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U.A. High, Class 1-A
"I had so many people talking to me on the way here!"
"Yeah… It was kinda off-putting, honestly."
"I was getting so many looks from people, too! It was kinda embarrassing!"
"This coming from the girl that goes in the buff for her hero costume?"
"Soooo many girls talked to me on the way here! I was in heaven~."
"Old women that need help don't count, idiot."
"You'll never guess what a bunch of elementary school brats told me!"
"Oooo, lemme guess! Was it—"
"Nice try?"
"Yeah, what Tsu said!"
"You guys suck."
U.A. had allowed a day off after the Sports Festival for the participating students to recover from their excitement and injuries, for those that got thrashed during the Tournament portion. The Awards Ceremony for the Tournament went off without much of a hitch, with the only drama coming from Katsuki's reluctance to take the medal, which was forced around his head by All Might as he was the one to give the medals to the recipients (Note: He wasn't chained up, so he did put up a bit of a fight). Sherry had some trouble getting on the podium as she wasn't exactly fit to walk without assistance. She had asked Momo to help her stand up for the podium, though creation girl resisted for a moment before giving in. Shoto was still a bit out of it as he was still experiencing glimpses of his traumatic past while his fellow third placer and Class 1-B Vice President simply held his nonchalant gaze to the crowd.
The following day was simply uneventful for almost everyone, save for a few important events for some of the students. Ochako got a visit from her parents, Shoto went to visit his mother for the first time in almost a decade, Mina got a visit from her older brother, as he was college and barely got to see his family, and Tenya went to visit his older brother in the hospital. Other minor events that happened were Katsuki's epic ass-kicking of his mouth germs, Hajikeru, Fumikage, Mezo, and Tooru getting taiyaki (That stuff is awesome, by the way), Sherry's minor lecture about overdoing it by her father and major lecture of overdoing it from her mother, and Denryoku getting dragged around the Hoth District by Sentsuna and Juzo. Overall, good day if you ignore the hidden angst.
The sound of the sliding doors opening snapped the students from their casual banter and into their seats as Shota Aizawa, aka The Erasure Hero: 'Eraserhead', walked in.
"Morning, class," spoke the scruffy Pro Hero.
"Good morning, sensei," replied most of the class.
"It's good to see you're out of those bandages, Aizawa-sensei," Tsuyu said.
"The old lady went overboard with her treatment, but enough about me. For homeroom today, we're going over Hero Informatics. It's like your Heroics course later on in the day, but instead you'll be doing something very crucial for your careers as future Pro Heroes." The shaggy teacher was scratching at a scar on one of his lower eyelids all the while he was speaking.
'Is it a pop quiz?!'
'Don't tell me its hero law stuff!'
'Crucial to our careers, huh? I wonder what it could be.'
"Today, you'll be picking your hero names."
"It's a totally awesome activity!" collectively shouted most of the Class 1-A students. Though their joy was immediately ceased by an annoyed glare coming from the Erasure Hero.
"Before you get too excited, let me go over the Draft Picks from the Sports Festival. If you remember correctly from when I said this last week, it's based on how well you performed in all three events of the Sports Festival and on how ready the Pros think you are for real hero work in the next few years you're here at U.A. For those that didn't receive any offers, there's still time for you to show what you can do. But keep in mind there are only two chances left for you do so. We're not going easy on you, so you better not slack off. Alright, here's the Draft Picks."
Shota clicked a button on his remote and the blackboard behind him brought up a list of the students with the number of Hero offers next to a bar that represented the number of offers.
It went as such:
Sherry Teikiatsu: 3,522
Katsuki Bakugo: 2,971
Shoto Todoroki: 2,139
Fumikage Tokoyami: 504
Tenya Iida: 412
Denki Kaminari: 381
Momo Yaoyorozu: 122
Tooru Hagakure : 99
Tsuyu Asui: 70
Eijiro Kirishima: 56
Hajikeru Utakata: 32
Ochako Uraraka: 21
Hanta Sero: 17
The first thing that was apparent was the absurdly large gap between the top three offers and the rest of them.
"Dah! You got to be kidding me with that gap!" Denki exasperatedly groaned.
