All Might had seen a lot in his long career at the very top of the Hero Society. A lot of villains, a lot of Heroes, and a lot of students training to be both. But he'd never seen someone quite like the child staring back at him. An emotionless, dark gaze bore into his soul, and it was hard to keep his smile that was one of the reasons he was so famous.
He almost dropped it for a frown.
Almost.
But he was used to showing it despite how he truly felt. Right now, he was feeling a certain level of dread, or was it sadness? He didn't really know, but now he understood why'd he been warned before this interview. Not even Todoroki, the closest child to what he was seeing now, had that sort of look in his eyes. It was haunting. A look that clearly saw the worse this world had to offer consistently and thrived in it.
"YOUNG KAKASHI, IVE HEARD SO MUCH ABOUT YOU! IT IS FINALLY GOOD TO MEET YOU!"
All Might was surprised to see that not even his presence gave the Gray haired teen any more pause that a raised eyebrow from his one open eye. All Might did not miss the scar across his closed eye, already seeing that there wasn't a way that eye could be functional with a scar as deep as that.
Kakashi only stared at All Might, seeing him like this made his realize just how large the man was. A true hero figure from a book or something. One that could inspire the hearts of others and put that at ease with just his presence.
Kakashi felt no such ease. It wasn't like he was hoping it would work for him though.
Nezu stood in the background alongside the rest of the faculty of UA, a heavy silence over the rather large, familiar group. Nezu was frowning, he may have had plans for Kakashi, but seeing the boy like this caused his to frown even though he had a small dislike of children. A child this young shouldn't have eyes like his, after all.
"So, this is the boy." Present Mic slowly muttered, frowning himself. Twelve years of age and he acted like that. It was like he was seeing Aizawa all those years ago. Definitely not a sight he was keen on seeing again.
Midnight didn't know if she was angry or if something else was wrong with her emotions as well. Physical and clearly emotional abuse was heavy on this child. That dreary look in his eyes never changed, even from seeing the No. 1 Hero. She gripped harder on the arm she had already been gripping. She was a masochist and all, but this was beyond a simple fetish. Actual abuse is what this was.
Snipe was angry. He thought of several parts of the human body that he would shoot if he ever came across the scum that would subject a child to something so harsh that it would change him like this. He might've not known the boy before this, but he knew all children started off innocent before something happened to them. This was no different.
Vlad King felt his blood boiling, almost to a point of overload. This was completely outrageous. He thought about his own classroom, thinking what it would be like if everyone of them were like this. He growled once more.
Power Loader, understandingly, didn't know that much about children. Or people in general for that matter. Sure, he worked with people and students alike in his lab before, conversing with them regularly, but his experiments always kept him away from an emotional experience where he could truly understand the people around him. Mei was the only exceptions. She was a simple girl, understanding her was like understanding the motivations of a hungry animal. But he was angry. Angry at just seeing the child. He'd seen third years with more childlike wonder than one 6 years their senior. It was ridiculous.
Cementoss could only glare at the screen, with crossed arms. Clearly, he didn't like what he saw. He always had a suspicion of something like this since he and Aizawa met the kid. The way he looked and acted only confirmed it.
Aizawa was frowning so heavily that part of his lips were Hiden by his capture weapon. Honestly, he knew this kid was trouble. He was on Aizawa's same path he took years ago to become a Underground Hero, except this kid was no hero, and he didn't even look to be interested in one of his reaction to All Might was anything to go by.
He expected the kid to maybe be anti social and hard to get across but to have the kid with a gaze that screamed pain and sadness filled him with anger. He'd been an underground hero for years, worked alongside villains as a cover, let some escape for his mission, and talked to various of them, and most of them had gazed just like this kid had. A gaze saying that he had killed before and had no problem killing again.
This boy was a killer, clear and cut. Nothing could change his mind of that. Quickly, he scanned the faces of his comrades, and their body language for the ones who'd have mask on. They held anger as well, but it was most likely because of how the boy looked physically and appeared emotionally than knowing he was a killer.
Then, he looked at Nezu. Nezu took lots of risk, but would he risk a killer in his school? He might, but it was no guarantee.
That didn't sit well with him. It sounded awful.
That just meant he couldn't tell the Principal. Kakashi needed help, and he would only get it if he were allowed to attend UA.
