MHA: Unleashing The Ten Shadows Technique

Chapter 1: Chapter 1



Just here to reiterate that this is a Major AU, a lot of things are different, but a lot of things are the same. It's the MHA formula with a tad more realism and taking place over a realistic amount of time.

This is a harem, though I am unsure there will be lemons because I never have written them before and would rather not crash and burn, so for now it will be 'fade to black'; sorry not sorry.

Lastly, the MC will not be OP off the rip(there will be zero nerfs to the Ten Shadows Technique don't worry), and at the start his character might be bland but there is this thing called character growth that will play a big part. He will make realistic mistakes, not dumb ones, because trust me I'm tired of authors nerfing MC's intelligence to move the story along, and he will become more adept and powerful with the Ten Shadows as time goes on.

Also, it's a slow start kind of story, so don't expect heaps of action right off the bat, it is about building up and anticipation after all.

I will only update once a week until the story gains traction, then it will be two a week or even three.

That's pretty much it, I hope you enjoy it, happy reading!

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

I was no longer sleeping, that wasn't hard to notice, but the fact I was sitting down, my arms resting on something soft and my head cradled in between them was a bit harder to understand.

I remembered the alcohol, but didn't taste that stagnant breath I was used to, nor did I feel my bed or any of the familiar hard wood tiles that were a staple for most of my drunken escapades, and oddly enough; neither did I smell the gas I had cringed at before I had fallen asleep.

I froze.

The gas, the fire, the pain….

My eyes shot open, and then immediately shut when they were assaulted by a light that gave the sun a run for its money. 

My hand came up to block it, and as I recovered from what felt like a flashbang, I managed to see through the white dots in my vision the blackjack table I was sitting at.

"What?" 

My voice was dry, and I forcibly blinked away the blurriness in my vision and swept my eyes across my immediate surroundings.

A casino, one with grandiose golden pillars, that terrible multicolored padded carpet every one of them seemed to have, velvet ropes blocking off sections, marbled bars with colorful drinks, people spinning big wheels with flashy lights, crowds huddled around tables shouting in agony or glee, a huge screen constantly playing some obnoxiously colorful ad, and dozens of machines meant for gambling letting out a slur of coin chings and virtual confetti.

I was more than confused, doing multiple double takes, because I knew I hadn't gone to a casino the night before; or ever in my life since I was too young, and slowly the details I had missed on my first few go arounds started to show.

Next to my table was a sitting group of three, one looking human but having purple skin, a full blown male elf with blonde hair and pointy ears, and finally a towering seven foot humanoid made of obsidian who grumbled a "hit me" that shook my skull from where I was sitting.

"What?" I repeated, seeing as with another careful look around, most of the casino's patrons were distinctly not human or had features slightly different enough from one to stand out.

Hell, there was a woman who honestly looked like an elementary school teacher with a kind smile and soft wrinkles, but that image was quickly shattered the second I saw the golden halo above her head and the angelic white wings attached to her back.

A sudden cleared throat made me turn so fast I almost got whiplash, my eyes growing slightly wide as I saw a man with a mantis head dressed in a finely tailored white suit, his human hands seemingly made of metal and slowly tapping the table.

"Jordan Ryans?" It asked in a surprisingly normal male voice.

I swallowed hard, looked down at myself to see I was still wearing my rendition of a half assed pirate costume I had worn to the Halloween party, and then back up at the mantis impatiently looking at me; though it was hard to tell with its literally bulging bug eyes.

"That's you right?" The mantis asked, annoyance dripping in each word.

I blinked slowly, and despite still unsure what the hell was happening, I somehow managed a small nod.

The mantis-cyborg thing perked up at the gesture, attitude flipping entirely as it excitedly grabbed a small empty shot glass I hadn't noticed before and slid it toward me.

"Take it and you will understand."

I frowned, because who in their right mind would drink anything a stranger—much less from a humanoid mantis—gave to them?

"No-" I started but immediately stopped, seeing as I watched as the once empty shot glass filled itself with a liquid that was literally a rainbow and gave off a faint light.

I stared at it, and slowly but surely every worry, fear, thought, and emotion faded away.

Then, despite everything that common sense told me, I grabbed the shot and swallowed it down in one go.

Immediately, my hands came up to grab my temples, and like lightning, something struck my head, information that had never been there before forcing itself into my mind.

Thankfully, in the next moment the feeling was gone, and I stared at my hands as I slowly pulled them away, everything I once thought was reality now shattered into a million pieces.

To start off, I had died, an explosion, fire, or something having killed me when I attended a halloween party to relieve some stress from the aftermath of midterms. 