"What about the real star? Moi?" Yuga asked while fuming in his seat with a pouty smile.
'He didn't do anything, though,' Mina thought from beside the sparkly teen.
"Under hundred offers people, where you at?!" Hajikeru yelled, getting ecstatic replies from Eijiro, Tooru, and Ochako, and a quiet *ribbit* from Tsuyu, while Hanta just groaned at being the one with the fewest recommendations.
"Bakugo and Teikiatsu switched places for offers?" Kyoka asked in confusion… before smirking in victory. "Nice."
"That's definitely opposite of their placements in the Sports Festival," Mashirao said.
"I bet it was because Bakugo was so brutal in his fights," Mina added. "He knocked out Utakata and Teikiatsu."
"If those Pros think I'm so goddamn brutal, they should learn from me instead of cowering like a bunch of weaklings!" Katsuki roared with an angry face.
"And who's the one with more offers, Explody-Pants?" asked a cheeky Sherry with a smug look, leaning on one of her still bandaged arms. The explosive hothead simply growled at the question.
Momo viewed the board in hidden disappointment. She knew she didn't deserve so many offers after losing in the first round of the Tournament, as she felt like her efforts to fight off Tsuyu were feeble and unimpressive at best. She sighed before turning to her heterochromic desk neighbor. "That's an impressive amount of offers, Todoroki."
"They're probably because of my father," Shoto simply replied in distaste.
"You didn't get anything, Midoriya," Minoru berated as he shook Izuku's shoulder from behind. "I told you it was reckless." The green haired couldn't argue against what the micro perv said, but he still stood by what he did.
"That being said, whether you received offers or not, you're all going to work alongside other Pros. While I admit you already experienced more than any First Year class to date with the villain-attack at the USJ, you have yet to see a Pro Hero in action. Observing and learning from them is an important asset to learn as upcoming Pros."
"So that's why you want us to choose our Hero names!" Rikido called out.
"That's right. However, the aspect is more complicated than you—"
"You want to pick something appropriate or you'll be stuck with something tragic!"
Though her entrance was off, the R-Rated Hero: 'Midnight' sauntered her way into Class 1-A, complete with sensual smile, intentionally swaying hips, and puffed out chest. "Your Hero names are what the world will call you when you debut, so you'll need to make them stick."
"Your timing's off, but whatever," Shota said as he took out his yellow sleeping bag. "Midnight's going to be judging your Hero names. It's not really my area of expertise."
Cue the flashback of Shota Aizawa and Hizashi Yamada in their time as U.A. students
"There's a certain image that you make when you create your Hero name. So I suggest you take into account how you want the public to see you as. Wake me up when you finish." With that being said, several small whiteboards were passed around until everyone got one while the Class 1-A homeroom teacher went to sleep in his sleeping bag.
15 Minutes Later
It turned out to be a major surprise for the students to hear they were going to present their Hero names to the entire class. It began with Yuga with the ridiculous name of The Shining Hero: 'I Cannot Stop Twinkling', which was met with silent resistance by the class. Unfortunately, or fortunately (depending on who you ask), Midnight green-lit the name after some minor adjustments to the name to shorten it, which immediately made the class question the R-Rated Hero's taste in names.
The next one to go was Mina with 'Alien Queen', which was a bit of an on-the-nose nod to a beloved Sci-fi classic but it sounded cool and it made sense considering her Quirk. Thing is, Midnight seems to have a distaste of Sci-fi, horror classics since she immediately rejected the name, leaving Mina a bit miffed.
After the pink skinned girl, the next one to go is Tsuyu. She went with a cute hero name, The Rainy Season Hero: 'Froppy'. Not only did Midnight approve, bit it also alleviated a bit of tension in the students and they were able to think properly on their Hero names.
From there it went as such: Eijiro went with 'Red Riot', a nod to the Vigilante-turned-Hero 'Crimson Riot', Kyoka went with 'Earphone Jack', Mezo went by The Tentacle Hero: Tentacole (a pun that I can't, for the life of me, remember is between tentacle and… I dunno, coleslaw?), Mashirao went with The Martial Arts Hero: 'Tail man', Rikido went with The Sweets Hero: 'Sugar man', Mina took a second stab at her Hero name with 'Pinky', Denki picked The Stun Gun Hero: 'Charge Bolt', and Tooru went with The Stealth Hero: 'Invisible Girl', unsurprisingly.