A little white lie wouldn't hurt in the long run, would it?
All Might cleared his throat, awkward that the boy had yet to speak but had to press on.
"I AM HERE, TO TELL YOU THAT YOU'VE OFFICIALLY BEEN GIVEN A CHANCE TO BE INVITED TO UA HIGH!"
Another raised eyebrow, but not the reaction any of them expected. This was a lifetime offer some would die for. Yet he reacted like he was being asked if he knew Kanji or something.
All Might continued, growing more concerned.
"UM, WELL AREN'T YOU CURIOUS, YOUNG KAKASHI?"
"Not particularly. This has been chosen by Ryukyu right? My words mean nothing."
Glances went around the room and a sweat drop rolled down the back of All Might's neck.
"ERM, WELL, I WOULDN'T SAY THAT. YOU'RE WORR MEANS JUST AS MUCH AS ANY, YOUNG KAKASHI! DON'T EVER FORGET IT!"
"Ok sure."
Kakashi looked unimpressed and boredly unamused.
"WELL, UM, ALL OF THE STUDENTS THAT YOU WILL BE JOINING HAVE ALREADY BEEN THROUGH A TEST TO JOIN UA IN THE HERO COURSE. WE HAVE A LOW ACCEPTANCE RATE, AND SO TO MAKE THIS FAIR YOU WILL BE FACING THE TOP CLASS IN THE HERO COURSE; CLASS 1-A!"
Kakashi was actually interested in that. The hero class that has already seen combat against villains. Hn.
"How many do I have to beat?"
Kakashi doubted that this was actually to see if he could keep up with his peers and more for them to see how much power he held and the control he held over that power. They wanted to see his power up close, but he had a plan for that.
Unfortunately for him, All Might shut that down rather quickly.
"DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THAT, YOUNG KAKASHI! ALL WILL BE REVEALED IN DUE TIME. TOMMORROW, WE'D BE HONORED TO WELCOME YOU TO UA HIGHSCHOOL!
Kakashi was disappointed. He'd didn't think he'd received no information from this. It wasn't too bad though. If he thought about it in a another way, this gave him access to the pinnacle of Hero School, and most importantly their information. It would probably be well protected, he hoped it wouldn't be on their technology, if so, it wouldn't be worth even accepting this offer.
Though, it really wasn't his choice as this was more of an interview from him specifically. It was almost funny how much he could predict what they were trying to do. They weren't subtle at all with their approach on dealing with him.
Kakashi simply nodded, and after a rather awkward moment of silence, the digital All Might disappeared, and the room turned back to its original color.
Kakashi picked up the envelope, staring at it, wondering what his next move should be.
Right now, he hadn't made a single move to actually finding the Stone Ninja.
That thought ran through his mind and the envelope crumbled between his hand.
XxX
All Might immediately slumped into his true form, relief coming through his entire body. With his time limit as low as it was currently, even staying in it caused him slight stress. He didn't expect the interview to be as long as it was.
But he supposed he wasn't too upset about it. The kid was like no other. The way he spoke and actually it was how little he spoke and moved is what gave the strongest hero actual paused. No kid should be acting like that, and if they were, it had to be some kind of trauma that could cause it.
"All Might, you idiot." Aizawa walked up to him, glancing at his sullen cheeks for a small bit, unused to seeing it since he had just been introduced to it not too long ago. "You revealed too much."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"You basically told the boy that we're going to be watching his performance against Class 1-A." Nezu joined in, walking up aside Aizawa while the other teachers followed up behind.
"He's now more likely to prepare for it."
All Might thought they were given him too much credit. "I can see that the boy is particularly careful, but you're treating him as some sort of threat to be wary of."
"He is a threat." Aizawa didn't much like saying that about a kid but it was just a fact. The boy was skilled enough to react to him fighting with his capture tape and when he used all that electricity and rushed at that Villain, Aizawa hadn't been able to track him until he hit Cementoss's wall of concrete.
"The boy is skilled, and he's after that man he was fighting. Me and Cementoss got in his way before he could kill him, and that was the most emotion I've ever seen on that kid. Going by that, I'm adamant that he's a problem child with a vendetta against that man he tried to kill."
His eyes hardened, hands clenching in his pockets.
