The next day, it was school as usual. Though with a heavy dose of downpouring rain, which was going to be fun for anyone who had to do any physical activity outdoors. In another school, that would have meant that the standard gym class would have been canceled, postponed, or moved inside. At a hero school, however, a day of rain just meant a day of training to prepare for days of hard work under the downpouring sky.
As he walked through the rain, a black, goey, makeshift tarp suspended over his head, Izuku felt… Different, then the last time he came here.
He wasn't entirely sure why, but as he walked he did do with a lightness in his heart that hadn't been here before the tournament.
Maybe it was the result of actually winning it, or maybe he just had finally settled into his place here. Or maybe he just felt better after getting some stuff off his chest.
"Hi, Izuku!" Izuku halted, as the cheerful voice sounded from behind him.
Turning around, he saw Uraraka walking towards him, carrying an umbrella over her head that was quite a bit less conspicuous than Izuku's.
"Oh, Hi Uraraka."
As he waited for her to catch up, he looked Uraraka over.
In contrast to how Izuku felt, Uraraka looked… Tired. Really tired.
Still, she did smile as she walked up to him.
Then hesitated, as she looked him in the face.
Izuku immediately understood what it was that was bothering her, and gave her a smile showing his teeth.
She immediately relaxed as she settled in beside him.
"So you recovered completely?"
"Yeah."
"Good to hear." She seemed no less tired, but the smile she gave Izuku seemed to have a lot more heart and confidence to it than before."
"I'm really glad you got them back without any problems."
"To be honest… I don't really remember much of when they were gone."
"Oh right, Venom was in… Control."
"Yes."
Her eyes went up the makeshift tarp that was just kinda hanging over his head, held up by a thread of black liquid. Then back at Izuku again.
"Neat."
They walked in silence for a few seconds, before continuing.
"You… Okay? Venom said you were… Pretty down after the fight.."
"Eh, I'm fine. Just… Didn't quite reach the goalposts I had set for myself. I… Needed some time to think about that."
There was an implied "Sorry" in the way she said that last part like she was worried he'd be mad about her not calling him up before they got back to school.
He… really wasn't.
"I understand. In any case i-" "THIS IS NO TIME FOR AN IDLE STROLL!" Someone shouted behind them, accompanied by about half a dozen rapid splashing sounds.
Both the young teenagers swirled around, only to see Tenya Iida running through the rain at them, dressed in an enormous poncho, waterproof pants, and rainboots.
"WE'LL BE LATE! GOOD MORNING, MIDORIYA AND YOU TOO OCHAKO!"
And with that, the taller teenager sped past them and across the courtyard up to the steps into the building.
They looked after him, Uraraka checking her phone with a confused look.
"What the hell was up with him? Holy shit, he felt really, really down today."
The symbiote did not sound particularly saddened by that idea.
"What?" Uraraka asked flatly, looking at the tarp, which had formed into the usual attire.
"H-we, can sense emotions." Izuku explained.
"I have to put in some effort, but Venom can just tell all the time."
"That's… Kinda creepy. Useful, but creepy."
Izuku hadn't really thought about it that way before.
It… Kinda was creepy, the way Venom was able to feel how everyone was feeling at any time, no matter if they were trying to hide it. Somehow the concept had just become completely natural to him.
The benefits of it as a tracking tool had pretty much blinded him to how people might feel knowing that their true emotions were like an open book to him and Venom at all times.
That thought bothered him all the way until they came to the classroom, to wait on Aizawa.
All around him, the rest of the class chatted away about the result of the sports festival.
In particular, everyone who had performed well was chatting about suddenly getting public attention from random people they met on the train or street.
It was mostly positive stuff… Except for poor Sero, who had apparently suffered the rather indignant fate of everyone(From old folks to grade-schoolers) he had met trying to make him feel better about his one-sided loss by telling him he "Made a good effort".
That wasn't something Izuku had experienced one way or another. Everyone who saw him in the tournament would mostly remember his mask-clad face, rather than how he looked beneath.
It was quite the contrast, and one was far, far more memorable than the other.
Mostly he left everyone to talk, while he sat and listened. Here and there, he got a congratulation on winning the thing, but it didn't really lead into any conversations.
Then Mina entered and gave him a grin and a wave that made Izuku smile, as a strange sense of happiness just came over him as he saw her.
He waved back and was about to say hi, only to be cut off as Aizawa entered.
