschool after paying for their drinks.

Waiting for them outside was a tall, slim man with long blond hair and a small, brown moustache.

Shido recognised him. Present Mic, the Voice Hero. His quirk allows him to amplify his voice, creating a shock wave in front of him.

Seeing Shido and All Might coming in front of him, the hero spread out his hands and said in a rather high but at the same time cheerful and energetic tone of voice,"WELCOME TO UA HIGHSCHOOL, ALL MIGHT AND SHIDO-SAN!"

Then, turning to Shido, the hero looked at him and said with a smile,"SO, ARE YOU READY, YOUNG MAN? IT WOULDN'T BE A WALK IN THE PARK!"

Shido observed how the hero spoke and understood his character. He had, of course, collected a lot of information about famous and important heroes, and Present Mic was one of them. But information only talks about statistics and values, and it cannot accurately determine the 'character' of someone. Only by observing them in person would he be able to understand a person's character.

Present Mic fell under his 'eccentric people' list, but it wasn't a negative thing. People who fell under this list could be considered interesting in the eyes of Shido, and would then be given a lot of attention by Shido.

Shido realised that Present Mic was excited. He was no telepath, so he didn't know what Present Mic was thinking about, and he didn't care much either.

"I'm glad you accepted me as an assistant. I seriously thought I would be rejected because of my age, but it seemed that I was wrong. I won't disappoint your expectations."

Although Present Mic was speaking normally, his naturally loud voice still attracted the attention of some interested students who were currently on break.

"Is that All Might?"

"Seems like so..."

"What is he doing here?"

As their surroundings got louder, Present Mic noticed this as well.

"It seems that your presence here has attracted a lot of unwanted attractions, All Might. Why don't we go somewhere more private? The other professors are already waiting for you." He said in a quieter voice, not wanting to attract any more attention.

In the meantime, All Might remained silent with his mouth open a bit. He was unable to remember when Present Mic had ever lowered his voice before.

"Alright, please lead the way."

Following Present Mic, All Might and Shido found themselves in a classroom with a long table, where many people were seated, each with a particular costume, making them...exotic.

One of the teachers sitting at the table, seeing the figure of Shido and All Might sighed and said in a monotonous voice,"...see you again."

All Might said with his perfect smile plastered on his face,"How's it going, Aizawa-kun?"

Aizawa, hearing All Might's greeting sighed once again before replying,"It's all right...I'm tired, can we quickly finish this?"

Present Mic, looking at Aizawa's lifeless attitude, placed his hand on his shoulder and said with his usual loud laughter,"Come on, Aizawa, come on, shout with me! PLUS ULTRA!!"

He waited for a response but realised that he hadn't heard anyone, so turning to the others, he saw that everyone was staring at him oddly.

"Come on, don't do this to me!" He complained, but a smile was present on his face.

'He's definitely interesting...' Shido thought to himself. 'This school is going to be fun...'

Aizawa sighed seeing his colleague's scene.

Subsequently, Nezu, who had remained silent and seated at the head of the table, said,"Welcome to UA High School, Shido-san. It's a pleasure to have you here with us today."

Shido bowed slightly and turned to the other teachers before replying,"The pleasure is mine to be here."

Nezu, noting that no one added anything apart from Aizawa's murmur of letting a kid be a teacher, he said with a smile,"Well, let's start this meeting."

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