My Hero Academia: Candle in the Night
By:CleruSonofShintetsu
[Chapter 1: The Candle Lights of Hope]
Nuremberg, Germany...the site of many things. Bustling night life, the finest festivities, a castle, and of course, many hard-working Germans, though those are never in short supply in such a hardy country. However, many may know it for the trials that took place after World War 2, during the collapse of the Third Reich, where many a Nazi was judged and sentenced therein.
Today? It is a country that, though long having broken the shackles of its old history, has now been latched onto by a new disease...a disease called the Blood Ravens. These vile villains have established themselves as a militaristic force that wishes to rule the country and protect it in their own way, throwing off all rampant extremism from within while scaring any attackers from without, to make ancient Germanic warriors out of the modern day people of their country.
Ever since their rise over 50 years ago, many heroes have fallen in battle against them, but they havent started winning until the last 20 years or so. Where the heroes numbered in the many dozens before, there stands only a few dozen today, including none other than the number one pro hero himself, Wilhelman, wielder of the Full-Body Salvo quirk, and pupil of the late former number one hero.
Regardless of its history, it's people now gossip away at the news that one of their own citizens is being selected as part of a foreign exchange project, where six German youths are sent to some of the top hero schools across the world, beyond the German heartland. That citizen...is Clarimond von Richtofen. Her quirk: Patchwork. It's power? Turning her into a variant of Dr. Frankenstein's Monster, with many neat features therein!
The girl slowly woke up, rising from her slumber and rubbing sleepies out of her eyes as she watched the news report on her bedroom TV.
Clarimond has fluffy black hair that reaches the bottom of her neck. Her body is quite toned, with vast potential for further growth. Her skin is the most unique detail, and intrinsic to her quirk. Her body is stitched together, each piece being a random shade of gray, from nearly white to nearly black in color, and many shades in between. Her body was a smooth yet leathery thing, and quite durable to boot, and as she paced around her bedroom, she made sure not to accidentally scrape her arms together, for she has the bonus ability to create, resist and store electricity. Just as the element gave the monster life, so too does it give Clarimond more options.
The news reporter began to speak after the catchy opening tune played. "Gutenmorgen everyone, today is the day it finally happens. Six of our youths are at last preparing to embark on their journeys across the world, not just to any old schools, but to four of the top ten hero schools the world over: the Super Patriot Academy in America, the Iron Cossack Academy in Russia, the King's Hero Academy in England, and the U.A. In Japan. Two each will be sent to the former two, one each will be sent to the latter two."
Clarimond smiled, albeit tiredly, and started getting dressed while she listened in, slipping out of her soft robe and into a sepia plaid flannel shirt and black sweatpants. She also began to pack her clothes, her laptop, and other necessary items for the trip.
"The country celebrates the efforts of its youth, not only at home, but those going abroad, in a brilliant move to empower Germany against it's long lived threats. Said threats have reached a historic low, and it seems at last the tables are turning for our troubled nation. Now we move to the weather forecast and more..." she said, the TV switching to said forecast.
After she finished getting dressed, she looked herself in the mirror one more time with a smile. "What a dapper young woman." she said to herself before heading downstairs for breakfast.
In the humble little kitchen, her little brother (Frederick), father (Almeric), and uncle (Hans), were sitting at the table while her mother (Elfriede) was finishing the last of the potato pancakes she was cooking.
Her father spoke up first with a wave, "Gutenmorgen, Clarimond! We decided to have your favorite today." he said, motioning to the plates full of potato pancakes on the counter.
"And," her mother started, "we have dark hot chocolate, your absolute favorite of drinks!" she added, finishing up and beginning to pass the food around to everyone at the table.
Clarimond smiled so hard it nearly hurt, putting her hands together beside her head with a squeal as she sat down and eagerly began to devour her pancakes.
Her little brother blinked in her direction, hiding in his hoodie afterward to shield himself from projectile crumbs. "Please stop being such an animal about it..." the young boy pleaded.
