Past Ties

I was tired after my battle with Ectoplasm. I didn't have a lot of freedom to train my Quirk in the past, so using my Quirk so extensively put a strain on me. Nezu and Mr. Aizawa was discussing something up ahead, and I didn't want to pry. I directed my attention to the campus. The campus is so large. I wonder what it's like when all the students are here.

Nezu and Mr. Aizawa entered the principal's office, and I followed after them.

"Please sit, Rey." Nezu gestured to the sofa. I quickly sat down, putting my hands on my lap. I took in my surroundings. The office was large and spacious. The books were arranged neatly, in alphabetical order, and I could see a collection of teabags sitting on the desk to the right. My exam papers were put on the table in front of me with a couple papers with my picture on it.

Nezu and Mr. Aizawa took a seat on the sofa across from me. Nezu picked up the exam and looked through it.

"You did really well on the written exam. Aside from mathematics, all the other subjects are nearly perfect marks. Aizawa tells me that you learned everything yourself, correct?" Nezu looked up from the paper and looked at me. I nodded in confirmation.

"You must be very talented to have learned this all by yourself. But math does appear to be your weak spot. You will need to do some catch up if you want to be on the same level as the other students. I can have Aizawa help you with the content, if you would like." Nezu continued.

"Thank you. It would be greatly appreciated if Mr. Aizawa could help me." I agreed to the arrangement.

"As for the Quirk assessment..." Nezu trailed off. I tilted my head slightly to the side. Did I not perform well enough?

Suddenly, cloth wrapped around me and bound my arms to my sides. I blinked in surprise. Mr. Aizawa was handling his capture weapon, and his eyes were glowing red.

"As for the Quirk assessment, I'm curious about one thing. A child at the age of 15 has the honed precision of a master assassin and the battle sense of an experienced warrior. The way you wielded the daggers isn't something that comes from playing around. That kind of fluency and prediction comes from hundreds of life and death battles. Most importantly, the method you used to locate Ectoplasm from his clones. Ectoplasm may not have noticed, but I did. That amount of control and awareness could never come from a normal fifteen-year old. Just who are you?" Mr. Aizawa growled, his eyes never leaving me.

"You're Eraserhead. I was wondering why the scarf looked familiar." I stated calmly as I figured out Mr. Aizawa's identity. I don't recognize many heroes, but Eraserhead is definitely someone I've taken the time to remember.

"Answer the question!" Mr. Aizawa said, tightening the bonds.

Seeming his cold attitude, I dropped the polite smile on my face and frowned. If they were going to play like that, I didn't have any reason not to defend myself.

"May I remind you that you were the ones who invited me to UA. If I had any ulterior purposes, I could have just gone through the entrance exam and gotten in that way." I met the eyes of Mr. Aizawa evenly. "As for who I am, isn't it the school's responsibility to do their research on all of their students?"

"Aizawa, I don't think he's lying." Nezu said on the side.

Mr. Aizawa hesistated for a moment, and he closed his eyes. His ebony hair floated back down, but the cloth bonds didn't slacken.

"Aizawa." Nezu chided from the side. Mr. Aizawa fixed his eyes on me. "Don't try anything."

Mr. Aizawa released his scarf, and I was free from my bonds. "Thank you."

"I would advise you to answer my question," Mr. Aizawa said. "Regardless of why you are here, I know for a fact that you are not a regular boy."

"I guess I can't hide it then." I adjusted my shirt and cleared my throat. "My name is Rey Shadow. I come from the Black family."

"The infamous assassin clan who used to rule the underworld? The Black family?" Mr. Aizawa questioned.

I nodded. "My parents were servants of the clan. My mother passed away shortly after giving birth to me. My father died when I was one from a sickness. I never knew their names. The other servants of the clan took me in and took care of me. When I was three, a war broke out in between the household I lived in and the main household. All of the servants I lived with were massacred. I was separated from everyone when it happened. One of the enemy fighters found me hiding in one of the houses. He tried to kill me, but I had hid a piece of broken glass behind me. I stabbed it into his neck, and I killed him. It was the first time I've ever killed someone."

Mr. Aizawa was frowned slightly, and Nezu's face grew serious.

"I didn't dare move. I listened to the screams and the clang of metal. The stench of blood was so strong in the air. I waited and waited. The noise outside had died down. When I finally had the courage to move, the door was swung open. There was a man in the doorway, and I lunged at him with my bloodied piece of glass. I managed to scratch his hand before he knocked me out.

When I woke up, I was in a small, dark room. My weapon was gone, but I was still filthy and bloody. The man who I saw before came in. He told me he was Taketa Black, head of the Black clan. He told me he kept me alive because he saw my burning desire to live and my gift in the art of assassinations. He gave me a choice, to serve him or to die.

I wanted to live, so I agreed to serve him.

