Chapter 27: Joining UA High — Class 1-A!
Early April,
Musutafu, Japan
In black gym clothes, Luke finished his early morning workout, finishing the last set of squats.
After a light stretching, he left the gym, up the stairs, and entered a huge drawing room. From the open kitchen on one side, a maid hurriedly brought a protein shake for him.
"Thank you," Luke said, smiling.
The maid blushed. "It's alright, master Luke."
"Don't call me master or something," he replied. "Luke is fine."
He took the shake to his room and divined if it was safe to drink using his topaz pendulum first. It wasn't like he was fearing any threat to his life. If he began checking every piece of food like this, he wouldn't have time to do anything else.
It was like a stretching for his spirituality, what Luke called it.
After drinking the protein shake, Luke looked at Nyx, lying listlessly on his bed, her feet up.
There was a book lying next to her — Detective Sonia's Red Mysteries: Part I — The Long Sausage
"…"
Luke threw his sweaty towel on her.
"&&##" Nyx fought with the smell, cawing out her lungs. "Ugh! Who &$@@…"
Ignoring her, Luke went to the bathroom to get ready for his first day at UA High School.
He had come here around a week ago. Rikuya and Aina Saionji were already staying at Musutafu in a small mansion-like apartment, with ample security and staff.
Now, Luke had joined them and would be staying with them for the foreseeable future.
Even though Luke didn't like it, he had no choice in the matter as well. It was already the greatest stretch that his father was letting him join UA.
Luke didn't want to push his luck by demanding a private place without any eyes on him.
Plus, this place wasn't that bad.
If he were to ignore the constant, annoyed look on Rikuya's face, the apartment had a massive gym in the basement where he could train daily.
Also, there were many bodyguards well-versed in combat. He could just call anyone for light sparring, as Sand had already directed them all to follow Luke's orders in this case.
Luke walked out of the bathroom and put on the school's uniform.
As he looked at himself in the mirror, a quiet nervousness settled in his heart.
Taking a deep breath, adjusting his tie, Luke nodded at himself in the mirror.
School… he thought, walking out of the room. … shouldn't be a big deal, right?
Luke had never been to school in his entire life, if one were to ignore the classes he had attended in his previous life in the orphanage.
Trying not to think about it, he knocked on Aina's door.
When she didn't open the door, he knocked louder.
Sensing her approaching, Luke backed up a step.
Drooling, in a loose white t-shirt and shorts, Aina looked at Luke with blind stupidity.
Luke's eyes had widened. "You just woke up?! Is your day off?"
Beyond Aina, he looked at the state of her room and frowned.
It was a mess. Papers, clothes, photos… more photos… posters… books… more clothes… everything was everywhere.
Just looking at these things made Luke's bones itch.
Opposite him, Aina blinked at Luke, looked at the time over her shoulder, and then blinked at Luke again. "IT'S ONLY SIX!!!!"
…
One and a half hours later, when Aina walked out of the attached bathroom with a towel around her, she stopped at the threshold, stunned.
Where was… everything?!
It was like she had walked in the bathroom from her room and walked out in Luke's room.
Oh, wait! Aina's body suddenly went taut, color rising to her cheeks. Are mine and Luke's bathrooms the same?!
"Oi, pervert!" Nyx cawed at her. She was perched on her bed, holding a Polaroid photo in her claws. "Get ready! Luke cleaned your room. And… as a price… I am taking this one…"
Nyx lifted the photo.
It was of Luke's bare upper body.
Aina's black eyes hardened. She rushed to close the door before the bird could fly away.
Nyx laughed. "You think that can…"
Then, Aina took off the towel to throw it on the bird…
"Bazoonga!!" Nyx stepped back. "… my weakness… how did you know…"
…
On a long table, Luke and Rikuya sat opposite, waiting for Aina to join them.
The habit had deeply rooted itself in their bones as part of discipline in their early childhood.
It was even more so for Luke, who had tried his best to copy Rikuya and Aina's habits so that his father wouldn't send him back to the orphanage.
Luke sat on his chair, thoughtful, as Rikuya scrolled through his mobile phone, behaving as if his stepbrother didn't exist, as usual.
It was then that Aina and Nyx approached them.
Aina's neck carried faint red marks as Nyx pruned her feathers, both eying each other as if they had come to some hidden agreement.
"So, you are in 1-A, right?" Aina asked, taking a seat next to her brother. Nyx sat down next to Luke, on a chair that reached table height.
Luke nodded, the maid serving breakfast.
For a moment, the twins stared at Luke's servings.
A thick slab of meat — half a dozen eggs — grilled vegetables …
The monotonous routine of having breakfast was going to get more interesting, it seemed.
…
UA High School sat atop a forested hill that overlooked Musutafu.
It was a day school and was considered the top Hero Academy in Japan. It had four major Departments — Heroes, General Education, Support, and Management.
"I am in 2-C of the Department of General Education," Aina told Luke as the children stepped out of the black SUV. "This idiot is in 2-I of the Department of Management."
Rikuya ignored her sister's comment.
"Alright!" Aina smiled at Luke. "You can come to my class if you need anything…"
Luke smiled as he saw Aina joining her friends. "She's quite lively today…"
"Tch!" Rikuya tsked. He waited for the SUV to go away and walked next to Luke. "I don't know what trick you used to get into UA's Heroes Department. But… don't you dare tell anyone you have anything to do with me or my sister…"
Luke and Nyx saw Rikuya disappearing in the crowd of students.
"There's something up his anus…" Nyx said.
"Nyx!" Luke gasped. "He's just a kid…"
Shaking his head, Luke entered the school, some nervousness melting away. Suddenly, he spied someone familiar.
It was Sand.
Yes, Luke realized. It was not only his, but also Sand's first day — as a teacher at UA High School.
He didn't know what strings his father pulled to put Sand inside the school, given that Sand wasn't a Pro Hero. Still, he did know that Sand would be a good teacher, regardless of being a cold killer.
This world needs people like Sand, too, Luke thought as Sand winked at him from afar before disappearing.
Smiling, Luke entered the school, students eying him oddly.
From the hall, through the corridors, he reached the class with 1-A written over it.
However, a short boy was already standing in front of the huge doors, nervousness becoming sweat on his face.
The boy was about to open the door when he saw Luke coming at him. He looked up, stepping away a bit.
"Renji," Luke introduced. "This is Nyx. You are also from 1-A?"
The boy eyed the bird and let out a hollow smile.
"Yes…" The boy said. "I am Izuku Midoriya."
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AN: Images of Luke in UA School Uniform and Aina after taking a bath and confronting Nyx are available
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