Clarimond stopped, looked at him, and nodded with a mild blush. "S-sorry! I'll eat slower." she said, continuing to eat less messily now.
Her uncle began to laugh, "You remind me of my own childhood with your father!" he said, nudging his dear brother with a grin. "We were such messy and rude children weren't we, Almeric? Now look at you, a family man with a living wage!"
Almeric chuckled in amusement, "Ja, ja, you still owe me for abandoning me during one of our little graffiti outings, Hans." he said with a smirk.
Hans laughed again, slapping the table once and shaking it, almost spilling a few drinks. "Of course of course, I'll pay you back eventually!"
"And you'll be paying the price of new table cloth if you make a mess!" said Clarimond's mother. "This table cloth goes back to 1910 you silly apes!" she scolded with a barely contained smile.
Clarimond started to giggle, "I'm going to miss you all so much when I leave for Japan..." she mentioned, sipping and savoring her hot chocolate for a moment.
Her father smiled warmly. "We'll miss you too, our little muffin."
Frederick stayed reclusive, nibbling on another pancake and saying nothing.
"For now though..." he continued, "let's enjoy a warm and wonderful breakfast."
And so they did, munching away and making more small talk.
Eventually they were finished, cleaning up their mess as Clarimond grabbed her luggage from upstairs. When she arrived, she felt something bump her pocket. Looking down, she saw no one there. She simply shrugged it off and went for the door, her family helping her outside as a bus pulled up nearby.
"Alright, when you get there, do you remember what to do and what's going to happen?" Almeric asked, putting his hands on Clarimond's shoulders.
"Ja! We'll gather before the news reporters, get photos and brief introductions, and then set off on our personal flights to our respective countries!" Clarimond answered with a smile.
Uncle Hans laughed and nodded. "Good, good, she knows the basics. Let's not keep the driver waiting...I remember that driver from my own childhood, she isn't very patient." he warned playfully as he pointed to the shaggy old woman driving the bus.
Nodding, Clarimond started towards the bus, waving goodbye to her family and saying, "Bye bye! I love you! I'll make you all proud okay?"
Frederick was watching from behind his mother's leg, staring at her and patting his pocket.
Clarimond noticed and felt her own pocket, nodding in confirmation that she had it before stepping onto the bus.
On the bus, there were five other students; two girls, three boys, making her the last one on the bus.
She sat down in one of the front window seats after waving to the others with a grin. "Gutenmorgen!" she said cheerily.
One of the boys waved silently, another boy ignored her, the third one is the only one to greet her back. He was a slime boy to be exact, his body dripping and see-through, and was the color orange. Otherwise he wore a simple black t-shirt and long pants with a skull and crossbones logo on the shirt.
"Heeeeeeeeeeeeyyyy fraulein~ You seem the opposite of uptight...half the bus is just...well..." the slime boy said, glancing back at the bus, the two other girls paying it no mind while the bigger of the remaining two boys flipped him off.
"I'm Egon Fischer, who's the cute patch monster in front of me?" he asked playfully.
Clarimond giggled, appreciating being called cute, before introducing herself. "Clarimond von Richtofen, an honor to meet you all!"
Egon nodded and spilled back into his seat, reorienting himself as the bus driver told him; "Try not to mess up my seats, jello boy."
Egon chuckled and nodded.
Nobody else seemed willing to speak at the moment. Clarimond couldn't blame them, it was likely even the six chosen youths would be very serious and tense, given the mission they were all going on.
As the bus driver closed the door and began to drive, the bus remained quiet for about 3 minutes before Egon piped up again.
"Soooo..." he began, "What country are you going to?"
"Oh, Japan!" Clarimond replied.
"Woah, wait, Japan? Home to the UA? That's one of the top hero schools in the whole world! You are so stupidly lucky right now!" he said with sparkles in his eyes.
Clarimond nodded eagerly. "Ja, but I wouldn't brag about it...I mean...surely you guys are going to good schools too, right?"
The big male student in the back sighed, "I'm going to Russia with this one, the bubble shooting healer in the seat in front of me." he motioned.