Almost immediately, everyone was in their proper seats, and all talk ceased, as the harsh and disciplinary teacher took his place behind the desk.
He looked way better than he had the last time Izuku saw him. Having ditched the bandages, gotten a proper cleaning for both skin and hair, and haven gotten a bunch of scars across his face(One massive one under his right eye), he looked far, far more dignified than he usually did.
In fact, Izuku couldn't help but think that cleaned up, Aizawa kinda looked like a respectable samurai of old.
It was a strange transformation for a man who usually spent all his time looking disheveled and dirty. Izuku was rather certain it wouldn't last, but frankly, it was a welcome change while it lasted.
"Nice to see you out of your bandages sensei." Tsuyu commented as Aizawa settled in.
"The old lady's treatment was excessive." Aizawa said his usual, bored-sounding voice, as if having recovered after suffering crippling injuries from a villain, was as normal as going out and buying milk.
"But never mind that. Today we've got a Hero informatics class. And a special one at that."
After that, Aizawa paused before he continued.
It took Izuku about 5 seconds before he realized, Aizawa was actually, genuinely trying to heighten the tension before he revealed it. His voice, however, had completely sapped any sense of anticipation the students might have had, had anyone else delivered the line.
"Today you'll be coming up with your hero aliases."
The room exploded with such fanfare, and shouts of "YES!" "AWESOME!" and in Kirishima's case "HOW AWESOME! TIME TO SHINE!" that Izuku and Venom both Vinched at the volume.
Several of the students(Including Mina) were so excited, that they jumped up from their seats, and threw their fists triumphantly in the air.
Two incredibly ominous glowing red eyes quickly put an end to the celebrations, as order and silence returned under their sensei's wroth glare.
Aizawa didn't speak until all sound had died down again.
"But first… Concerning the pro draft picks I mentioned the other day… It is based on who the pros think will be ready to join the pro hero workforce directly, after just 2 or 3 more years of experience… So you could say it's a way for them to show interest in your futures."
It was kinda weird, how in everything that had happened during the tournament, his feud with Mei, his battles, Eren, his recovery, prophetic psychic attacks, and yesterday with Mina, Izuku completely forgotten WHY he had entered the tournament, to begin with.
Behind his desk, Aizawa continued.
"But there is plenty of time for their interests to wane before you graduate. And any and all offers can be arbitrarily revoked at any time. It happens quite often.
Behind him, in an incredibly bitter and angry voice, Mineta muttered. "Stupid adults and their Whims."
An actual question came from the class's invisible girl.
"So if we're picked now, it'll just mean there'll be higher hurdles to overcome later."
"Yes."
Aizawa turned and began scribbling on the chalkboard, making names, then long lines by them, then adding a number to the right of the lines.
"Now, here is the complete list, of Draft pick numbers for 1-A."
Ashido - 1372
Todoroki - 1132
Midoriya - 999
Ochako - 890
Bakugo - 652
Iida - 301
Kaminari - 272
Yaoyorozu - 108
Kirishima - 68
Sero - 14
The class immediately began chattering, amongst themselves about the result, while Kirishima raised his hand and asked a question.
"Didn't they get the top 4 kinda mixed up? I Mean, it was Midoriya and Uraraka who took the top spots."
"It's our parents' influence." Shoto interjected from the back of the class.
"They want the "Honor" of Saying they scouted the ones they think will become their parents' successors."
"Indeed. Nepotism is a big part of these picks. They always have been." Aizawa said in his usual tone.
Kirishima looked really, really troubled by that answer, and Izuku looked over at Mina to see how she was handling the idea.
The pink girl, however, seemed completely non-faced by the idea, and just sat looking at Aizawa, waiting for him to continue.
"Now then, with that settled… Whether you were picked or not, you will still have the chance to work alongside pro heroes. Just not any high-ranking ones."
"Those who were not chosen by any pro will instead be given a list of lower-ranking or no-ranked heroes who have volunteered for the coming program to choose from. In any case… You lot have already experienced more than most, but… seeing the pro's in action, and more importantly, partaking part in hero work yourselves, will still be an important part of your education. That is where your hero names comes in. These ones will only be tentative, but you'll still want to pick something appropriate…"
"OR ELSE YOU'LL KNOW TRUE HELL!"
The new voice was loud, passionate, and energetic, and Izuku and all the rest of the class immediately recognized it as Midnight walked into the room, in a pose with her hands behind her head, giving everyone present a good look at her rather generous bust as she strutted into the room.
