BNHA: I am Reiji Toga

The elevator descended in complete silence. The polished steel walls reflected Reiji's figure, slightly distorted by the curvature of the metal.

He looked down.

His jaw was sharper. His cheekbones gave him an air almost identical to his previous life. His eyes were light orange, with a fixed and penetrating gaze. His hair was a mix of blond and light brown, giving an impression of gold in some places.

'I'm looking more and more like Ethan... How long will the fears of my past haunt me?'

He didn't flinch. He just lowered his gaze for a second.

'I'm no longer the experiment I was, nor will I ever be the tool they want me to be. This is finally my chance to escape from it all... At least, the first step.'

The elevator stopped. The doors opened with a whisper.

The hallway was white, clinical, silent. At the end, the Commission's meeting room waited, like a cell without bars.

He entered.

Three figures watched him from the other end of the oval table. The headmistress, in her immaculate gray suit, showed no sign. To her right, an old man with a marble face. To her left, a younger man with a piercing gaze.

"Reiji Toga," the woman began. "Take a seat."

He obeyed.

"Your actions today exposed an entire covert intelligence operation. Your face was broadcast on at least seventeen national channels and three internationally. The press is tracking your identity. You rescued a child… and committed three years of silent work."

Reiji didn't respond immediately. He just nodded once, firmly.

"I accept the consequences."

"And what do you think they should be?" the old man asked.

Reiji looked at them one by one. His tone remained neutral, without challenge, but not submissive either.

"I didn't come here to justify myself. I did it because it was necessary. I could have let him die. But I would have lost more than a target."

"Do you think you're a hero now?" the younger man chimed in. "Do you think you can act on your own, just because we trained you?"

"I don't believe anything," Reiji said, without raising his voice. "I only acted before the system made it too late. That's what we do, isn't it?"

There was a tense silence. The director leaned her elbows on the table.

"Your situation is untenable. We can't continue using you as an undercover agent. You're compromised. You're a rising public figure. And you're still a minor."

"Are they going to get rid of me?"

The sentence hung dry. It held neither fear nor provocation.

The old man sighed.

"We considered several options. But your level of training, your proven usefulness… and the media impact of your actions put us in a delicate situation."

"Punishing you now would be a scandal," the younger man added. "Making you disappear wouldn't help either. You've become... too visible."

"Then I propose an alternative," Reiji said, with absolute serenity.

The three of them raised their heads slightly. They hadn't considered that even after compromising their entire organization from head to toe, the same person in charge would offer an alternative.

"I will enter U.A. as an ordinary student. No recommendations. No shortcuts. I will take the entrance exam like anyone else. And from within, I can act as a liaison. Identify talent. Detect future risks. Observe from the heart of the system."

The younger man frowned.

"And why should we trust you not to act on impulse… again?"

"Because I know they won't cover up the next mistake. And I don't intend to use this as an escape route. They know where I live, they know where my family is, and they know all my weaknesses along with my secrets. I have nothing to hide from them..."

The woman was silent for a few seconds. Then she murmured:

"That would put you in a more compromised position than you are now."

"But it would also bring more benefits. If I gain the trust of the next pillars of Japan, what can't I do for you?"

"What if they find out?" the old man asked.

"Then it will be clear that I'm not the player they need. And if you're worried about me talking, it's unfounded. If I wanted to attack you, you know as much about me as I know about you..."

The three of them looked at each other. They completely understood that last double-entendre, yet Reiji didn't tell a lie. Just as they could make Reiji lose all legitimacy by revealing what he's done, he can do the same with it.

If neither of them had used their cards, it was quite simple. They needed each other. They didn't speak for several seconds.

Finally, the headmistress closed the file in front of her.

"Then, in ten months, Reiji Toga will be allowed to take the U.A. entrance exam."

"No shortcuts, no recommendation," Reiji added, making his position clear. "I'll do it like any other."

The headmistress nodded slightly.

"Make good use of this time. Due to your visibility, you're temporarily relegated to the role of agent. Live as you please, but never forget who you work for."

Reiji stood up. His posture was impeccable, restrained. He bowed slightly. And just as he turned toward the door, the woman's voice echoed again:

"And don't forget that you caused a big problem."

He stopped. He didn't turn around. His voice was low, controlled, but firm:

"I won't forget."

And he left. Without looking back.