Low and behold, drunk nineteen year olds in an apartment usually never ended well, and I could vaguely remember toward the end before I eventually blacked out that a classmate named Andy was going to go cook some eggs.

At three a.m….

And that was after his fifteenth shot of liquor.

"I'm dead." I said aloud, cementing the fact in my mind, and also to show that I still had control over myself; because there was also more information I had gotten violently shoved into my head other than my own death.

A second chance at life.

This whole casino was run by an otherworldly god, one who had made it out of simple boredom, using the millions of people in this very casino as mere entertainment for itself. They would show up here, get random worlds, powers, and modifiers, then get shipped off to live with them; plain and simple.

Well, almost, because if you had multiple people at your table, then that meant you weren't the only one going to the new world.

Even in my current absurd situation, even with everything that I had suddenly learned, I breathed a long sigh of relief after seeing I was sitting alone.

Small mercies.

"You got it all?" The mantis asked.

"Yeah," I muttered quietly, "Sadly I did."

He chittered, "I get it, death can suck, but at least you get a second chance, most don't."

I nodded, but my mind picked up on the fact I wasn't breaking down or throwing a fit, I felt normal; even well rested.

"Why do I feel….fine?" I asked, taking a glance to see the same table of three to my right, paying more attention this time and seeing a few colorful cards that were blinking with bright lights once they were put on the table.

I vaguely saw 'Warhammer 40k' spelled out on one of the cards, the others too far away to discern anything else. 

"Ah, the Tears of Thoth stave off any emotions that grow too strong, and also keeps you level headed." The mantis dealer shrugged."Wouldn't want to waste time right, there are an infinite amount of people after you to attend to ya know?"

"Right…" I intoned, glancing down at the black jack table. "So I get to choose how I want everything to go?"

A nod from the insect, plus with the information I already had in my head, it was all but confirmed now. I also mentally looked through my options, seeing as I could play blackjack, get a tarot card reading, roll dice, get random cards, play bingo, and the list went on and on.

I decided on dice, since it felt better holding the very thing that would determine everything about my next life.

The mantis nodded once I told them, and with a poof of gold smoke, thirteen different colored dice landed on the black jack table.

"Whenever you are ready."

I didn't need to ask questions, since every single one of them had pretty much been answered once I swallowed the Tears of Thoth.

Why did I get picked?

No reason, it was all up to pure cosmic chance.

Why anime, book, movie, television, and novel worlds?

Apparently, the God who ran this whole thing got tired of people going into worlds they didn't know about and dying days to even seconds into their arrival.

So again, small mercies, and I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Swallowing hard in anticipation, I hesitantly picked up the first die, which was colored vanta black with white lettering. I cautiously looked at the words written on the six sided die, seeing on one side I found the familiar world of 'Naruto' written out. 

However, once I explored the other sides with fascination and then turned it back around, Naruto was replaced by 'No Game No Life'.

Neat.

I knew that the possible worlds were only ones I knew more than 40% about or consumed the same amount of, so I wouldn't be completely left out to dry, but then the regret that I watched enough of Attack on Titan but never finished the show made me worry.

Either way, there was no use dwelling on what ifs, so grasping the dice, blowing air into my closed fist, I tossed it.

It bounced only three times before coming to a halt, and coincidently, three words glowed white once it did.

My Hero Academia.

I wasn't one to show much emotion, but I practically jumped out of my seat, hands thrown in the air at the fact I got a world I had full knowledge over.

I had never been overly lucky or unlucky, but this, this was enough.

I'm sure once the Tears of Thoth wore off I would probably worry, cry, or whatever, but right now I felt good; great even.

"Hmm, pretty lucky." The mantis nodded.

I flinched, glancing up and giving him a small smile, "Thanks."

I kind of forgot he was here.

Feeling good about my initial luck, I grabbed the seven yellow dice, which would be the modifiers that changed the world in some shape or form.

The kicker was that they could be a disadvantage, advantage, or neutral.

I had wanted to do one at a time, but the high from my first throw made me eager, so with the same routine, I eagerly watched on as seven dice decided my second shot at life.

After three long seconds, they all settled, and my gut dropped once I saw everything that had been rolled.

-Prime Time: All for One managed to grab Super Regeneration before his injuries permanently healed as scars after his battle with All Might. As a result, he is still in his prime before canon.

-The Quirk Singularity is a Thing: Quirks that should give additional power sets or boosts are now added. 

-Realistic Reforms: Certain facets of society and powers have changed to fit better, the majority are helpful.

-Unknown Footprints in The Sand: three very important parts of the story have been randomly placed somewhere else in the timeline.