-Goody. More shouting.-
"THE NAME YOU KIDDO'S PICK NOW MIGHT VERY WELL END UP BEING THE NAME THAT THE ENTIRE WORLD WILL KNOWN YOU AS FOR THE REST OF. YOUR LIVES! THAT'S HAPPENED TO. PLENTY OF PRO'S OUT THERE!"
Aizawa, seeming rather nonplussed about the very loud fellow teacher who had walked into his classroom, continued.
"Yes, true enough. Midnight here will be assessing the sensibilities of the names you pick, as I am no good at that."
As he continued, Aizawa began folding out a sleeping bag he had seemingly been keeping in a drawer in his desk. As he spoke he turned uncharacteristically serious, as he looked up at them.
"What future do you see for yourselves? The name you choose will bring you ever closer to cementing a certain image… Because names are capable of reflecting one's true character… Like All Might."
Izuku looked up sharply at that, then glazed over at Uraraka, who took the words with a stoic calm.
"A codename huh? Well, this should be easy enough."
"Oh right, by the way, Midoriya, you are not allowed to call yourselves "Venom", nor anything related to any kind of poisons." Midnight, said cheerfully, as Aizawa promptly went over to a corner to set up his sleeping bag.
Izuku was about to reply, but Venom beat him to it.
"WHAT! WHY? VENOM IS A PERFECT NAME FOR ANY WARRIOR!"
"Mayhaps so, but poison-related names are terrible for any heroes, as the history of every single Japanese hero who called himself Venom, toxin or poison has proven. You're not allowed to use it, end of story kiddo."
As Midnight began handing out small boards that she explained would be used to present their names for the rest of the class after choosing it, Venom fumed inside Izuku's head.
-Our name doesn't even have anything to DO with POISONS! IT'S A FUCKING KLYNTAR NUMBER!-
"I know, but I don't think you're gonna be able to win her over with that argument. Especially since… You know. We can't actually explain it to her."
-Fine! We'll just go with SEVEN then.-
"There's already a Japanese pro hero who uses that name."
-Okay, just the numerical letter 7 then.-
"A hero family who uses the number 1-9 as names."
-Damnation! Okay, symbiosis!-
"It's a team name used by a married couple in Okaido."
-Okay, symbiote!-
"A hero in Okinawa."
"Black suit?
"A hero in Kochi."
Venom just gave up.
"Alien."
"Been used by 6 different guys over Japan's history, the most recent one being a 72-year-old hero in-" -Okay, fuck this, We don't care anymore. Find something yourself!-
And with that, Venom stopped talking to him, leaving Izuku to look down at his paper.
A name.
It felt so strange, trying to come up with a hero name. An actual hero name.
It was the same thing Rhino had asked him, only without the imminent threat of possible death looming over him.
And he was no closer to finding a name now than he was then.
If there was one thing Aizawa's speech had made very clear, it was that whatever he chose, the silly names he had made in his childhood as he fawned over All Might on TV would not do.
He had absolutely no idea what Uraraka would choose, but she and she alone here would be All Might's legacy. At least, that was the way Izuku saw it.
He tried thinking up something, something that wasn't related to Venom, something that would fit with HIM specifically. Something that related to anything he had done, or become since meeting Venom.
The minutes ticked away, as all around him, he heard scribbling, someone making a hmmm sound, Mina humming a cheerful tune.
After minutes of fruitless thinking, he decided to try something out. Just… write the first thing that could describe him or his powers.
Well, at least then, there was something that popped into his mind immediately, and he wrote it down.
Spider.
He nodded.
Then, beneath, he scribbled out an additional extension.
Black spider. Kurogakejigumo
It… Wasn't the best name in the world.
He tried saying it to himself, and ahead of him, Bakugou Katsuki actually turned in his seat and looked at him with complete disgust at the name.
Part of him wanted to use it just to spite Katsuki, but the more sane part of him prevailed.
It was awful.
In any case, he quickly crossed it out and tried something else.
Alien spider. Eiriansupaidā
Then he thought about it for two seconds and realized that if there was one thing he DIDN'T want, it was to suggest a connection between his "Quirk" and outer space.
Again, he crossed it out.
This time, he didn't immediately try and make something else work.
These names… They might work in the sense they conveyed what he wanted to say, but frankly, this line of naming just didn't lend itself well to good-sounding names.