There was a brief pause in presentations as some were still deciding on their names before it resumed with Hajikeru getting to the front.
"This will be my Hero name," the bubble teen said with the upmost confidence. "The Pop Hero: 'Bubble Buster'!" (Can someone say 'Roll Credits'?)
"Catchy and rolls off the tongue! Wonderful!" Midnight shouted. The bubble teen simply blushed at the praise before making his way back to his seat. He was glad to hear his Hero name approved after much pondering in his seat.
Sherry was the next one to go up.
"The Turbulent Hero: 'Cycla'!" the sandy blonde proclaimed to the class.
"Oh? Are you naming yourself after your father, The Gust Hero: 'Cyclos'?" asked an intrigued Midnight, receiving several surprised looks from the students.
"Yup! I asked if I could take up his name when I go pro and he said yes, as long as I can live up to it!"
A soft smile made its way on Midnight's face. "I'm sure you'll make him proud." Sherry bowed in appreciation before going back to her seat.
The remaining students presented their Hero names: continuing with Momo with The Everything Hero: 'Creati', Shoto simply went with his first name, Fumikage chose The Jet Black Hero: 'Tsukuyomi', Minoru picked The Fresh-Picked Hero: 'Grape Juice', and Koji picked The Petting Hero: 'Anima'. When Katsuki announced his Hero name, it was flat out rejected from how non-heroic it sounded. He didn't seem to understand that 'King Explosion Murder' wasn't a name a Hero would go by. Ochako came up with a cute little mash up of her surname and gravity to make 'Uravity'. Tenya used his own name and Izuku, surprisingly enough, went with 'Deku' as his Hero name alongside a short speech as to why he picked it. The uplifting tone that lingered after his explanation was immediately shattered when Katsuki proposed his 'revised' Hero name, 'Lord Explosion Murder', which was, to no one's surprise, rejected as well.
Later
Lunchtime
"So, did any of you notice how less enthusiastic Present Mic was today?" Hajikeru asked his fellow classmates as they lounged around their classroom. During their English class, Present Mic, also known as Yamada-sensei to the students, was surprisingly less quiet than his usual days. Normally he would go off on a loud tangent about how English is awesome when he doesn't receive an answer to a question, but today, he simply urged the students to guess. Oddly enough, he stayed standing next to the blackboard and only moved to leave the classroom when it was time for a subject switch. Even MORE oddly enough, when he did walk, it was very stiff and not at all like his usual swagger. It was like he was in pain or something.
"Does it really matter?" Kyoka shot back as she twirled her earphone jacks out of habit. "If he doesn't have the energy to yell, it's better for me."
"So, guuuuuys…" Mina lazily asked from her seat, drawing attention away from the bubble teen's observation. "Where do you think you're gonna intern at?"
"I dunno, I didn't check my offers yet," answered the bubble teen.
"Mt. Lady is my choice!" Minoru declared.
"There's a surprise," Sherry replied with a scowl as she glared at the little grape pervert, causing Denki to scoot away from her in fear. It should be noted that the sandy blonde made her distaste of perverts quite clear when she kicked Minoru from one end of the hallway to the other when he tried to peek under her skirt during the time between the USJ Incident aftermath and the Sports Festival.
Not really wanting to be in the same vicinity of the little grape boy, the sandy blonde took her lunch and left with Eijiro in tow. She had invited Katsuki to join them for lunch, to which the explosive blonde threw her a glare before quietly following the duo, albeit a short distance away.
"Hey, Deku, who's on your list?" Ochako asked her meek friend.
To no one's surprise, Izuku was mumbling up a storm for the third time that week. This time, he was quickly going through his choices that were left for those that didn't get recommendations, complete with multiple copies of the word 'mumble' swirling around his person.
'There he goes again,' cheerily thought Mina, Ochako, Minoru, Hajikeru, and Mashirao.