-The Quirk User Could be Anyone: Canon characters, including you, are naturally drawn to one another. You can take actions to get rid of that inclination.

-A New Villain in Town: A hero and villain have swapped sides, their origins have been changed to fit. 

-Character Chaos LV2: the same aspect for two characters has been changed. 

My eyes glazed over after reading the first modifier, but fortunately my mind was dragged back to reality before I could spiral, the Tears of Thoth keeping me from going off the deep end.

At the very least one helped me in some form. The second was neutral since it gave everyone more abilities, and the next four were possibly detrimental or extremely helpful.

I wasn't even sure about the last one.

However, the first modifier was troubling, and I had to forcibly tear my gaze away from reading it again.

Grumbling, I grabbed the two red die, this time a bit more humbled as I threw them.

I knew these were going to be my disadvantages.

-Dead Man Walking: You wake up as a corpse fully healed. However, a cannon character out there knows you shouldn't be alive, since they watched the life leave your eyes after all: be wary of them. 

-Insomnia: You have insomnia.

I exhaled, not willing to show how thankful I was that my disadvantages weren't horrible or outright going to get me killed. The first meant that I wouldn't be waking up as a baby, a bonus in my opinion, but the "be wary" part had me skeptical.

Doable though, so far everything was doable, because next came my two advantages and my Quirk.

Two blue dice this time, and carefully I picked them up, glancing at the mantis dealer who had gone to clean the shot glass that held the Tears of Thoth, intently waiting for me to throw them.

I closed my eyes, thought good thoughts, and gave a slightly weak throw.

I heard only one bounce, and hesitantly, my eyes opened to see what was going to let me live long enough to even determine how I wanted to live my second shot at life.

I had died too abruptly, too quick, and it felt like I had been robbed blind.

I wanted to live, to reach the end of my life fulfilled, no matter what world it was in.

-Throw Me a Bone: You are supernaturally accurate when throwing things that weigh less than your body weight.

-Three Months of Grace: Whenever you deem it, three times you can set a full month's time where neither side(your allies and your designated enemies) will act against one another. However, the grace period will be prematurely ended if you do decide to attack prematurely. 

"Fuck yes," I rarely cursed, but as my eyes practically shook reading the second advantage, I think it was necessary.

That was good, it could give me time to plan, to relax, and if things go south, to heal. I was going to be in a world I was not entirely prepared for due to the modifiers I rolled, so three months where something or someone was not trying to kill me was a blessing.

However, there was one more dice to roll, a white one with black lettering that would determine my power.

Of course, with the Tears of Thoth, I knew that the power would be susceptible to Quirks, but I wouldn't have to worry about nerfing or new limitations.

It would be exactly as the power should be, potential and all, but Quirks like Aizawa's eraser could still cancel it, or at least I was assuming with the information I have.

The knowledge in my head were just paragraphs of information, not intuitive at all, and I knew already I couldn't ask the staff or any other patrons for more answers.

I should have been nervous, but the Tears of Thot made sure I stayed level headed, that mixed with a determination not to die early rippling through my body as I gripped the dice till my knuckles turned white.

I rolled, and as the die settled, I smiled.

It wasn't extremely OP, I wasn't going into my new life as a kryptonian or with reality warping abilities.

But this?

This could work.

-The Ten Shadows Technique: an inherited technique passed down in the Zenin Clan. Using shadows as an intermediary, this technique allows the user to summon ten different shikigami.

I laughed, mind already racing to figure out everything I knew about the infamous power, and I also thanked Lady Luck that I had finished reading Jujutsu Kaisen.

So now, all I had to do was tame Mahoraga before All for One decided enough was enough and scraped Japanese society off his boot.

Easy right?

My hands clenched into fists, and I kept my breathing even as I looked up at the mantis man before me, his tiny black eyes already meeting mine.

"Luck shines upon you it seems," he chittered in what I assume was happiness. "I wish you even more good fortune in your second life."

I smiled softly, the genuine tone in his voice letting me know he meant it. 

Although now, I wasn't sure what exactly came next, and with another glance around me, I soaked in the otherworldly casino around me, lingering on a few really odd looking humanoids.

"Oh I almost forgot."

I turned back, and somehow—someway, I knew the mantis was grinning.

"Sorry."

I opened my mouth to ask what he was sorry for, but my answer came with a whirring noise beneath my seat, and without warning a hatch opened, revealing only complete darkness within.

I fell, not even thinking to try to catch myself because of how absurd it was, and again the Tears of Thoth kept me from screaming, my eyes focused upwards as the tiny square of light above grew smaller and smaller.

Eventually, it was far enough where I was left in a pitch black abyss, the sinking feeling of gravity the only thing giving me some direction.

