Shunkan Isshun.
Nezu studied the file laid out before him.
Graduated from Ashigaya Elementary School.
Scheduled to begin at Ashigaya Middle School in two weeks.
Age: Twelve.
Quirk: Mathematics.
Originally from Saitama Prefecture. Relocated to Tokyo Prefecture at the age of ten.
There was plenty of additional information, but most of it was rather pointless.
At the end of the day, Nezu had two things that mattered: a name, and a Quirk.
And that Quirk was… intriguing.
Nezu tapped the edge of the file thoughtfully. The Quirk was called Mathematics—and yet the boy could teleport.
Nezu's first hypothesis had been straightforward enough. Isshun likely overlaid mathematical models onto physical space itself.
That meant that he probably calculated using three dimensional coordinates of specific objects and then specifically changed the coordinates of the object he decided to move, creating an effect that appeared to be teleportation.
It was efficient and more importantly, it was extremely simplistic.
And, in Nezu's mind, the most probable explanation.
Even so, there were inconsistencies that were impossible to just ignore.
Isshun had detected hostile individuals across an absurdly wide range, reacting with near-instant precision.
This wasn't even including Ragdoll's report of Isshun somehow being able to teleport to Musutafu from Tokyo and back, far beyond the estimated range of four kilometers.
That implied reaction speeds bordering on the impossible.
It also implied processing power that rivaled even optimized supercomputers.
Both of those traits could have been Quirks by themselves.
Even Nezu's own Quirk, High Specs, would struggle to perform continuous calculations of that scale without delay. And yet Isshun had done so effortlessly and repeatedly.
What Nezu didn't know was that Isshun wasn't calculating in three dimensions at all.
He was calculating in eleven.
Eight additional layers of spatial information, all registered, processed, and implemented in real time.
Isshun's brain was working at speeds that were basically incomprehensible.
If the average person's mental processing power amounted to one, High Specs elevated Nezu into the hundreds.
Nezu might be superior in terms of intelligence, emotional reactions, and comprehension individually.
In raw computational output alone, the boy was peerless, without equal.
A Sky Above the Sky.
That wasn't to say Isshun was some all-knowing prodigy.
In fact, much of that overwhelming processing power was constantly being diverted, in constant standby in case Isshun instantly needed to Teleport, sustaining his Domain, or merely indulging in fleeting interests that caught his attention for a week before he was satisfied.
He could indeed 'brute force' both intelligence, emotional reactions, and comprehension all through his computational power if he wanted to.
He simply didn't see the point.
For Isshun, motivation was the missing variable.
If there was a good comparison, it was that Isshun basically had enough money to indulge for the rest of his life.
What was the point of working?
What was the point of learning?
What was the point of doing anything?
Just throw money at the problem.
Only when there was a risk of a scam or theft would Isshun gain the motivation to work or learn.
The lone, consistent exception was the people around him.
And even then, they rarely needed to push him. Isshun was powerful and responsible enough to coast through life without any consequences.
He wasn't lazy, despite how others perceived him.
Unmotivated was the more accurate term to describe Isshun.
Give him a justification, no matter how flimsy, so long as it convinced him that it was better than lazing around, Isshun would act.
Nejire wanted to exercise, so he taught himself sports science.
Toru wanted to be visible, so he taught himself optics science.
(Even if the optics science was useless in the end.)
That was how Isshun functioned.
--<>--
Even with only the assumption of three-dimensional calculations, Nezu found himself intrigued.
High Specs allowed him, an animal, to communicate and reason at a human level, despite his physiology.
While Nezu acknowledged that specialists around the world surpassed him in narrow fields, in terms of broad, applied intelligence, he was confident in his position.
Quirks that enhanced intellect were exceedingly rare.
Which meant Nezu rarely found anyone capable of engaging him in a true exchange of minds.
Not to disparage his own faculty, but there was simply no comparison to himself when it came to intelligence.
So discovering that Isshun's teleportation was merely one application of a far broader Quirk sparked genuine interest.
Of course, curiosity wasn't the priority.
Recruitment was.
Nezu was painfully aware of Hero Society's flaws, particularly the corruption beneath the Hero Public Safety Commission's bureaucracy.
If the Commission identified Isshun first and decided to "secure" him through less savory methods, the consequences would be disastrous.
Twelve-year-old boys often harbored grandiose fantasies.
Nezu didn't sense that from Isshun.
Which made understanding his motivations all the more important.
That was why Nezu had authorized a full background review before arranging any meeting, which included medical evaluations, psychological observations, and social relationships.
And that was when a familiar name appeared.
Hado Nejire.
Nezu never forgot a name once he'd seen it.
Hado Nejire had briefly appeared on his suspect list during the Blink Vigilante investigation. Her move-in date had aligned with Blink's initial appearances.
However, she had been taken off the list rather quickly.
First, what Nezu was looking for was a broad Quirk that couldn't easily be documented or could be misunderstood.
Her Quirk was straightforward, well-documented, and supported by extensive footage.
Since it would take too long to have a background check of every single suspect available, Nezu could only skim through a display of a suspect's Quirk and location.
Still…
Who would have guessed that Shunkan Isshun shared such a close relationship with her?
Reviewing the remaining footage from the past ninety days revealed a pattern. Isshun traveled to Musutafu almost daily, frequently accompanying Nejire during her exercise routines.
Add that into the knowledge of them being neighbors and attending the same elementary school in Saitama, by all indications, they seemed to be in that vein of Childhood Friends.
And after a short investigation and Hado Nejire's future career sheets, it seemed that Hado Nejire was aiming for U.A.?
Nezu's eyes gleamed.
If Isshun and Nejire were close enough to train together, and if Nejire was aware of his teleportation, then the likelihood of Isshun following her path was remarkably high.
What an extraordinary coincidence.
Better yet, footage also showed Isshun training with another child his own age in Tokyo as well.
All signs pointed in a very promising direction.
Still, with volatile Quirks, caution was mandatory.
And Nezu would be lying if he said his curiosity wasn't a factor.
He would never use students as leverage.
As an educator first and foremost, he would never even think of such an option.
However…
Testing reactions, applying subtle pressure, and introducing carefully chosen implications to observe psychological responses—
Those were simply tools.
And tools, after all, were meant to be used.
If it was only a bluff, then no harm would be done.
…Would it not?
--<>--
A/N: This chapter was to kind of explain that Isshun isn't a Genius in the sense of Nezu and also build up to a scene. He's smart in that 'I have a mature mindset' type of way, but he only learns fast and remembers things perfectly because of his computational ability.
If he put all of his computational power into what Nezu is good at, then yes, he could 100% brute force every single possibility and technically become 'smarter' in a technical way. But Isshun's personality is basically Madam Herta when it comes to looking into interesting things.
--<>--
NEXT WEEK'S Goals.
4000PS - Not Complete
8000PS - Not Unlocked