"I got him," the bubble teen said as he made a small bubble. He held it between his index finger and thumb before putting it in front if his meek friend's face and popping it with a quick squeeze.
"AH! Wha?!" Izuku took a second before looking at his classmates and friends with a flustered expression. "I did it again, didn't I?"
"It's cool, dude. We're getting used to it." Hajikeru casually waved off his friend's question with a literal wave of his large hand. "Have you come up with where you're gonna intern at?"
"Um… not yet. There are so many choices to pick from. Have you guys come up with anything?"
"Not yet, I still got to look over my offers."
"I picked Gunhead's agency!" Ochako replied with a combat pose.
"Wait, The Battle Hero: 'Gunhead'?" asked a confused Izuku. "Isn't he a combat focused Hero?"
"Yup, he sent me an offer!"
"Gunhead sent you an offer?!" interjected Hajikeru, who was once again distracted from his list of offers by the commotion going on beside him.
"Um… yeah, I just said that, Utakata."
"That's so cool! You're gonna learn so much from him! He's such a great teacher!"
"Hold on, you know Gunhead, Utakata?" Mina asked in confusion, receiving a nod in return from the bubble teen.
"He was my martial arts sensei's student one time! He asked Gunhead to substitute for him as a favor when he was sick."
"That's so cool!" Ochako said in excitement. "What's he like?"
"He's a guy that prefers to show instead of tell, but he thinks that's the best way to learn. And he likes teaching newcomers. He likes to see the progress they make after a couple of sessions with him." Ochako seemed to light up after hearing she was going to learn a much from her choice.
"That's good! I'll be able to get stronger with his training, strong enough to be a better hero than before!" The bob-cut brunette noticed something now that she was getting a good look at Izuku. "By the way, Deku, I meant to ask you earlier, but are you okay? You look like you're trembling."
"Huh?" replied a confused Izuku before realizing what she was referring to. "Oh this? It's called an 'air chair'. I'm basically sitting without sitting on the chair."
"You managed to sneak in exercise during class?" Mashirao asked a bit interested in the meek teen's actions. "That's actually pretty smart, Midoriya."
"Hey, Utakata," called out Tooru, who was previously engaged in a conversation with Tsuyu and Kyoka, as she held up Hajikeru's Hero Recommendations sheet. "I think you should file a complaint to the Hero Organization. I don't know any of these Heroes."
"Hagakure, I'm not going to make a complaint just because I don't know a bunch of Hero's names," replied Hajikeru as he gently nudged his invisible friend to get his paper back. "I'm sure Bakugo, Todoroki, and Teikiatsu have it worse than I do. Alright, let's see what we got. Red Rider Hero: 'Carbine', Soapbox Hero: 'Kart-man', Toon Hero: 'Mighty', Smashing Hero: 'Tibs', Balloon Heroine: 'Updraft', B—"
All thought processes in Hajikeru's mind came to a screeching halt as he saw three letters standing by themselves before listing an all too familiar name that he vaguely remembers. His eyes were reduced to thin, pink lines and his breath was caught in his throat.
It was the same name that a certain someone told him from the moment he decided to truly become a Hero… the moment when he decided to make his worthless Quirk into one worthy of a Hero to wield.
"A Quirk is only as useful as you intend tah make it tah be. If it ain't hero worthy now, den build it up, make it hero worthy for when it matters later on. Make it so people will see how dedicated you are towards being a hero, kid."
And the very man that set him on the path of heroism had his name listed on his page of Hero Recommendations.
BMI Hero: Fatgum
A high pitched, almost girlish, shriek ripped through Class 1-A, completely startling everyone still present and earning a deathly glare in the form of a volume sensitive Kyoka.
"What the hell, Utakata?!" Kyoka angrily shouted as she held her ears in pain. "Because Present Mic didn't make my ears hurt today, did you think you needed to fill a quota?!"
"I'll see you later, guys!" said bubble teen said as he dashed out of the room with a face splitting, jovial smile on his face. Not only did it leave Kyoka high and dry in terms of vengeance fulfillment, it left the less irritable students wondering what made their bubble blowing friend freak out that much. And why did he look so happy?