"That also means he's a killer, who's killed before, and has no problem doing it more. He's a threat in every sense of the word."
His words stunned the room into silence. All Might, especially. He was right. All Might had been told that those two had been the first to meet this boy, and even if he didn't agree on Aizawa's teaching methods he knew that the man was not a liar. But it left him with a burning question.
"Well, if you have a suspicion of him being a killer, why are we allowing him to attend this school, and fight the children for that matter?"
Nezu was happy to answer, too happy in Aizawa's opinion. "A boy of his skill needs guidance. That is what hero schools such as UA are for. We make talented, unfocused youths into powerful, focused, and strong heroes. But we can also make a talented, dark, and dangerous teen into a powerful hero that can inspire others with his story for generations to come. It could also change his chances of becoming a villain, which I believe is the track he is currently on, given his reaction to you."
Aizawa joined back in. "And the reason he's fighting my students is for both our benefit and theirs. We'll be able to watch him, and gather how strong he is compared to our strongest First Years. And my students can learn from an experienced boy even younger than them. It will motivate them to be stronger if beaten by someone younger than them. Two birds, one stone."
"Wow, Aizawa!" Present Mic leaned on his shoulder. "Think of that all on your own?"
Aizawa grumbled in annoyance. "Stop being so loud in my ear."
Midnight sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I hope that this is just what's best for Hatake. It's what's most important right now, given the circumstances."
"I'm fully aware of that. Trust me, this should be beneficial for all parties."
XxX
That next morning, Kakashi found himself looking at himself in the mirror, frowning through the fabric in his mask at his appearance.
He basically had on a suit with this uniform and he felt very stiff, to the point that it was annoying. It felt uncomfortable to him, more uncomfortable than sleeping on the forest ground with nothing more than an old sleeping bag.
He sighed, hoping the information he could potentially gather would be worth it. This may have been no choice of his, but he was definitely going to make the most of it.
He looked at the mirror more closely, specifically at his eyes. Obito's eye. He put a hand over it. It wouldn't do to have it out, too many questions. But he had nothing but his Ninja Headband to put over it, but he wouldn't use it. He didn't deserve to call himself a Konoha Ninja until he got back to Rin and made sure she was safe and made sure to kill that Stone Ninja.
That didn't leave him with too many choices though. He looked down and scanned counter all around him. Seeing nothing, he bent down and opened the cabinet to look inside. After a second, he saw a first aid kit. He took it out and set it on the counter.
This will work. He thought, pleased, having opened the kit.
X
Minutes later, Kakashi walked last Ryukyu and out of the door, ignoring her barely muttered "see you later", and walking in the direction of a building he'd seen before. One of his eyes wrapped up in bandages that covered around his entire head to behind his left ear. He was glad for his good memory.
X
Izuku Midoriya was not one to judge an individual upon seeing them. Usually, it was the other way around. People usually judges him upon seeing him. But he'd never had a problem with that. He only judged by how a person acted, and even then he never judged them and only acknowledged that as the way they acted.
But seeing Aizawa-Sensei introduce the newest member of their class to them as he and his classmates stood nearly shoulder to shoulder in Gym Gamma had him actually judging Hatake.
It wasn't as if he were being mean, but he couldn't help but think that he looked a bit too young to be in this type of school. He looked like he was in middle school. But he had to be strong in some way! This was UA, after all! They wouldn't just let anyone join, and even if he looked young, it wasn't like Mineta looked his age. Maybe he was looking too into this and basing his appearance on age.
Even while he thought this, he still somehow knew he was right.
Kakashi glanced at the class of his elders in age, and saw immediately that most of them were incompetent. Only three caught his attention. One with blonde hair, and red eyes, one with multi colored hair, and one with the glasses on. The others looked like fools.
He glanced over at Aizawa, hoping the man would explain the rules of how this was going to go. He was almost 100% sure that this wasn't to make sure he could keep up with the others and more to see how strong he was, or what he was willing to show.
He could already tell that from meeting Aizawa that he was smart and careful enough as well as perceptive enough to tell if Kakashi would hold back. He'd almost caught Kakashi staring at him a few times, just like now, actually.
Kakashi moved his gaze back to the students just as Aizawa glanced at him. It was only for a second, and then he turned back to the class.