He could probably have just gone with spider, Kumo, he supposed, except that that was already taken.
The various ways he could make Kumo Into something else just… didn't sound very good. Too long, too over complicated. And nothing really seemed to fit him.
Then, after quite a few minutes of thinking, the answer became obvious immediately.
He quickly crossed out Kumo.
And instead, just wrote the word Spider, in English letters.
Izuku wasn't the best English speaker in the world, but he understood one thing.
It was way easier to combine words with "Spider" to make them fit while sounding good.
He tried again the first name.
Black spider.
Well, it sounded way better in English at least, while anyone even passingly familiar with the name would probably recognize both words.
Then, making a mistake no one who was actually fluent in English would ever make, he thought that maybe "black spider" was perhaps too easy to confuse with "Black Widow" for comfort, and given his ban on anything to do with poisons, he resigned himself to drop the name.
That once again left him with just spider.
He tried a few names out.
Power spider.
Jumping spider.
Void spider.
He tried several more before he reached Mighty spider, and realized he'd actually named himself in reference to All Might, that he gave up.
Clearly putting something in front of spider wasn't working.
He tapped the surface with his pencil.
Then he thought of something. Hadn't Kirishima said something about a spider hero he resembled? Something… Spider and then…
He wrote it down.
Then he just sat there, considering the name.
Well, if this guy had been a hero from the very first generation of heroes as Kirishima had said, then assuming that no one else had used it, then… it would be a free name to use.
He… Kinda liked it. But… Was this really a name he wanted to be remembered for forever? Possibly long after his death?
It wasn't until midnight suddenly announced that time was up, and it was time to shine, that Izuku realized how much time he had spent trying to figure out a name.
He quickly thought on his feet and added a - In the middle of the name. That… That was how you spelled it right?
When Midnight asked for a volunteer to start, the task was quickly taken by Aoyama, who enthusiastically walked up to Aizawa's desk… and presented a name that Made Izuku's name feel well prepared and thought out.
"Shining Hero: I Cannot Stop Twinkling."
It was a whole goddamned sentence!
It was a terrible name. What was more insane though, was Midnight's reaction to it.
"It will be easier to say if you take out the "I" and contract "Cannot" to "Can't"."
THAT was her only problems with it?
Izuku and Venom weren't the only ones literarily tilting their heads at the name either, as the entire class was struck by the sheer stupidity of the name.
Well everyone except Mina who just grinned, and as Aoyama tanked Midnight, she volunteered to go next.
"Alright! I'm next! Call me…" She flipped her hard up, to showcase what it said.
"Black Cat: The Second of her name!"
-Well, at least it implies something grand like a royal dynasty!-
Midnight did not embrace it with open arms, however.
"Well… Your family currently Owns the name Black Cat within Japan as far as hero work goes… So I can't exactly deny you using it… I assume your mom won't have any problems with it?"
"Nope! She was the one who suggests I used Second of her name to differentiate us."
Midnight looked at her in silence for a moment, then sighed.
"Well kiddo, for your sake, I hope you and your mom don't have a fallout. I've seen pretty awkward aftermaths of parents and children sharing names, then it all blowing up."
Mina snorted.
"That'll never happen with me and mom."
Midnight looked at her with a melancholic look that was one of an older, more experienced person looking at someone who really didn't have much of any.
However, she nodded, then called up the next in line, which turned out to be Tsuyu who presented the "Rainy season hero: Froppy", which Midnight loved a lot more.
After that was Kirishima's "Sturdy Hero: Red Riot" which was an obvious tribute to Crimson Riot, without just taking the name wholesale.
Kinda like what Izuku was doing. He suddenly felt rather uncomfortable as Midnight gave her a rather positive opinion on the name, and asked him about the obvious parallel to the hero of old.
Kirishima's obvious respect for the hero he was taking his name off of was also very obvious, and made Izuku feel a bit… Guilty.
He tried, really hard to think up. An alternative as the names rolled by, but he just… Couldn't think of one, as his classmates presented their names, one after another.
Kaminari. "Thunderbolt"
Jiro. "Hearing Hero: Earphone Jack."
Sero. "Taping hero: Cellophane."
Shoji. "Tentacole."
Ojiro. "Tailman."
Sato. "Sugarman"
Momo. "Everything Hero: Creati"
Shoto. "Shoto" Just… Shoto.