Oh, if only they knew.
A Bit Earlier
Class 1-B
"You sure you don't need help sorting through all those recommendations, Vice Rep?" Juzo asked Denryoku as he eyed the stack of 28 pages containing 1,292 offers from Heroes. The little group of three were the only students present in Class 1-B, as many of the students preferred to eat in the Mess Hall or other locations.
"Seriously, that's a stupid amount of recommendations!" Setsuna spoke with several cubes of chopped chicken stuffed in her mouth.
"Don't talk with your mouth full, Tokage," droned the electro teen as he sifted through the second page of his stupidly long list of recommendations while lazily plopping bits of leftover meat from last night's dinner in his mouth with chop sticks. They weren't sorted in any particular order, so it was difficult to find someone who may actually be worth spending his week with. "And no, Honenuki, I don't need help sorting through this. Just focus on your own recommendations."
"I already made my choice, Vice Rep," replied the lipless teen. "I only had to look through… what is it, like… 150 plus recommendations? It's a freakin' mole hill compared to your mountain."
"Ha! I get it!" Setsuna said in a muffled mess of chicken and fried rice, some of which landed on her table.
"Who did you pick?" asked a slightly annoyed electro teen; not at all surprised that Setsuna ignored his suggestion but still peeved over her lack of manners.
"I picked—" Juzo's answer was cut off by one of the entrances to Class 1-B sliding open and hitting the door stop with enough force to make a loud, audible *CLACK*.
Hajikeru quickly entered the classroom and grabbed Denryoku by the wrist before giving a quick and messy explanation to his best friend's two other friends.
"Hey Honenuki! Hey Tokage! I need to borrow Denryo for a bit! That cool? Okay, thanks, bye!" The duo then dashed down the hallway and disappeared up a stairwell that lead to the roof of the school with the smaller of the two flailing around like a ribbon, leaving the remaining two members of Class 1-B wondering what just happened. The two friends were staring out the entrance/exit doors in major weirded-out confusion before it was broken by the more enthusiastic of the two.
"Eh, they'll be back," Setsuna spoke as she went back to her meal, breaking the lingering surprise that remained.
"I wonder what that was about," Juzo asked, still a bit surprised at the sudden appearance of Class 1-A's resident bubble blower.
School Rooftop
"Okay, what is this about?" Denryoku asked his best friend as he fixed his hair back to its original state, as it looked blown back from how fast Hajikeru was pulling him.
"You're not gonna believe who sent me an offer!" Hajikeru excitedly said, still suffering from his excitement high.
"Endeavour."
"What? No."
"Hawks."
"No."
"Kamui Woods."
"No!"
"Backdraft."
"Can you just—"
"What about Washy?"
"Damn it, Denryo! Would you shut up!? I'm trying to tell you that Fatgum sent me an offer!"
…
…
"Oh… Sorry for making a joke out of it." There was a subtle look of regret in his eye as he spoke, as he felt bad for making a joke out of something this important to his best friend.
"It's fine, bro. I was completely shocked that he even sent me an offer. Hell, I screamed when I saw his name before I took you away from your friends." Hajikeru let out a small chuckle before he relaxed into a small grin. "You think he remembers me after all this time?"
"It's a little hard to forget someone with your appearance and Quirk, Haji." There was a brief pause before Denryoku spoke again. "So are you going to take the offer?"
"Of course I'm going to take the offer! Why wouldn't I?"
"Alright, relax. Just remember you're there to get Hero experience, not to play buddy-buddy with a Pro. Don't let your admiration of him get in the way of your goal. That's all I'm saying."
"Yeah, I got it, man. Don't worry." While he was still nervous about the offer itself, Hajikeru was done being unsure of his choices. He has already proved to everyone that he belonged in the Hero Course, so there really wasn't anything to make him second guess himself anymore. "Well, let's head back. That's really all I got to say so… I'm sure Honenuki and Tokage were weirded out from my surprise entrance."