The boy with the glasses raised his hand and Aizawa allowed him to speak.
"Is he the reason our classroom is being remodeled?"
"Yes, we'll be adding a seat for him as well as a new compartment that will store his hero suit. For today, we'll just be in here, and besides we have something important to do here anyways, so this is perfect."
A few murmurs went through the students but Aizawa kept speaking.
"He's been a late admission on special terms. Our goal for today is to see where we will be placing him among the standings for this class."
He pulled out a clipboard and turned it for the class to see. It was the record of the Quirk Assessment Test he'd given on their first day.
"This is my personal standing on the class as a whole, for right now. To place him correctly, and to see where he needs to improve I will have him fight all of you in a ladder of sorts. He'll go from fighting 20th place, to fighting 1st, if he makes it that far. That is our goal for today, so don't take it easy on him. Go Plus Ultra."
Kakashi glanced back at Aizawa as most of the class screamed Plus Ultra back excitedly. So, this was his game. Pretty smart of him. Quirks varied a lot, that would cause Kakashi to show more about himself than he could ever plan on not having to. Perhaps he could knock them out by blitzing them and then knocking them out with one attack, but then one of them could catch on and make his fight harder by forcing him to use certain abilities. No matter how he fought, he would be showing Aizawa something about himself that he had no control to change. The most he could probably do was limit how much he could show, which would in turn mean that he would show Aizawa that he was holding back by holding away certain abilities that Aizawa had already seen.
He was in a rock in a hard place right now.
"Midoriya, you're up. The rest of you go back to the sidelines."
The green haired boy he dismissed, walked up to him with very obvious unwillingness, showing how nervous he was to do this in front of everyone. Wasn't this class famous or something? They'd fought villains before, so how could he be nervous from something that was considered as a spar?
Interesting.
Though his gaze held focus, Kakashi was sure he'd have no trouble beating this boy quickly. By now, he decided he'd keep his abilities to be shown was his lightning and his intelligence. All he would do was analyze and break down and quirk and then use his own "quirk" and defeat them with it. It was the only way he would show the smallest amount of his abilities.
Kakashi would only have to show more if his attacks were read and he weren't given a choice.
X
Kakashi and Midoriya stood opposite of one another in the middle of the gym, both ready to go at the other.
Aizawa explained the rules to them now that everyone was ready. "The only rules of this bout is that attacks that can kill our strictly forbidden. If I stop the fight and declare a winner, that is it. You can fight all over the gym but keep attacks away from your classmates. Understood.
"Yes!" Midoriya said and Kakashi nodded.
"Then, begin!"
Kakashi didn't move, Midoriya didn't either. They both stared at one another, seeing who would move first. Kakashi had patience, he was a Ninja, patience was sometimes needed, just like now. He needed to see how Midoriya fought so he could end this quickly. Drawing out a fight would do him no good other than make himself seem suspicious. He could feel Aizawa's eyes staring at him.
Suddenly, Midoriya ran at him.
He was a bit fast. But much too slow for Kakashi.
He caught up to him and threw out a right jab that Kakashi dodged.
A single black eye narrowed.
He was slow.
Kakashi moved quicker, dodging a flurry of punches from Midoriya before leaping up into the air and kicking the boy across the face, sending him skidding back.
Kakashi expected him to fall. He was tougher than that.
Kakashi hit the ground as Midoriya rushed once more. His next moves were a mix of fist and feet, but it was still as predictable. He threw mostly punches that obviously didn't fit his build and the kicks he throwed in to try and catch him off guard but they were far too stiff and he obviously didn't use his feet much. Though he should use it as his main way to attack. It fit his build better and trying to use both wasn't good for him as he wasn't flexible enough to pull it off with any good amount of expertise.
Kakashi realized that these kids weren't that experienced with combat, though it seemed like they were fast learners if the lowest in the class was actually catching on and using his feet a tad bit more, seeing that they were closer to hitting him than his fist.
But it t wasn't enough. Not to defeat him.
Kakashi gripped onto a leg that would've hit him in the and spun around, throwing the older boy away like a Ragdoll. Just like he expected, the boy gained control of himself mid air and Kakashi leapt up to meet him before slamming a fist into his gut, forcibly knocking the wind out of him.
Midoriya gaped like a surprised fish and fell to the ground, holding his stomach tightly.