Tokoyami. "Jetblack hero: Tsukuyomi"
Mineta. "Fresh picked hero: Grape Juice."
Koda. "Petting Hero Anima"
And then there were only 4 left.
Katsuki, Uraraka, Tenya, and Izuku.
-OH this ought to be good.- Venom snorted as Katsuki stepped up to the desk.
Izuku, who despised Katsuki had to admit that he was kinda curious about what Katsuki's name would be.
"Bakusatsuou." King Explosion Murder.
Izuku got a look of disgust on his face, not too unlike Bakugou's reaction to his first attempt at a name.
That… holy shit that was a childish name.
That Katsuki could say it with a straight face without even a hint of being tongue in cheeks or smiling, was a testament to what kind of person he was.
He had essentially mangled the Kanji in his own name to make it sound like something completely awesome, and the name could not have sounded less mature and more like the name, a child picked to sound cool.
Which… Might actually be the case, Izuku realized. This might actually be the name Bakugou had chosen for himself when he was a child, and unlike Izuku and his silly all might inspired names, he just had refused to abandon it.
Midnight's expression was a blank one, as she simply turned it down, and told him to try again.
After that there was… Uraraka.
Of all the names today, it was far and away the one Izuku had been most curious what it would be.
What would Uraraka, All Might's heir choose as her name? Would it be blatant, about who she was, or would she go her own way with something new?
Uraraka laid her card down on the table, so the top was clear to see by all the class.
Ururaka wore an expression that reminded Izuku of when they had fought. It was the face of someone who had decided playtime was over and was steeling herself for what was about to come.
The name, however, Izuku didn't get at all.
"Shimura. That will be my hero name."
"Um okay. If you're sure, then… Go for it kiddo."
He wasn't the only one who was confused by the name. The rest of the class also had looks of confusion.
Shimura… Was just a name.
But it was a name Uraraka greatly valued for some reason.
He was really, really interested in knowing the exact origins of the name, but he was rather certain that if he asked her, Uraraka would tell him a prescripted lie.
Not that he blamed her for it of course. He understood if there were things she needed to keep to herself. God knows he wasn't in a position to judge.
After her was Tenya, who just went with his own name as Shoto had.
In his case though, he looked… Quite troubled by the fact.
Izuku thought back to what Venom had said about him feeling down today, and was about to try and feel just how down he felt when he was suddenly thrust into the spotlight by Midnight calling for him to come take the stand.
He hastily grabbed the piece he had been writing on and hurried up to the table.
Then, feeling that old nervousness begin to pipe up once more, he showed the name to the class.
He swallowed, waiting for the reaction.
To his sheer relief, there wasn't much negative reaction, just some low key positives ones, and a few confused ones.
Kirishima in particular seemed really supportive, giving him a huge grin, and two thumbs up.
Both Uraraka and Mina gave him encouraging smiles, Mina also giving him a wink and a thumbs up, but Izuku was pretty sure that had far, far more to do with the fact that both of them were his friends than his name being amazing.
Hakagure was the only one to give a real negative comment.
"It's kinda… generic isn't it?"
Venom snorted. "As if you're one to talk "Invisible girl""
Midnight was a bit more critical, but she did give him a warm smile.
"Drop the -. I'm guessing you put it there to differentiate yourself from Yamashiro Takuya, but by doing so, you would instead associate yourself with Komori Yuu, and trust me kiddo, you DON'T want to be associated with Komori Yuu."
"Um… okay."
He wasn't particularly familiar with Yamashiro beyond what Kaminari had told him in passing, and he had absolutely no idea who this Komori Yuu was.
Maybe he should read up on both of them. As quickly as possible.
"Also, it's standard procedure for those taking a name that's free, to add their own moniker to it so no one confuses you. So you're gonna have to choose a moniker different from the other two before you, so something different than "The Emissary from Hell", or "The Amazing"."
"How about-" "No, I'm not gonna let you call yourself "The venomous".
"We were actually gonna suggest The Lethal protector!"
"... No, just… No."
Izuku, however, remembered something when Midnight had said the English word Amazing.
Something amazing! Something spectacular!
"W-Would spectacular work?"
"Spectacular? Sure kiddo, just add a "The" in front and you're set."
He did so, removing the - and adding the words, "The spectacular" in front.
The spectacular Spiderman.
It… Was not a name he had had in mind before this, but… It was his now.
It was as good a name as any.