"Knowing them, they probably went back to what they were doing." The duo began to make their way back down the stairwell as their voices began to echo a bit. "Honenuki is probably looking over my other recommendations to help me choose a Hero agency and Tokage, with any luck, is looking over her book of dinosaurs instead of choosing agencies for me to join in her stead."
"Heh, your friends are awesome."
"I suppose so."
After Classes
Class 1-A
The rest of the day went on without a hitch. After Hajikeru broke the news of his long time idol sending him a recommendation for an internship to his best friend, the duo, along with Setsuna and Juzo, spent the rest of the lunch period just exploring the building after picking up their food from their respective classrooms. Class 1-A was completely empty when Hajikeru returned for his lunch, so he can assume everyone went to the Mess Hall or the various places on campus to enjoy their break.
Once lunch was over, they had a short Heroics session with Shota, All Might being unavailable for the time being. He basically went over what to expect in the upcoming internships and what sort of procedures must be upheld when working with a Pro Hero. The super condense version of his lecture goes as such:
Do whatever the Pro Hero or their Sidekicks, if the Pro is unavailable, says and don't question their judgments.
Follow the rules of using your Quirk in public spaces.
Do not take anything into your own hands unless told by the Pro Hero or their Sidekick, if they're in charge.
And be on your best behavior.
The last guideline was mostly aimed at Katsuki, which the explosive teen simply growled at.
After that, the students were let out for the day to enjoy the time before their internships start or to choose where they want to intern at if they still haven't decided yet.
As soon as the Erasure Hero left the classroom, Hajikeru immediately felt a sharp pain coming from his left temple. He let out a short, comedic yell in response to the sudden pain that had embedded itself into his head, causing most, if not all, of the students to jump in surprise. After about a second, the pain stopped and it left the bubble teen dazed as he struggled to keep his head up after that painful experience.
"Ow…" groaned Hajikeru as he turned his head using his hands to look at an extremely irritated Kyoka. "Okay, I deserved that. Sorry for yelling at lunch period, Jiro."
The pissed look on the earphone girl's face was quickly replaced to one of slight surprise. Sure she did what she did to get back at the bubble teen for making her ears ring during lunch period, but she didn't expect him to apologize so quickly after doing so, nor did she expect him to say he deserved it. She didn't know what reasoning he had for yelling so loudly but from how he sounded right now, she could tell he didn't do it with the intention of making her go deaf, as she wrongly assumed. Still, he hurt her hearing, so she dealt the suitable punishment. No way would she admit she was in the wrong.
"Just don't do it again, got it?" Kyoka said with a huff as she gathered her things to leave the classroom.
"Got it," replied Hajikeru as he tried to shake off the swimming feeling in his head.
"So that's what it looks like from this side," Denki observed in a thinking pose.
"Please," Minoru added. "He got off light. Jiro was too easy one him."
"Did I miss something?" Mezo asked as he went to check on his friend.
"Utakata screamed super loud when he was reading his Hero recommendations," Tooru answered as she bounced over to the two larger boys. "Then he left before Kyoka could get him back for making her ears go diiiiiiiiiing. I'm sure she did that to get revenge on him."
"Yeah, I'll say," Mina said as she stretched her arms out. "What the heck was that about, Uta?"
"Uta?" replied Hajikeru with a slightly red face. His fellow classmates were shuffling out of the classroom, save for several students that decided to hang back. His vision was mostly returned to normal but he still felt a little dizzy.
"Shush, answer the question!"
"Uh… okay…" The bubble teen spoke slowly to keep from tripping over his words. "I reacted the way I did because a Hero, named Fatgum, was listed on my Hero Offers Sheet. Also, he's the reason why I wanted to become a Hero in the first place."
"Really?" Tooru questioned. "That's sooo cool! But why did you scream like a girl? You made my ears ring too."
Hajikeru at least had the decency to redden even more at that statement. "Sorry. Knee-jerk reaction. I just didn't expect to see his name there."
"I'm sure it happens to all of us!" Ochako cheerily said as she walked towards the sliding doors to the classroom. "So you guys want to walk to the station?" She received several 'yes' replies as answers. "Hey, Iida, want to come with us?" She leaned her body to look around the group of friends, only to find her glasses-wearing friend missing from his seat, as oppose to staying like the rest of them.