The girl in question made a bubble rainbow with her hands. "Heeeeeealiiiiiiiiing. We're a perfect duo, big guy."
The male student huffed, "Like hell we are, I may be buff but I'm a stealth hero by nature, you remember what my quirk is, right?"
The bubble healer nodded, "Yep, cloaking! You're blind, but you can sneak around undetected, the ghost with the most...muscle." she said, a bit awkwardly.
Clarimond, meanwhile, began to read the note her brother apparently put in her pocket.
Reading in her head; "Dear sis, I know I can be moody (and I won't deny I have my reasons), but I do love you and...I want you to be careful out there. Please be safe, and for God's sake don't fall for whatever nationalist dog water they'll try hydrating you with at the airport. Germany needs heroes, not sheep. Your loving brother, Frederick. PS, it took all of my willpower to be so sentimental, don't get used to it..."
Clarimond smiled warmly and widely, snuggling the paper to her chest and sighing. "I love you too, my moody little snapdragon." she said quietly to herself, wishing she could headpat the little guy at least one more time before she left.
She put the paper away and looked out the window. Soon enough, the students arrived at the airport, which had tons of people waiting for their foreign exchange students to hop off the bus and greet the crowd. In addition to reporters, camera people, and general citizens, there was also the entire population of Germany's one and only hero school; Steel Hawk Academy.
Cameras flashed, almost blinding Clarimond and the other five students, who barring the slime boy, went back to focusing on only themselves as they waved to the cameras to various degrees of excitement or boredom.
Suddenly, Clarimond felt the weight of what she was about to embark on hit her. The moment all of this preamble was done and over with, she was going to be in a foreign country, and trying to represent her own to the best of her abilities, while also having the weight of her country's future resting heavy on her shoulders, while also...while also...
"von Richtofen...? Ei, von Richtofen?" asked one of the reporters, snapping out of her daze.
Clarimond gasped and she nodded, waving hurriedly to the camera and saying hello.
"Ah, sorry..." she said, "heebie jeebies and all."
The reporter chuckled, "It is fine, fraulein, many of us can relate! So, tell us, what will YOU do when you get to Japan? Keep it snappy and snazzy now!" he urged, motioning her to speak.
Clarimond, after thinking a moment, perked up. "I'll give it my all, work myself practically to the bone if need be, and do our homeland prouder than proud!"
The reporter nodded, "A simple answer compared to the rest, but a worthwhile and important one. Alright!" he said, turning around to the camera crew. "Everyone! The moment you've all been waiting for has finally arrived! The number one pro hero of Germany is about to arrive to give his regards and blessings to not only our foreign exchange students, but to our new generation of Steel Hawk students too!"
Clarimond perked up with excitement, putting her hands together in excitement and shifting eagerly in place. Her heart pounded and her eyes sparkled in anticipation. "Wilhelmaaaaaan...!"
Egon slid behind her and whispered, "Mein Gott, we really get to see that imperial flag-wearing nut in the flesh? Awesome."
She turned around briefly and said, "Ja! I'm an absolute fangirl and I admit it! He...he's just the best, despite controversy and whatnot."
Egon chuckled, "To hell with the haters, he means well and fights just as hard. Hell, he pretty much broke the back of the Blood Ravens' latest operation and set them back for months!" he mentioned.
The Blood Ravens...Clarimond's face grew dark just thinking about them. "R-right...those savages..." she said bitterly. "May they all fester in the ground for the harm they've brought upon our sick country..."
Egon noticed the tension and gently squeezed her shoulder. "Easy fraulein...we all loathe them, try not to be too bitter for the cameras at least. Look, there he is!" he said, pointing to the direction of an approaching limo with German Imperial colors on it.
The crowd began to cheer excitedly as the car stopped and the door opened, only growing louder when the man, the myth, the legend himself, stepped out and stood tall.
This 6'5ft titan of German patriotism gazed out at the crowd, wearing an almost exact replica of Kaiser Wilhelm II's getup, with some tertiary flair to it. His face was covered in a full and bushy beard, his face covered in scars, and his eyes a beautiful brown color, albeit with slight dark rings under them.