Well, until I hit, and all the emotions and panic slammed back into me like a bullet.

My eyes shot open, hands pushing me up from where I lay as my lungs fought for air, my heart threatening to leap out of my chest at any moment.

I tried to calm down, but my flight or flight instincts seemed to be kicking into overdrive, and my focus was suddenly on my immediate surroundings because of it.

A dark alleyway, one nestled under a full moon, potholes filled with water letting me know it had rained recently.

I discovered I was wet as well, well more like soaked, and I chanced a small glance down at myself.

A black school uniform, or what was left of it, half of it completely burned and torn, and the black fabric not able to completely hide the blood stains either.

"Fuck."

Again, I wasn't one to curse, but sitting in an alleyway, in a new body—one that had apparently been dead not long ago— clothes torn and burned, soaked, freezing, and really hungry should warrant it.

Then, before I could even get my bearings, my thoughts latched onto the worst possible thing.

Thoughts about my old life came crashing down on me. 

I sat stunned, every happy moment with friends and family coming to me like an old friend, making whatever joy I had at being in My Hero Academia quickly die out.

I laid down again, not caring about the stench or that the pavement was still wet, curled up in a ball and tried my best to focus on my breathing, doing everything I could to steady it.

Think good thoughts, think good thoughts, think good thoughts…

I exhaled heavily, uncurling and swallowing the scratchy feeling in my throat.

I didn't wipe away the tears, I was completely wet anyways, and I did my best to shove away any lingering grief.

I had to focus, I was in a new world, some one had killed me and left this—my body— to rot in an alleyway in the dead of night.

That ruled out a lot of canon characters, but I wasn't placing all my bets, with the modifiers I rolled any supposed hero could have killed me.

'Hah, first hour into my second life and I'm thinking about who murdered me.'

Baby steps Jordan.

I could work with that.

I checked my pockets, not entirely surprised to see a frog pouch with yen, a gift card, a business card for an arcade, and a school ID.

I set my attention on the last item, and with trembling hands from the cold, I pulled it out and saw my new face.

I couldn't say I was entirely surprised to see Megumi Fushiguro, a frown, brooding aura and his dead eyes giving off an air of being completely unbothered.

I scrolled down to the information below, noting I could read Japanese, and was a little surprised to see something familiar.

Kenji Kagenara, Age seventeen, born December 22nd, 175cm, third year student at Aldera High.

"Figures," I whispered, also noticing I had Megumi's voice as well.

It made sense, I was now a wielder of the Ten Shadows Technique, and if I was remembering right, Megumi was a high schooler anyways.

It felt weird though, not being in my body anymore, but more so for the fact I felt fine.

There was no discomfort, except from my ruined uniform, and also because I was fully healed I even felt well rested.

I stretched, flexed my somewhat muscular body, and stood, finally noticing I had something wrapped around my shoulder.

I looked, seeing what seemed to be the remnants of a shoulder strap, and turning toward the back of the alley I saw a gray backpack, some of its contents spilled out into a puddle of water.

I frowned.

Not the greatest start, but it could have been worse, I could have been a baby, but that would have also given me time to prepare.

All for One was out there, in his prime, and All Might would be injured, no longer able to be the buffer I was going to need.

I sucked in the cold air, letting it keep me grounded as I went to retrieve my backpack.

A few journals were black from burn marks, others soaked to the point the paper tore with just a touch, but the pencils could be salvaged.

The most important thing was the smartphone inside however, and I allowed myself the briefest smile, especially once face recognition let me open it.

I immediately changed the passcode, having a little trouble seeing as the UI was completely new to me, bitterly reminding me about not having any memories of my new body.

I made my way toward the street, though halfway there I decided that I should take off what was left of my uniform. I would stand out without a shirt, yes, but wearing half of one with clear signs of injury would be worse.

I didn't mind the cold either, it made me know this wasn't a dream, and so did the information in the smartphone I found.

Kenji Kagenara was a person, living and breathing, because of his social media posts, the texts, the notes he had for school work and other things, mobile games, and even a few saved photos of a few scantily dressed influencers told me a lot.

He was normal, though I did notice he was the definition of a dry texter, only ever giving one word responses are a few sentences reminiscent of the Sahara.

A crack in my current bravado appeared as I continued to search, the thought that maybe I played a role in his death reared its ugly head. 

But no, it was wrong, and I buried the idea instantly.

I knew from the information the Tears of Thoth gave me that the omniverse was a thing, multi-string theory was a thing, and I had only been placed in the exact scenario in an infinite amount of worlds.

A crazy realization if there ever could be one, but it still helped, and I wasn't going to start my second life being depressed.

