4 The Power Of the Mind

A couple of months later, classes had begun.

I spent the last couple of months before school, training non-stop.

Most of it was bodyweight exercises. The best thing about being a kid again, was how easily my body responded to exercise.

I was in my assigned seat as I waited for the class to begin.

Students were still coming in. Half of the class had already arrived when I saw Midoriya walk in.

I was a bit surprised to see him here, but after giving it some thought; it made sense.

I remembered Midoriya went to Aldera Junior High, so it made sense, he'd be going to this school.

As Midoriya quietly made his way to sit down, I also spotted Bakougo coming in.

I saw the green-haired boy waving and giving, Bakougo a small smile to which Bakougo responded with an angry scowl.

I didn't expect to meet them so soon and had less of a clue as to why I ended up in the same class.

" Okay class, we have a new student this year. Come up and introduce yourself, Mr. Shinso." The teacher said.

I groaned in annoyance over how unnecessary this whole thing was.

" Hello, my name is Shinso Hitoshi. My quirk is called Brainwashing." I said in a bored tone.

Hushed whispers began as soon as I finished introducing myself.

My quirk's name was controversial, to say the least. I couldn't understand for the life of me, why it was called brainwashing.

It would've been more accurate to describe it as sleepwalking, rather than brainwashing.

Brainwashing is, by definition:

'To make someone adopt radically different beliefs by using systematic and often forcible pressure'

Brainwashing would imply that the commands would have greater permanence or be effective beyond immediate control.

It came with greater complexities and longer-lasting effects.

Common steps in brainwashing, as noted by psychologists, included, but were not limited to an assault on identity, guilt, self-betrayal, breaking point, and etc...

But my quirk doesn't implement any of these steps when activated against any individuals.

Logically, it meant that this my was not brainwashing.

Instead, it was closer to sleepwalking because of its unconscious and impermanent nature.

Or, at least, the ability to cause others to sleepwalk.

So, let's talk sleepwalking, which is by definition:

'Walk around and sometimes perform other actions while asleep'

I can at most force my victims to perform simple tasks while under my control, they normally lack any verbal response and permanence after I'm done with them.

My victims can walk around, though it was a slow crawl / mechanical set of movements, while having a glazed, glassy-eyed look on their faces.

I also found out, that extremely few are able to remember what happens during sleepwalking, but active dreamers are more likely to remember sleepwalking.

Based on what was shown in the anime and considering Izuku's imagination and innovative skills.

I would not be surprised if he was an active-dreamer, in which he had some control over his dreams and sleepwalking decisions.

This explained why he remembered it from the moment he went under, and remembered it even after coming out (the vision), while Ojirou could only remember what came after being bumped by another team (and not during).

Sleepwalking also occured during the REM sleep stages, which was the level of sleep needed to feel well-rested this may also explain my absurd time limits in controlling people, for at least ten minutes and on multiple individuals, because REM sleep cycles last for 90 - 100 minutes at a time.

I also discovered a rather unfortunate aspect of my quirk.

I used to think it was part of Shinso's character design, but it turned out, I was mistaken.

Shinso's tired demeanor, the eye-bags, and abrasive attitude were all good indications of poor sleeping habits.

In these two months, I barely got any sleep!

If I managed to get 3 to 4 hours of sleep, I would be considered lucky. Normally though, I only managed to get about 2 or 3 hours on a daily basis.

I found the lack of energy annoying, and it didn't help that I was constantly irritated.

I would occasionally snap which lead to some rather awkward moments, especially in public.

I mean, it's not my fault that the old lady at the store was slow as shit. I mean, move it or lose it, lady.

I guess, If you believed your quirk was brainwashing for most of your life you likely would not have tested it to any extent.

Certainly not to an extent where you figure out the confines of your quirks' abilities are closer to something else.

I went by to my seat and decided to close my eyes and rest for a bit.

I could feel Midoriya staring at the back of my head. He was scribbling in his notebook, and muttering. Probably trying to figure out how my quirk works.

Nosey little shit.

The eraser hit him right between the eyes. A result of repeated practice.

"Shut-up Midoriya, you're freaking out the new guy." The teacher scowled at him, while the rest of the class snickered.

I could also hear Bakougo scoffing and saying

'Just another extra'

It ended up being a long day, and I couldn't wait to go home and be done with this boring-ass day.

Luckily, I don't know if it's my demeanor or what exactly, but hardly anybody approached me.

Izuku tried saying hi during recess, but I ignored him and pretended not to hear him.

I mean it was either, that or try to catch some sleep.

And frankly, I wasn't in the mood to get interrogated over my quirk.

I ended my day with my usual routine and decided to spend a few hours on the internet, doing some more research.

I had to find a way to develop my quirk and find new ways to use it.

If what was shown in the manga to be believed even seemingly weak quirks, had the potential for awakening.

A few members of the league of villains managed to awaken their quirks, and I had a feeling deep inside, that there was more to this quirk than could be seen on the surface.

There's was also some quirk-enhancing drugs available on the black market.

I managed to find a few sources, after accessing the dark web and hanging about on some shady forums.

I was contemplating trying a few of them but decided against it.

I could experiment later, I have yet to achieve my full potential and who knows, I may end up not needing it.

...

A few more months pass by, of me strengthening my foundations.

My figure became more toned and refined. I was still quite young and I wouldn't see any drastic results until I at least hit puberty.

But it was quite obvious, that I worked out.

My previous sickly and scrawny physique disappeared only to be replaced, by a more athletic one.

At school, I was constantly at the top of my class.

I would only need to read something once, or twice and I would end up remembering at least 90% of it.

I didn't have an eidetic memory, but it was pretty close.

I suspected it was another aspect of my quirk, or it could also be a result of me taking over this body.