"That's weird. Maybe he went to drop off his—" Izuku's observation was cut off by the doors to the classroom sliding open with the No.1 Hero at the entrance laughing and bowing at the hip with his head facing forward.
"I AM HERE, IN A BIZARRE POSITION!"
All the remaining students jumped at the sudden appearance of the blond Adonis of a Hero. Since Ochako was the closest to the door, she was also the one to get the brunt of the surprise entrance. Her body instinctively jumped at Izuku while her eyes were glued open towards the entrance with surprise. Similarly, Izuku held out his arms to catch his gravity-altering friend out of instinct, not at all aware as to what was going on in his situation. He had his arms around her back and under her legs, and she was holding him around the neck, both somewhat shell-shocked.
"All Might!? What are you doing here!?" collectively shouted the group.
"I need to speak with young Midoriya for a moment! If you could follow me, young man!" The No.1 Hero made a motion with his hand in a call over fashion.
"Um… sure, okay," automatically answered the bushy haired teen. As soon as he got his bearings back, Izuku's face immediately exploded in a scarlet mess when he realized who he was holding in such a compromising position. Similarly, Ochako's permanent blush marks were noticeable bigger, but she still had semblance of emotional control when she realized who was holding her. The meek teen quickly and gently set her down and hastily followed All Might out of the room, ears puffing out smoke as he walked.
When Ochako turned to speak to her friends, she was met with some wide grins coming from Mina, Hajikeru, and Tooru, even if it can't be seen. "Um… did I miss something?" she asked.
"I dunno, Ochako," Mina playfully said, causing confusion towards the gravity girl. "Do you miss being held by Midori?"
The brunette held a thinking pose for a brief moment before she replied with honesty. "It was nice that Deku caught me, but I don't really miss it. Why do you ask, Mina?"
"Tch… darn it."
And thus a lifetime of teasing was immediately snuffed from that one innocent reply.
4 Days Later
Shinjuku Train Station
"Alright, everyone got their costumes?" addressed the Erasure Hero to his class. "Remember, you're strictly forbidden from wearing them in public unless under the tutelage of a Hero. And don't lose them. You don't have the Support Department to replace them if you do. Understand?"
"Gotcha!" Mina exclaimed.
"It's 'yes sensei', Ashido."
"Yes sensei." The acid girl visibly deflated at being corrected for her 'improper' language.
"Alright, get going. I'll see you all in a week."
Class 1-A were on their way to their respective internships and while some of them immediately went to their station, others were trying to figure out where they needed to go, either by looking at the holographic display above the main entrance to the platforms or by conversing with their peers.
Tenya was one of the few to leave to his train platform without socializing or bidding good luck to his classmates. He was uncharacteristically tenser than usual and he hardly spoke to anyone during the days leading up to the departure day. He didn't even show up to join his friends for lunch for the two days before the weekend. Neither Izuku, nor Ochako, could even get him to open up about how he felt about his brother getting taken down by The Hero Killer: 'Stain'.
"Iida!" Izuku called out, gaining the speedy teen's attention. It was prominent on the blunette's face that he was tense about even talking to anyone. "You would tell us if something is wrong, right? We're your friends. You can trust us." At the bushy haired teen's side were Ochako, who was frantically nodding to emphasize her affirmation, and Hajikeru, who was looking on sadly at his speedy friend.
It was days after Hajikeru found out Tenya was going to intern at a Hero agency in Hosu City, the same place where Tenya's brother was almost killed. He, Denryoku, and Ochako found out through Izuku when they were wondering where Tenya was, as he had skipped out on their daily lunch meetings for the second day in a row— technically, it's the third, but they didn't notice since everyone was scattered. Both Denryoku and Hajikeru went to talk to Tenya after school on Friday behind U.A.'s main building, an isolated place where they could talk privately.
Two Days Earlier
Behind U.A.'s First Years Main Building
"Emera, Utakata," Tenya cautiously asked his two interrogators. "What do you want to talk about? And be quick. I'm expected to be home in an hour."