Kakashi landed, and stopped fighting, thinking this was it.
He was wrong. Midoriya got back up, this time, aiming his finger at him.
Kakashi thought he was stupid.
Midoriya could feel the food he'd just eaten threatening to come up. He didn't feel good, it felt like his insides had been caved in by that punch. This was a kid, how could he hit so hard. It had to be part of his quirk. He was fast too, maybe a physical boost?
Either way, he hadn't been able to hit him and at all. He forced himself off the ground, still holding his stomach but forced his right first to get ready, ready to release his finger. He could feel his quirk filling his veins.
Kakashi stopped, seeing his finger begin to turn red at certain parts and wondered if this was his quirk.
Kakashi waited for something to happen, but nothing did. He was waiting on Kakashi to move. Kakashi glanced at the other students. He had about 19 more opponents.
He didn't have much time. He ran at Midoriya.
His finger flicked and Kakashi barely covered himself before he was sent flying from immense air pressure that came from his finger.
What the hell?! Kakashi hit the other side of the gym's wall hard but caught himself before he slumped to the ground. If he had this much strength, how was he the bottom of the class?
Kakashi figured out why when he looked back at Midoriya, acknowledging the destruction around him but saw the finger he'd used to attack.
It was broken. Purple and mangled as if it had been through a grinder.
He couldn't hold his own quirk. His body couldn't take it. And every use damaged him.
Kakashi now knew why he was at the bottom. Though it did seem they shared the same problem when he thought about his Sharingan. He didn't have much control in that regard.
He rushed forward and Midoriya readied another figure on the same hand. Kakashi got close enough, he flicked again and another whirlwind filled up the gym.
Kakashi skidded to a halt, behind Midoriya. The green haired boy probably saw him jump in the air to avoid being hit, because he turned around and another pressure of air was let off, this time catching him inside.
He was able to cover himself though but the impact of the air slamming into him and hitting the wall again forced air out of his lungs. But he still caught himself and forced air back into his lungs quickly. Ninja were trained to quickly get in air in case of a hit like this. Seconds counted in battle.
Though this wasn't life and death, it was a habit hard to break.
Three fingers, Kakashi noted without thinking or saying it. He rushed again, two more, only the pinky and thumb.
This time, Kakashi placed his hands in front of him and Lightning began to dance between his palms. He slammed them into the ground before reaching Midoriya and the Lightning ran through the ground, coming at him quickly.
Midoriya noticed it's speed.
Electricity! He was surprised and yelped as a small amount of it caught his leg as he jumped away. The pain from his fingers being broken made him a tad slower.
Midoriya was a quick learner and already had his pinky aimed for attack just as Kakashi appeared before him, having ran past his own attack.
The younger boy was really fast, already having made it underneath his arm that even if he let off his attack, it wouldn't hit him.
Well, that's if he kept it aimed in front of him. Kakashi aimed a fist and Midoriya flicked his wrist down.
The class had to cover there eyes as another rush of air blew debris and smoke all around.
"Dammit, what happened?" A certain blonde demanded.
Someone coughed. "This smoke is everywhere!"
"Hey! Watch out, your stepping on my feet!"
"Sorry Toru, you're invisible so it's hard to see!"
"Apologize with more dignity, Kiminari! Set an example as a UA Student!"
"Hey, look." Uraraka pointed and threw the smoke, Kakashi stood over Midoriya who looked like he was unconscious.
"Kakashi wins." Aizawa dragged, having saw the entire thing. The boy was skilled, too skilled for his age.
"Huh? I didn't even see what happened!" Mina yelled.
"Me neither. Smoke was everywhere." Kirishima yelled, mad himself.
"Guys, I can't see!" Mineta yelled out.
"Stop groping me you perv!" Momo yelled out.
"Cease, at once!"
While his class was conversing, Todoroki was more off to the side, staring. That boy was skilled, he'd seen through Midoriya and only got hit because a combination of luck and surprise. Midoriya fought rather unorthodox and he was learning during the fight as well. But it almost seemed like Kakashi was holding back just a little too much. Like he could've did more but simply didn't.
As robots picked Midoriya up and put him on a stretcher, Todoroki had only one thought.
I have to test my power against his to push him too his limits. His past; it might be just like mine