Rule #19d: You can always beguile someone with your pretty words
NEWS NOON: TRAGEDY STRIKES A PEACEFUL CITY
A tragedy occurred in the province of Deika City mere days ago and even all these days later, people are still reeling from the tragedy that has befallen them. Sources say that criminals two seperate organisations—the infamous LEAGUE OF VILLAINS and the lesser known, META HUMAN LIBERATION—used fake emergencies to lure the heroes out of the city, and off to distant locations so that they could attack without fear of interference.
Facing such an unexpected threat and without the aid of the coveted heroes, the residents of Deika City heroically banded together in resistance against the criminals. It was not until later when the heroes had realised that they had been tricked, did they return to the province in order to aid in the feat. Unfortunately, by the time the heroes had returned, scores of civilians had already lost their lives (a candlelight vigil will be held for those lost in the incident. See below for further information).
By the time that the heroes had arrived on the scene, any & all trace of the LEAGUE OF VILLAINS had vanished and the twenty members representing the criminal group known as the META HUMAN LIBERATION, were found to be deceased upon inspection. With their opponents long since dead, the heroes controversially closed the case, but the public is calling for answers as to why this tragedy even had to happen at all.
When asked for comment, a selection of the public has stated that the untrained civilians did more harm than good by using their Quirks to fight back against the threats. But the world at large, hasn't stopped talking about the heroism of the Deika City residents even as the city finds itself in the throes of recovery and repair.
Witnesses report seeing DETERRENT's president and CEO happened to be present in Deika City at the time of the attack. Mercifully, he was one of the lucky few to survive, although that was not without injury, as both of his legs have had to be amputated. Reports say that he is recovering well in an undisclosed hospital, and he is expected to make a full recovery.
Unfortunately, this incident has left many people with numerous unanswered questions that neither the heroes nor the HERO PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION have deigned to comment upon. As we recover from this tragedy, many are left wondering: What will befall us next?
By the time the end of December rolled around, there were only a few short days left until the second semester came to a close. Todoroki and Bakugou had spent that morning answering to several interviewers about their debut with the Cider House Gang and getting their Provisional Licenses. But from what Toru could ascertain, Bakugou hadn't exactly been well-received by any of them; as credited by the clipped videos of just Todoroki.
"…You must've of bonded during your training, given how well you two worked together, huh?" The interviewer cooed.
"That's right" Todoroki nodded plainly; the frame cut tight around his face. "We're friends"
"It must've of been frightening!"
"No, not frightening; I've been taught to focus on the task at hand"
"And this next question is for Todoroki…"
"…Hahaha~!" Kaminari and Sero chortled as they shoved the streaming interview into their classmates' faces. "They were interviewed for over an hour, but all of Bakugou's answers were trashed! He's just an angry blip in the corner!"
"Nngh!" Bakugou ground his teeth together in irritation, "Why'd they cut me out?!"
"Honestly, they kinda did him a big favour" Ochako mused from her desk.
"And he'd already done two interviews before this one" Momo despaired.
"He's not really one for words, is he?" Toru hummed. "More of a punch-you-in-the-face kinda guy"
"So much for racking up any good press after that throw-down" Jiro agreed as she fiddled with her earjacks.
"They're newly minted, but those students were reliable. It is my sincerest hope that they're able to work as ACTUAL Pros in the near future. We must NOT have a repeat of what happened in Deika City!" Chirped the interviewer beneath all of the boys' chortles, "It's been nine days since that fateful incident, when a riot of only TWENTY PEOPLE destroyed the city in scarcely less than an hour…"
"I heard that the damage in Deika City was worse than in Kamino" Iida hummed as he wandered over to where Midoriya and Mineta were huddled around the phone in question. "But since it was less populated, there were fewer casualties"
"But casualties all the same" Midoriya sighed despondently.