***

"Are you still looking at it?" Nezu calmly sipped his tea. The frozen image on the screen showed a boy with his hand resting on the forehead of another boy standing in front of him, who was surrounded by a mass of mud being repelled by a stupid amount of blood.

Aizawa didn't answer immediately. He remained leaning against the window frame, arms crossed, his brows slightly furrowed.

"Bloodbending. But also accelerated regeneration. And coordination… beyond standard. As if every movement were preprogrammed."

Nezu nodded slowly. He'd noticed that before, too.

"A complex Quirk, or more than one," he said. "Though his file only indicates a minor ability."

"Then he's lying," Aizawa stated, undramatic. "Or someone's lying for him."

Nezu closed the report with a soft click. The digital folder was riddled with omissions. Most of them intentional.

"The connection with Himiko Toga is what strikes me most. Overall performance. High grades, steady demeanor, almost invisible... until it's mentioned that she has a younger brother who appeared this year."

"Reiji Toga," Aizawa said.

The silence that followed was thick. Finally, Aizawa spoke:

"I'd seen him before."

Nezu wasn't surprised.

"When?"

"In a covert operation. I went alone. Poorly planned. He appeared without warning. Hooded. He moved with surgical precision, without saying a word. We fought side by side. He finished, and he vanished."

Nezu narrowed his eyes.

"And you didn't know who he was."

"Not until now. But his posture, the distance between his steps, the way he distributes his weight... there aren't many teenagers with that level of body control. At the time, he'd already seemed young to me, but I didn't think he was that young."

Nezu walked toward the window, cup in hand.

"He's not a civilian defending himself. Nor a vigilante leaping forward on impulse. This is training."

"Professional training," Aizawa added.

The atmosphere grew heavier. Aizawa closed his eyes for a second.

"He doesn't feel like a threat. But he doesn't feel like an ordinary person, either."

"So why reveal himself now?" Nezu thought aloud. "He's been in the shadows for years. He hid even during his move." And now he's appearing in front of witnesses to save a boy with an explosive Quirk."

"It was impulsive. You can see in a previous recording his helplessness at the actions of the local heroes... He has heroic ideals, even if he's working illegally."

Nezu returned to his desk. He opened a tab with police reports. There were records of a hooded man discreetly intervening in minor incidents in Musutafu. None with a clear face, but the pattern was evident.

"He's been active for a while. Apparently, the difference now was that there were cameras pointing everywhere."

"He has Himiko here," Aizawa explained, as a great revelation.

Nezu closed the file with a soft click. He set his cup aside, now empty.

"If he decides to enter... he could. There's no reason to stop him. He's old enough, skilled enough, and now has public visibility. U.A. It would be the perfect place to hide his true nature… or to start building a new one."

Aizawa didn't respond immediately. His gaze was fixed on the frozen image of the boy on the screen. He didn't look like a child. Not quite.

"He could be searching for something," he said finally. "Or just lay low. But I don't think he wants to be a hero for the same reasons as the others."

Nezu tilted his head, curious at the oddness of the statement from the man in front of him.

"Then why?"

"Because someone like him… he's not looking for glory. He's looking for purpose. Direction. And the academy could give him that."

"Or could he use it for something else?" Nezu added, his smile barely perceptible. "We also train pieces here that can change the game."

Aizawa frowned.

"He's not a piece. Not yet. We don't know who moves him, if anyone does."

Nezu leaned back in his chair, interlacing his fingers.

"But we know he's connected to Himiko Toga, and that he's hiding at least one more Quirk than he's letting on. That's enough to keep him under surveillance."

"And what do you think about him entering U.A.?"

Nezu didn't hesitate.

"With All Might on the faculty, things even out. If that boy is looking for more than just learning, he won't have it easy. But if he's looking to become a hero… then it will be interesting to see what that means for someone like him."

The silence lasted a moment longer. Then, Aizawa turned, ready to leave.

"I'll keep an eye on him," he said, emotionless, but with purpose. "Not as an enemy. But not as a student, either."

Nezu nodded.

"Perfect. Because whatever that boy ends up being… he won't go unnoticed for long."

They both knew that Reiji Toga was no ordinary teenager. And that even if he managed to enter as one of them… his very existence broke the rules of the board.

An anomaly with two Quirks. With training. With secrets.

And now, with a face visible to the world.