I trained under him and with his son for 4 years. I trained in the art of killing, weapons, sabotage, espionage, and assassination. The head of the clan was not merciful. I don't even remember how many times I was close to death in those 4 years.

When I turned 7, I was chosen along with 49 other boys of my age. We were to go through a special 1 week training to see who would become the young master's followers. They called it a training, but it was really a fight to the death. Of the 50 boys, only the strongest 5 could survive. Most of the boys had awakened their Quirks, but I hadn't. I thought I was Quirkless, but in the selection process, I managed to survive. My desire to live kept me alive.

For the next 3 years, I protected the young master from the shadows, only leaving his side to complete the tasks assigned to me by the clan head. But when I was 10, the clan erupted into chaos. All of the upper level clan members were killed in one day. I believe those details you should be familiar with.

With my young master gone missing and the clan head dead, no one knew of my existence. Realizing this, I was lost. My life had been to serve the clan, but the clan no longer knew I existed. I spent 3 years looking for the young master, but I couldn't find anything. I had no purpose."

I took a deep breath and gathered my thoughts.

"But 2 years from now, something in me changed. I saw a girl, around the age of 6-7, break her ankle while trying to climb the fire escape of a building. Something stirred inside of me; I wanted to help her. I ran to her side and saw her wound. I wanted to make her feel better, to make the pain go away. And that was when my Quirk awakened. I healed her broken bone, and I fell unconscious after.

When I woke up, I was lying on a bed, and the girl I saved was sitting next to me. I quickly asked her if she was alright and she showed me her healed ankle. I felt so happy. I've never felt so happy in my life before. It was such an foreign emotion. Her father came into my room and asked if I had any parents. I told him that I was an orphan. He took pity on me and offered to take me in. He said it was the least thing he could do after I helped his daughter. Having no where to go, I agreed. And that's where I've been living up until now."

I looked up and said simply, "That's the whole story." I wonder what decision they will make after hearing my story. I wouldn't be surprised if they called the police to take me away. Many have done the same thing in the past.

"So you awakened your Quirk because you had the desire to help someone?" Mr. Aizawa said slowly.

I was startled, but I didn't let my emotions show. "Yes, the first time I could use my Quirk was two years ago. I think I never was able to awaken my Quirk because I never had the thought of helping someone. I've only known how to hurt people but never to heal."

"Thank you for entrusting your past with us. I'll have to discuss with Mr. Aizawa, so could you please wait here for a moment?" Nezu said.

I nodded, revealing no emotions in my eyes. Mr. Aizawa and Nezu made their way to the corner of the room, and they started speaking in hushed voices. My hands felt cold, and I mentally prepared myself for their answer. I should get ready to leave.

"Rey?" Nezu and Mr. Aizawa had returned to their seats.

I looked up and saw that Mr. Aizawa was looking at me. I tensed, waiting for their answer.

"I discussed your situation with Nezu. Your past does make you a particular case, and I can see that you are being as cooperative as possible. I can tell that you don't have any intentions of bringing harm to me or UA. It would not be fair for us to judge you by the things you did when you had no control. Here at UA, we do not judge a person by their past; we value their present and future. So, as long as you are willing to come to UA, we have no reason to reject you." Mr. Aizawa said gently.

I widened my eyes. I could feel myself smiling. A true smile. But I immediately controlled myself, clamping down on the happiness in my heart. I put on a polite smile. "Thank you for trusting me. I will be honored to be a student at UA."

Nezu smiled. "You will be in class 1-A once the school year starts. Aizawa will be there to keep an eye on you in case anything goes wrong."

I nodded again. Mr. Aizawa stood up from his seat and walked to the door. "Let's go, Rey."

I bowed to Nezu and followed after Mr. Aizawa into the hallways. We walked in silence until he stopped at the entrance.

"Rey, even though I said those words, that doesn't mean you have my full trust. I will be watching you once the school year starts." Mr. Aizawa warned.

I looked at my soon-to-be teacher. "I understand. I promise that I will work hard to gain that trust."

Mr. Aizawa nodded shortly. "Oh, and before I forget, your math tutor sessions. Every Tuesday and Thursday, starting tomorrow at 10 pm. Don't be late."

"I'll be there." I said. I bowed down and left through the gates.

Aizawa watched the boy leave the campus. He still couldn't forget those eyes. The emotionless eyes as the boy waited for his answer. Just how many times has he been betrayed and abandoned so that he had learned to hide his emotions so well?

From the distance, Rey turned and saw that Aizawa was watching him. He gave a small wave.

Aizawa jolted from his thoughts, and he slowly raised his hand to wave back. The boy had finally showed a side that was the 15-year old that he should be like. Aizawa's lips curved upwards.

Aizawa promised himself that he would help this boy become a better version of himself. He wanted to help the boy smile more. His true smile.