"…And to blame?" The reporter continued, staring down the barrel of the camera. "Villains hoping to lower the public's estimation of heroes through the destruction and loss of innocent life"
"It's foolish to blame the heroes of Deika for this event" Commented one civilian from the 'VOICES FROM TOWN' segment. "In my opinion, the WHOLE system needs to be reformed"
"Don't hate on the heroes for doing their best!" Scowled another, her hair piled so high that it almost outreached her guitar case. "It's not like they have office gigs"
"I hope this makes them want to work even HARDER!" Chirped one teen.
"We'll keep doing our best as long as the Pros do too!" Added another.
"…And now, over to our commentator, Kuraishishu Aoirio, to see what he has to say" It switched back to the newsroom.
"In the past, if there was an incident with THIS many casualties, EVERYONE would be blaming the heroes for their incompetent aptitude in the field" Kuraishishu explained, nodding his thanks as the cameras panned over to the pointy-eared man. "But right now, I s'pose you could say that we're at a crossroads. For the most part, I've seen more encouragement than disapproval…"
"…Ever since that 'Look!' boy was on TV, people have been seeing things differently" Ochako agreed, coming up behind the boys. (The boy she was referring to, was the pink-haired one who had screamed at the public to look towards the new Number One hero, Endeavour as he took on those Nomus, whilst Toru protected the people and Hawks air-lifted people out of harm's way).
"He made everyone root for the new Number One!" Mina added, mimicking Ochako's opened-eyed hand gesture.
SCHLICK!
"—Not so fast kids!" Mount Lady introduced herself as she slid open the classroom door with a bit more of a flourish than was actually needed. Midnight was not too far behind, and looking rather put off that most eyes were on the (younger) horned hero instead of her. "It may look like there's a new love of heroes, but you need to think about the why. The world's on fire and everyone's scared! Are people cheering for Pros that they've got ample faith in? Or are they praying desperately that we don't get our butts kicked? Our job's been more about celebrity status in past years, but now the world wants to see real heroes again!"
"Whoa! Mount Lady!" Midoriya gasped, mouth flopping open and eyes bulging wide in awe (he wasn't the only one).
"Mount Lady has dropped in today as a guest instructor" Aizawa trudged through the door, garbed in a full body yellow sleeping bag (an early Christmas gift from Shinso). "She'll teach you how to deal with publicity and Midnight's here to assist her"
"WHAT PUBLICITY?!" Bakugou snarled, "I KEEP GETTING CUT!"
"Maybe you'll do better after training?" Kirishima suggested.
"I'm psyched to see her, but isn't she the most celebrity-obsessed Pro there is?" Mineta called out, earning himself a pulled cheek and a backhanded smack for his insolence.
"Quiet, shrimp!" Mount Lady smacked away his outstretched hand as her face took on an unimpressed glare. In the background, Midnight didn't bother to contain her smug grin, but at least she was professional enough to swallow any laughter that threatened to make itself known.
Turning the classroom at large, Mount Lady plucked out a small card which read "MEDIA" on the front, in big block letters. "Today's lesson is Media 101, taught by an active Pro and an obscenely hot commodity, named Me! The perfect person to show you how to behave like savvy heroes!"
"I have no idea what we're gonna be doing!" Kirishima proudly decreed, "But let's do our best! And go Plus Ultra, you guys!"
"YEAH!"
Trussed up in their hero costumes, the students of 1-A trickled out to training gym Gamma where, instead of the usual concrete walls and linoleum floors, there was instead a mock talkshow stage set up in the middle of the room. A thick wall of yellow & blue squares denoting the UA logo peppered the background, whilst several wooden slats had been folded together to form a stage for this lesson. Off to the side, stood several of the first years from the first year's management classes; each armed with a camera and a notepad & pen, plus recorder. It seemed that today was going to be a joint lesson, of sorts.
"In today's class, we'll all be practising hero interviews" Mount Lady introduced from where she stood on the stage. "So, here's how this is gonna work. I'll be interviewing Class A, whilst Class K will be playing the part of the paparazzi!"
"Woohoo! Yes!" Kirishima cheered, pumped up for the lesson.