The man raised a hand and yelled out, "ACHTUNG!"
The crowd went quiet at his command. He slowly stepped forward and stared down the six exchange students that were soon to depart from their homeland.
Clarimond could hardly contain herself, Egon was mostly relaxed, the rest were all serious and at attention.
The big muscular man, still fit in spite of his advanced age, then began to speak to both the exchange students and the crowd of school students.
"My precious fellow Germans of the younger generation...I love and respect you all from one citizen to another, and wish you not only luck, but God's blessings upon you." he began, his voice hoarse, commanding and even intimidating, scary even...yet with a sincerity unmatched.
"The Blood Ravens are finally bleeding out, and as long as we stand tall, this plague will be snuffed entirely from our national blood veins! We will hold the line, and when you return, the pests will either be gone, or crippled enough for you to finish them off." he said, his words relieving even the most doom-and-gloom people in the area.
"Your mission, my dear soldiers of a new age, is to learn, work, and drill yourselves in all ways. Drill your bodies, your minds, your souls, but pace yourselves well, lest you be exhausted and broken down in a time of need. You have three or so years to prepare, all of you! May you return alive, well, and stronger for your efforts! May the exchange students come home in one piece, may the ones who learn in the heartland remain safe and sound and stronger by the end all the same, and may today mark the beginning of the end for our greatest of foes! Godspeed!" he said, stomping once as the crowd cheered loudly.
People were always skeptical of him, this...Wilhelman, as he was officially called. But regardless, the people were emboldened by it, their hearts singing out in hope, and as the crowd dispersed, Clarimond turned to face Wilhelman, clearing her throat nervously and getting his attention.
"W-Wilhelman...?" she asked, tapping her fingers together.
The man stared down at her unblinking.
"I...on behalf of your...m-many fans...thank you. Y-you're an inspiration to us all, d-despite what people say of your theme...c-character...y-you know what I mean." she said, blushing in mild embarassment for her studdering.
Wilhelman almost smiled, but gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder instead. He had big hands, Clarimond noticed.
"It is good to hear more than a few niche voices say that. I appreciate that some see me as more of a problematic meat shield among your generation. Fight hard, fraulein, for you are but one of many candles flickering in the night for our home." he said, walking away, his German Empire cape billowing in the mild breeze.
With a deep breath, Clarimond felt relief wash over her.
"Thank God...I thought I was going to sound stupid or something..." she said.
The big male student scoffed, "Seriously, there ARE other heroes that arent walking talking monarchists you know. That geezer is controversial for a reason."
Clarimond glanced back in frustration. "What would you know? He's doing his best but all people can look at is his eccentric nature and the fact he wears Imperial garb, AS A HERO PERSONA MIND YOU!" she emphasized with a huff.
"That persona is based on a relic of the past that has no business being brought up today. Stop being naive, he's a kooky old man with delusions of yet another colonial parasite of an empire long gone. I sincerely hope you aren't this stupid in Japan. Damn..." he responded back, before turning and walking away to his flight, the bubble healer fumbling and following behind him.
"Hmph! You'll see!" she said, dismissively waving him off as she marched towards her flight. She was stopped by Egon who offered her something.
"Here, my beautiful friend, a token of my appreciation for being...not so uptight, earlier." he said with a smirk. The gift was a cornflower hair pin.
She looked down and took it, smiling sweetly at him. "Thanks...I needed something nice after that. You stay safe now, got it?" she said.
With a nod and a grin, Egon took his leave with a flowery bow. "Any time! This jello man has a flight to catch, good luck!"
And with that, a morning passed by in a blink. Clarimond stepped onto the plane, did what she had to do, took her luxury seating, and soon enough? She was off in the air, leaving her home behind and with a nation's hopes to live up to.
The sky grew darker and darker by the hour, and soon enough, after hours of playing on her phone and watching in-flight movies...she nodded off. Sleep well, she must, for tomorrow she'd be in a place far from home and on a journey most important.