Maybe our merger granted me some kind of power, or perhaps even strengthened this body's own quirk.

School life was boring, I wasn't interested in making any friends, since I found most of them either too childish or plain annoying.

It was 3 months in when a few students tried bullying me; they tried getting a rise out of me by declaring my quirk villainous, and that one day, I'd end up a villain.

It took my classmates a little while to fully understand what brainwashing meant.

Once the students understood my ability, they split into two different groups.

The first group feared me and refused to talk to me, while the other started antagonizing me.

My teachers understood immediately and reacted with varying degrees of fear and aggression.

Some of them even refused to talk to me, while others seemed wary or slightly distrustful.

I mostly ignored them and pretended not to care since their opinions didn't really matter.

They were a bunch of brats and this society, liked putting people in boxes. And it seems, it was already decided which box I belonged to.

Most of them lost interest after a while, I didn't feed into their obvious attempts at batting me, and they eventually got bored and left me alone, deciding to just talk about me behind my back.

One day though one of the persistent ones decided to get a little physical.

He and his friends ganged up on me during, recess.

One of the kids bumped into me with enough force to trip me and make me fall.

I wasn't even phased by his weak-ass attempt. He fell on his ass, and I chuckled, because of how dumb his face looked.

His face immediately reddened in embarrassment, and I could see him balling his fists ready to attack.

He had a hardening quirk allowing him to make his hands feel like a solid rock. His hand gained a slight greyish tint, signifying his quirk's activation.

Now, I had two choices in front of me, my first choice was to beat the shit out of him, and teach him what real pain feels like.

Pros: I'd get to vent.

Cons: I could get suspended and have a permanent mark on my school record.

Sure, I could go easy on them, but if I go too easy they'll just come back for revenge.

I could use my quirk, but then If anyone notices it I could get into even more trouble.

It was mentioned on one of those shady forums I usually log on into, that people who have what could be considered 'villainous' quirks are considered high risk and could potentially be put on a watch list.

And that just sounded like a headache.

A sudden spark of inspiration hit me as his fist was headed towards me.

I smirked a bit, his attack was so telegraphed. I could probably dodge it with my eyes closed.

*BAM*

" AHHH...AHHHH...."

I didn't dodge.

The kid was frozen in shock and didn't know what to do.

I was rolling on the floor screaming bloody murder and making a scene. People started gathering, trying to see what was wrong.

Only to see three students, surrounding their classmate who was holding his face and rolling on the ground.

People started whispering, and it wasn't long before a teacher came to see what the whole commotion was about.

" What is the meaning of this! What's going on?" The teacher asked.

One of the bystanders, a classmate of mine spoke up and said. " Kazuma and his friends got into a fight with Shinso."

The teacher looked at us and ordered the rest of the students to disperse; he took the four of us, to the principal's office. He also took the student, that spoke up earlier.

After we arrived at the office, the teacher asked us what happened.

He took a look at my face and grimaced. I had a black eye, and it was obvious it was starting to swell quite a bit.

The other kids were untouched, so they didn't have a leg to stand on.

All of our parents were called to school. My mom went ballistic, just as I predicted and threatened to sue the school.

The three boys' parents turned out to be decent people and apologized to me and my mother.

Finding out your children were bullying another student for months, and ganged up on him to beat him up, had a way of making people meek.

One of the boys brought up my quirk but was immediately shut down by my mother who stated.

"He suffered a grievous head injury and hasn't been able to use his quirk ever since then."

' If only she knew. ' I thought.

Things went along as one would expect, they all got in trouble.

The one who hit me was suspended and got a permanent mark on his record.

His friends got off with a warning but were warned, if anything like this happened again, they could get all get expelled.

That kid from my class Gin, played a huge part in corroborating my story.

He always sat behind me in class and had a habit of forgetting his books at home.

I'd always give him mine since I already had them memorized.

We weren't friends, but things were cordial between us. I guess this was his way of repaying me.

He had a minor wind control quirk. Which wasn't bad, it was certainly more useful than the kid in our class, who could elongate his neck to two times its normal length.

...

The next day after school was finished, a certain green-haired kid approached me, just as I was putting my books away in my backpack.

We were the only ones left in the classroom and I could tell he wanted to say something.

"Hey Shinso, I heard about what happened. Are you okay ?" He asked.

" I'm fine, it's not exactly the first time, something like this happened," I said.

Midoriya frowned a bit " They did this, before?"

" Nah, I'm talking about my last school, that's why I came to this one," I said.

Midorya had a pretty depressed look on his face and said. " I'm sorry, Shinso... I...I "

" Don't worry about it, it's not your fault, If anything I've seen how Bakougo and his friends treat you.," I said.

" N..Noo... Bakougo is my friend, he's just.."

He started panicking and denying getting bullied by Bakougo, saying he's his friend and whatnot.

It was kind of pitiful, actually.

The Stockholm syndrome was strong with this one.

I patted him on the shoulder. " I'm sure he is buddy, I'm sure he is."

I decided to humor him; it was obvious he was living in denial and trying to convince him otherwise would be pretty useless.

I think he sensed I didn't believe him, so he stopped talking and could only put his head down.

I decided to leave him to his thoughts and as I reached the entrance, I suddenly remembered something.

" Hey, Midoriya,"

He raised his head, giving me his attention.

" I heard you were quirkless," I said.

It was obvious he didn't expect my statement, and before he could respond, I continued.

" I also know, you want to be a hero," I said.

He stayed silent, not knowing what to say, waiting to see where I was going with this.

"I want to ask you a simple question, ever since you found out you were quirkless. What have you done to make your dream come true, except for feeling sorry about yourself?" I asked, genuinely curious.

(Chapter End)