There was a whole new world out there, with characters I know and love, waifus, battles to be had, and a life to live.

I had died, plain and simple, and though I would have much preferred going back to Earth to be Jordan again, that wasn't going to happen.

I swallowed the bitter pill, found the address that was where I would be living from now on, and started my journey.

Honestly, Japan was beautiful, and though I was clearly in a less populated area, the buzz of the night life was one to behold.

I even saw tourists, some speaking with clearly American accents and taking pictures or stumbling drunk out of street bars.

It was weird to see firsthand in a sense that My Hero was Earth, just a hundred or so years in the future with everyone having super powers.

People were still people, especially as they gave me odd looks, a guy who was literally a Centaur giving me the dirtiest one as well.

I forgot that the standard for normal was also changed here, my eyes hovering over each mutation in awe and morbid curiosity.

It was all so much to take in, but luckily I was going to get some peace and quiet, hurrying up a flight of stairs and standing in front of my apartment.

Through scouring of Old Kenji's phone, I could see he was part of a government program that the HPSC sponsored and led. It was for kids who lost their parents in villain attacks, giving them a monthly stipend based on their grades, and also with a promise to attend a hero university in some capacity.

I did note the mention of 'hero university', but with all the other stuff swirling around in my head, the thought of aged up characters and the implications of it were the least of my worries.

I used my thumb on a scanner on the door, a bit surprised by the technology, but nonetheless throwing it in the 'new world' pile for later.

The apartment was as normal as any teenager living alone, well a Japanese one. It was scarily clean, and I could wager that it had to do with a HSPC representative doing monthly check ins to see how old Kenji was living.

Just like the culture in my Earth's Japan, discipline and ethics were important here, and apparently any bad grade or misconduct would have my monthly stipend drop in amount.

Great.

I exhaled heavily for what felt like the thousandth time, taking off my clothes that were sticking to my body and still sopping wet; not really caring for where they landed after I threw them.

I found the bedroom on my first try, stepping in and taking in the room filled up with memories of someone else's life.

I shrugged off the guilt a bit easier this time, plopping down on the bed and closing my eyes.

I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep, and it was as the minutes ticked by that I forgot that this was not the canon MHA world.

I begrudgingly got up, taking out my phone and typing out the modifiers, my disadvantages, and my advantages into a note.

Sitting naked on the edge of the bed, I read them one more time.

Modifiers

-Prime Time: All for One managed to grab Super Regeneration before his injuries permanently healed as scars after his battle with All Might. As a result, he is still in his prime before canon.

-The Quirk Singularity is a Thing: Quirks that should give additional power sets or boosts are now added. 

-Realistic Reforms: Certain facets of society and powers have changed to fit better, the majority are helpful.

-Unknown Footprints in The Sand: three very important parts of the story have been randomly placed somewhere else in the timeline.

-The Quirk User Could be Anyone: Canon characters, including you, are naturally drawn to one another. You can take actions to get rid of that inclination.

-A New Villain in Town: A hero and villain have swapped sides, their origins have been changed to fit. 

-Character Chaos LV2: the same aspect for two characters has been changed. 

Disadvantages

Dead Man Walking: You wake up as a corpse fully healed. However, a cannon character out there knows you shouldn't be alive, since they watched the life leave your eyes after all: be wary of them. 

-Insomnia: You have insomnia.

Advantages

-Throw Me a Bone: You are supernaturally accurate when throwing things that weigh less than your body weight.

-Three Months of Grace: Whenever you deem it, three times you can set a full month's time where neither side(your allies and your designated enemies) will act against one another. However, the grace period will be prematurely ended if you do decide to attack. 

It was easier with it all laid out, and I nodded, knowing I had my work cut out for me.

I wasn't exactly sure how a lot of them would work, but where is the fun in knowing everything? 

I had future knowledge, or at least a general idea of it since the modifiers changed a good bit.

It could have been worse, way worse, and I found myself thinking of small mercies again.

I smirked, then I could feel my eyebrows threatening to pass my hairline as a thought struck me.

I focused inward, and the smirk I had turned into a toothy grin once I found a packet of information nestled in my head.

I clasped my hands together to form a familiar shadow puppet, and the shadow I cast from the overhead light beaming down on me bubbled like black magma.

Rising like demons from hell, two very familiar and distinctive wolves appeared before me. 

It was also with their activation that something in my eyes seemed to click, and my mouth opened in surprise upon seeing the blue flames that surrounded my arms.

Cursed Energy.

The grin was turning devilish, and as I thought of all the possibilities, the future didn't look to bleak after all.

'Taming Mahoraga shouldn't be too hard right?'

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters.