Welcome back everyone! Todays Authors note is kind of important so stick around after the review responses so nobody is confused! There have been some developments that need to be mentioned!
100PercentBadass: Glad you like it! That is some high praise that I'm not totally confident I deserve lol but I sincerely thank you!
VictorsMyName: Lol Yeah I know, I guess I don't literally mean like, the story is over, but I don't want to keep pushing ahead without the episodes to go off of. I could always start reading the Manga, buuuut I'll touch a bit on that in the follow note here...
ANYWAYS!
I said I was going to read through the rest of what I'd written, work on it a bit and start posting today. Unfortunately, as I read through it, and looking at what I've already posted so far, I have decided to scrap the next two arcs and am doing a total rewrite.
You may be wondering why, and I'm not opposed to telling anyone so I'll be straightforward. The next two arcs that were written got a little darker than I think I would have liked, after rereading, it felt like there was an unnecessary tone shift. The first Arc involving working under an abusive Pro during the Internships, and the second revolving around Kaiji's father being captured and turned into a Noumu. Dark stuff, full of action as well buuuuut in post, I decided I wasn't super into it, getting a little too angsty and dark for my tastes and I found myself questioning if I'd really written it for a plot point other than to fuck with the protagonist.
Now what this means, is I sort of tried to give myself the monumental task of writing a new arc to cover what was lost over the course of this week. I've already gotten the newest Arc thought out and ready to be worked on, but at the moment I only have 5 chapters finished. Rather than burn myself out trying to keep pace with a daily posting schedule, until I have a stockpiled set of chapters I'll only be posting on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. So three chapters a week, sorry if that disappoints, but hopefully I can get back to daily posting soon!
Anyways, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy the upcoming Arc! From here, during the Internships, we'll be touching on the group of students that are essentially going to become Kaiji's own group for lack of a better word. Similar to Uraraka, Iida, Mineta and Asui. And you'll start seeing with all of them why I changed the name of the story to Evolution ;)
Now then! I've kept you long enough! Its 4am and I want to go back to sleep XD SO HERE WE GO!
After the Festival was over, the students were given two days to off to recover. Knowing that when they returned they may be recruited for internships. Kaiji did spend the first day resting, just lazing around and talking to his Mom about the festival, and his decision. Though he kept what happened between him and Ashido to himself, no need to kiss and tell.
After the day of rest, he decided to meet up with Kirishima for a little training. The two friends hadn't gotten much time together the past few days so it would be good to relax and touch base again. So they were hanging out in the field beyond the River, where they trained before the Festival. In a nice, quiet-
"You want me to what!?" Kaiji exclaimed, looking at Kirishima like he was insane.
"Hit me, as hard as you can!" Kirishima ordered, punching his fists together, "I need to test the limits of my hardening again! And you're the heaviest hitter I know behind Midoriya."
"Kirishima what's gotten into you?" Kaiji asked confused, "I mean, I always knew you were hardcore, and stupid, but why the urge to push your limits? The festival just ended."
"I know," He nodded, "But it made me realize how much training I need to do," He explained, "If I'd been able to withstand using my Quirk for longer, maybe I could have beaten Bakugo, I need to make my hardening stronger to stand up to more powerful villains." He added, clenching his fists, "So come on! Are you gonna help me or not?"
Kaiji could tell how serious he was, and how much it meant to his friend. But there was something else, a reason he wasn't mentioning, "Alright... I'll give it a shot, but I'm not throwing one hundred percent at you right away." He added, "Give me a moment to change, guess it is about time I get that arm back." He sighed, shifting to second stage in an instant.
"Awesome, thanks bro!" Kirishima grinned, giving a thumbs up as he stood back a bit.
Kaiji went through his third stage transformation. Roaring out as he grew in size, a new arm emerging from his left stump. As he finished up his change, he tested it out the new arm, having gone a few days without a real one. Once that was finished, he turned his eyes onto Kirishima. Surprisingly, he seemed completely unfazed by Kaiji's form. Something about that made the boy happy, knowing his friends weren't scared of him anymore.
"You ready?" He asked, his body hardening completely. Kaiji gave a grunt and nod, "Alright, I'll brace myself... Hit me whenever you're ready!"
Kaiji looked briefly at his clawed hand, "I probably shouldn't go one hundred percent, I'd rather not cripple my friend..." He nodded, and clenched his hand into a fist, cocking back and throwing an underhanded punch to make up for the size different.
The impact created a shock wave, and Kirishima slid back wincing in minor pain. He shook it off, looking up at him, "I said full power Kaiji! I want to feel it!" Kaiji growled a little, cocking back once more and slugging Kirishima harder, "Gah!" He gasped, sliding back further but holding his ground, "Good, that's more like it! AGAIN!"
The two friends kept going, though as they neared the hour limit Kaiji was forced to change back. Any longer and he risked hurting his body, and anyways Kirishima was pretty much worn down completely at that point too. The two friends collapsing in the grass, staring up at the afternoon sky.
"Think that helped?" Kaiji questioned curiously, looking over his new arm and getting adjusted. Wiggling his fingers and making sure everything worked properly.
"Maybe," Kirishima shrugged, panting as he grinned, "But it sure made me feel better."
"About losing?"
"Eeh... No, it was something else," Eijiro admitted, but waved him off, "But don't worry about it."
"Hey come on," Kaiji chuckled, sitting up, "What's up? You know you can talk to me."
Kirishima hesitated for a moment before sighing, "Meh, it's something stupid... Really, I just needed you to knock some sense into me."
"Is that what this "training" was really about?" Kaiji asked curiously, cocking an eyebrow.
"Kinda..." He admitted, sitting up and releasing a nervous laugh, "I uh... Miiight have seen you and Ashido yesterday at the station..."
Kaiji blinked, stiffening, "Oh..."
"And I heard what you said," He continued, "Your plans for being a hero," Flashing a smile at him, "I'm happy for you, really, I'm glad you've got it all figured out."
"You're not... Mad at all about Ashido and me?" Kaiji asked nervously, the three had been friends for years. But Kirishima was hanging around her long before Kaiji joined the group. Sure, Kaiji had feelings for Ashido, but he had never even stopped to think about Kirishima, "Its not like we're a thing now anyways... I think that was just nerves, or tension..."
"I was taken by surprise, and I maybe let myself get carried away in thinking about it," Kirishima shrugged, "I know you guys wouldn't do something like that for no reason, so I was kinda kicking myself for getting steamed about it."
"So you had me beat the crap out of you to feel better?" Kaiji blinked in realization.
"Heh, that's right!" Kirishima grinned, getting up to his feet and stretching, "Doubting my friends? That was not very manly at all, but I think I've gotten even with myself now."
"You're an idiot Kirishima." Kaiji laughed, standing up as well.
"No, I'm a man!"
"I'm starting to wonder if there is even a difference."
. . .
The next day, it was back to business as usual...
"A bunch of people recognized us!" Ashido was beaming, the kids all huddled around the center of class talking. Minus the usual self induced outcasts, Bakugo and Tokoyami, "Everyone was stopping us to talk on the way here!"
"Stopping you maybe," Kirishima chuckled, "I think you've got a few fans Ashido!"
"Oh yeah right!" She argued, laughing it off.
"A bunch of people were staring at me!" The invisible girl, Hagakure giggled, shifting back and forth, "It was kind of embarrassing!"
"Isn't that normal for you?" Ojiro commented with a chuckle.
"All it took was one Sports Festival and we're already like Celebrities!" Kaminari beamed.
Followed by Mineta, "This school really is amazing!"
The door opened, and everyone got back into their seats with super human speed.
"Good morning."
"Good morning Mr. Aizawa." They all replied formally, he had certainly whipped them into shape in regards to quieting down.
Asui tapped a finger to her face, "Mr. Aizawa you don't have bandages anymore." She pointed out, "That's good news..."
"The old lady went a little overboard in her treatment," He replied, scratching his cheek, Kaiji noticed he had a scar under his left eye now, "Anyway's, we have a big class today on hero-informatics."
"Crap, I've been working so hard to train I've barely touched the book work!" Kaiji realized, dreading what was to come.
"You need code names," Aizawa explained, "Time to pick your hero identity."
"THIS IS GONNA BE TOTALLY AWESOME!" Half the class was nearly jumping out of their seats. Until Mr. Aizawa's eyes began to glow, and they all returned to silence and proper seating.
"This is related to the pro hero draft picks I mentioned the last time we were in class together," He continued once everyone was silent, "Normally students don't have to worry about the draft yet, not until the second or third year actually... But your class is different, in fact... In extending offers to first years like you, pros are essentially investing in your potential." he explained calmly, "Any offers can be rescinded if their interest dies down before graduation."
"So what you're saying is," Hagakure spoke up, "We'll still have to prove ourselves even after we've been recruited."
"Correct," Aizawa nodded simply, "Now, here are the totals for those of you who got offers..." He aimed a remote at the "chalkboard" and pressed a button. Names and numbers began flashing and filling up.
Bakugo and Todoroki were at the top, with Todoroki having over four thousand! And Bakugo ending up with just three thousand. The rest were far lower, numbering in only a few hundred. Kaiji's scanned the list, he saw Kirishima there but no sign of Ashido's name. His own as at the very bottom, with only a single result.
"Guess people wanted to see more flair at the festival." He thought to himself, sighing heavily.
"Normally its a bit more spread out," Aizawa noted, "But this year we seem to have a pretty big gap."
"Todoroki scored more than Bakugo?" Jiro blinked in surprise.
"That's like the opposite of how they placed in the final though." Kaminari added.
"I mean they probably weren't too enthusiastic about working with a guy who had to be chained up at the end." Kirishima joked, instantly incurring Bakugo's wrath.
"IF I SCARED A PRO! THEY'RE JUST WEAK!"
Kaiji was thinking to himself about the offer when he heard Mineta, "Midoriya, you got none... I bet everyone was really grossed out by the way you were fighting."
"Despite these results," Mr. Aizawa continued, "You'll all be interning with pros, got it? Even those of you who didn't get any offers."
"Oh, so no matter what we all get to intern." Midoriya blinked in surprise.
"Yes, you all got to see combat with real villains during the attack on the USJ Facility," Aizawa explained, "But it will still be helpful to see real pros at work... Up close and personal, in the field, first hand."
"And for that we need hero names!" Sato fist pumped excitedly.
"Things are suddenly getting a lot more fun!" Uraraka beamed.
"These heroes names will likely be temporary," Aizawa stated, "But take them seriously or-"
The door burst open, "You'll have HELL to pay later!"
"Uh oh," Kaiji blinked, "I recognize that voice..."
"What you pick today could be your code name for life," She said, heels clicking across the floor as she approached Aizawa, "So choose carefully or you could end up with something utterly indecent!"
"Its Midnight~" A few of the boys fawned over her.
Aizawa sighed, "Yeah, she's got a point... Midnight will have final approval over your names, it's not really my forte... Names are important, it helps reinforce your image and who you want to be as a hero in the future, these code names can tell people exactly what you represent... Take All Might, for example."
Large cards were passed down each row of students along with markers for writing on the card. Kaiji accepted his and passed back the final two to Tokoyami. He stared blankly at the card, already hearing people start getting to work as he thought about his own name.
"I know what I want to be... But how do I translate that into a name?" He wondered, as students started going up, starting with Aoyama.
"The shining hero!" He declared, "My name is, 'I Can Not Stop Twinkling'!" He announced confidently.
"I like the idea, but lets get rid of the 'I' and shorten Can Not, to Can't." Midnight replied, changing his card. Groans of annoyance rising from the class.
"Hmm, how about this..." He stood up, smiling nervously as he approached the board, "It's kind of a play on my name, and my power." He explained, holding up his card at the front, "Kaiju."
"Hmm, I see what you're going for," Midnight responded, holding a hand to her chin, "But, using a name that means 'Giant Monster' is a little more scary than reassuring." She chuckled, "Try again."
Kaiji frowned, sighing as he headed back to his seat, "Alright..."
"Okay I wanna go next!" Ashido beamed, getting up and rushing to the front, showing her card eagerly, "Alien Queen!"
"Hold on!" Midnight exclaimed, "You mean like that horrible Monster with the Acidic blood!? I don't think so!"
Kaiji couldn't help but chuckle, as Ashido limped back to her desk in defeat. Quickly returning his eyes to his card, "Yeah I guess Kaiju was sort of on the nose." He thought to himself, "Maybe..."
"I've got mine!" Kirishima announced as he approached the front, "The Sturdy Hero, I am Red Riot!"
"Interesting," Midnight smiled, hands on her hips, "You're paying homage to the chivalrous hero, Crimson Riot."
"That's right," Kirishima nodded, "He's kinda old school, but some day I wanna be just like he was, Crimson is my idol!" He declared confidently.
"Hmm," She nodded in response, "If you're baring the name of someone you admire you have that much more to live up to."
Kirishima grinned, raising his fist, "I accept the Challenge!"
Kaiji smiled as he watched Kirishima return to his seat, "That helped me more than you know." He thought, smiling as he got to writing while the other students continued, "I want to be a beacon of hope... A flame that never burns out..."
After a few more went, Kaiji saw his opening and stood up, "I think I've got mine figured out," He said as he approached the front. No longer feeling nervous as he set his card down, showing it to everyone with a smile, "I think this will fit who I want to be perfectly," He nodded, shaking off any more worries, "The Ever Burning Hero, The Cinder Drake!"
Midnight nodded her head, "I see, a cinder... A burnt out source of lighting material that is still capable of igniting fires... And I'm guessing Drake because of your reptilian features?" She chuckled.
Kaiji blushed a little, laughing nervously, "That's right! I want to be a hero that people can look to for hope even in their darkest moments, trusting that even if they can't fight... I will never burn out, my fire will light the darkness and give everyone hope!" He declared, raising a fist. Before he remembered where he was, he blushed deeper, looking at his classmates who all stared in shock. Kaiji realizing that the only two people that knew of his new goal were Ashido and Kirishima.
"Agh~!" She cheered, swooning in an exaggerated manner, "Such staggering confidence and determination! I love it! Yes, that name is more than acceptable!" And the rest of the class followed, cheering Kaiji on and making him blush even deeper while his chest swelled with pride.
"Thank you Ma'am, a-and everyone else." Kaiji nodded with a big smile, bowing his head as he returned to his seat.
. . .
After class most of the group was just hanging around going over their Internship forms and looking at their choices. Kaiji only had the one option, and that meant he had no choice. But he had never heard of this Agency before, he was going to ask Midoriya because he seemed to know everything about this stuff... But All Might came and took him away without warning.
"-aiji... Kaiji!"
"Bwah?!" He yelped, jumping in his seat as he turned to look at Kirishima and Ashido, "Oh, hey guys what's up?"
"You were totally spacing out dude," Kirishima noted, crossing his arms, "What's up?"
"Oh, sorry it's nothing." He assured, "Just trying to figure out anything I can about this Agency, the AMA." Kaiji explained leaning back, "They are located in the Dokuga District, on the coast, but other than that I don't know anything." He shrugged, "Whoever I'm interning with didn't exactly send a lot of info..."
"At least you got a request," Ashido huffed, sitting down on top of his desk casually, "I got even further than you did! And I didn't get a single offer!"
"I'm sure you'll find your fame," Kaiji assured with a nervous laugh, "There are plenty of great heroes around here to intern with."
"I've already got mine picked," Kirishima grinned, "I'm gonna fight bad guys in the big city!"
"You two both get to go out somewhere exotic," Ashido rolled her eyes, "I'm stuck here! This sucks..."
Kaiji was gonna try to say something helpful when he had a sudden realization, "You're right... We're all gonna be heading out by the weekend."
"Yeah, what about it?" Kirishima asked, noticing his changing expression.
Kaiji looked down, "It's just... Well, this is the first time we've ever all been separated..." He explained, "I mean, I know it's only gonna be for a week, but still... I'm nervous." Kaiji admitted.
"The guy who stood up to that monster at the USJ," Kirishima cocked an eyebrow, "And those villains at Tagua Prison, is nervous about going out of town?"
"Heh, yeah I guess you're right, what am I worried about anyways?" He brushed it off, putting on a smile as he stood up from his desk, "This week will be fun, I can't wait hear what you all learned once we're back together!"