"I'll make this quick then," Denryoku spoke in his usual bluntness. "You should give up on your revenge against the Hero Killer."
It was for a brief moment, but the duo saw some shock in the speedy teen's face before settling back to its previous, steady look, albeit a bit forced.
"I don't know what you mean."
"Iida, we heard from Midoriya that you were headed to Hosu City," Hajikeru said. "That's the same place your brother was taken down. It wasn't hard to put together."
"Even so, that doesn't mean I'm going to look for him. You shouldn't assume such things, you guys."
"I don't assume, Iida. I conclude." Denryoku was slowly getting annoyed at how Tenya doubted his and his best friend's intelligence. "And I came to the conclusion simply by looking through the available information on the Hero Killer's attack patterns and your admiration for your brother. Trust me when I say this, Iida. You don't want to go down this path."
There was frustration building behind Tenya's indifferent façade. He wanted to keep his intentions away from prying eyes, but he didn't expect two of his friends to figure it out and approach him on this. So he decided to exploit a little detail the electro teen just said.
"How would you know what I'm feeling right now, Emera? Don't I feel obligated to feel upset at my brother's Hero career ending because of him?"
"You're not the only one who had something tragic happen to your family and had the urge to avenge them. At least you…" Denryoku paused for a brief moment before continuing, contemplating whether he should go further into his explanation. In the end, he decided against his better judgment. "You know what? Forget it. Enjoy your time in Hosu City."
Hajikeru quickly turned his head in shock to what his best friend just said, as if he were expecting something completely different.
"Denryo, what are you doing?"
"Letting him to his own devices. Besides, its choice to make, not ours."
"You can't just let him do this. You could—"
"Very well, I'll see you both again when we return from our internships," Tenya said with the fakest smile he could have conjured in his life. It was painfully obvious that he was holding his emotions down until the day he enacts his revenge.
"Iida, wait!" Hajikeru exclaimed before the speedy teen got out of hearing range. Tenya stopped in his tracks, but did not turn around. "I understand that you're hurting right now, and you have every right to be angry at Stain! But you can't hunt him down! That would go against everything your brother stood for! How can you call yourself a Hero if you go through with this?!"
After the question of the hour was asked, it was as if the orange, setting sun saw it as a cue to glow red as it began to set behind the mountains behind the campus.
"As long as the Hero Killer pays, I don't care what happens to my career as a Hero."
With that, Tenya left the two friends reeling back at how cold the answer felt. It was a glimpse at their friend's anger and hatred, and neither of them knew how to respond. It was then Hajikeru turned to his best friend with confusion in his eyes.
"Why didn't you tell him about—"
"He wouldn't understand, even if I told him. Besides, his better judgment is clouded by anger and hate. Nothing will change his mind when he's like this."
"But maybe he could've—"
"If I didn't listen to you, Mom, or Auntie back when I went through this shit, what makes you think Iida will listen to people he barely met!"
Denryoku's Quirk activated with the outburst of emotion as the studs on his fingers were violently sparking with green electricity and his eyes turned to their electric green color. Even with the surge happening Hajikeru didn't move from his spot. He barely flinched when a stray bolt struck his hand. He was far too out of it. After some deep breathing, the electro teen was calm enough to deactivate his Quirk.
"The only way for him to listen is to experience how foolish his vendetta is first hand."
"But he could be killed."
"I know. If that happens, then he would have learned nothing… and it would be on our heads because we let him go through with it."
Present Day
Shinjuku Train Station
"Of course," simply replied Tenya, same fake smile as two days ago present. And with that, he left for his train without another word spoken.
AN: Okay, about one month later and I bring you this neat little setup piece. Now I could go into a tangent as to how college has been eating all of my Lucky Charms- I mean free time, but I think that statement is more than enough exposition than an entire column piece. So, I'm just gonna sit back, look pretty, and do my other things... Man, adulting is difficult. Also, I had a side story planned for this chapter, but I had to rewrite it thrice and I just gave up on it after the third time didn't work out. Also twice, this internship arc won't be that long. It'll only be, like, three chapters or something. I dunno, I still gotta write it. I'm out!
-OmegaBox