"I can't believe we get to snap all these pics! And keep 'em afterwards!" One of the management students whispered with a reverence that was eerily similar to the tones that MIneta often displayed. Ick.
"I can't believe that they gave you a camera!" Retorted another, looking done with his classmate's antics. Apparently there was one of those kinds of people in every class.
"Shush! You're ruining my concentration!"
"Whatever, perv"
"Shoto, my dear" Mount Lady continued, waving the boy forward. "You first"
"Uh, okay…" Todoroki replied, a little caught off-guard at being pulled up to the front first. For someone so quiet, being called upon was like being handed an active grenade; you just didn't know what to do with it.
"My goodness!" She shoved the microphone into his face, "You were amazing out there—!"
"—Wait, what are you talking about?" Todoroki puzzled.
"Pretend you just finished up a big mission!" She hissed in irritation, getting in close to his face, "Now"
"Right" He nodded as realisation dawned as she pulled back again.
"So, tell us Shoto, what kind of hero would you like to be?"
"Well, I guess…I would like to be a hero who makes people feel safer?"
"Lovely. Problem is, if a handsome hero like you, showed up to save me, I'm afraid my heart would go into overdrive!"
"What…? Do you…have heart problems?"
How can someone be SO dense?! Toru sighed, exasperatedly at this somewhat awkward exchange of events. It kinda reminded her of Bitch-Sensei's lessons, if she were being honest; y'know, but without the death threats, the thick Russian accent and the occasional lecherous lure that never really went anywhere.
"…And what kind of ultimate moves are you working with?"
WHOOSH!
A blast of cold air drifted lazily through the gym at Todoroki's command, before solidifying into an impressively large wall that clambered up one side of the building; even going so far as to stretch towards the mezzanine with glittering jagged fingers of ice. A collective shiver ran through the class at that; not because it was scary but because the blast of cold was enough to make anyone shudder. Though, the wall of ice from the heterochromatic teen wasn't that far out of his norm, even if it was a little bigger than before.
"This is my ultimate move, Heaven Piercing: Ice Wall" Todoroki explained with a flick of the wrist to shake off any lingering snowflakes, "I can use it to cover a wide area and to stop villains. Plus it can also be used as a platform. Additionally, I'm working to define a move called Flash Freeze: Heatwave"
"And—hey—what about the other fire one he used in the fight against Class B?" Jiro wondered.
"That's not originally his" Sato replied, a little awkwardly.
"Oh yeah! Flash Fire Fist!" Toru chirped aloud, as realisation struck.
"Yeah, but Flash Fire Fist is my old man's move" Todoroki replied bitterly.
"Oh…"
"The problem is, I'm nowhere near his level"
"Yeah, but I'm not really here to discuss your family…issues" Mount Lady cut in, "If you want people to feel safe, I'd recommend smiling at least once. I guarantee that if you flash those pearly whites, the ladies will be dropping dead! You feel me?"
"If I smile, then they'll die?!" Todoroki panicked, looking more horrified than the time the convenience store had run out of cold soba.
"MOVING ON!" She huffed, frustrated that someone could be so dense.
"So, when we do an interview, we show off our moves?" Tokoyami asked as Todoroki finally shuffled off stage.
"Sweet, baby first years!" Mount Lady cooed as she crouched down to be more at eye-level with them. "Remember! You're just starting out! It's not like everyone knows who you are! Your ultimate move(s) are like your personal calling cards; people won't forget you if you show off your assets. They're also handy when teaming up with others and as ways to frighten off villains too. Those moves help people learn to trust you with their lives; we don't yell out the names of our attacks just because it sounds cool"
"I'm pretty sure that up until recently, she didn't think about anything except how she looked on camera" Mineta commented from the back, earning another irate glare from the heroine (although, that wasn't unusual for the grape-boy).
"It's not just Mount Lady" Aizawa replied.
"Mm?"
"Right now all of the Pros are being challenged to step-up and do better. Endeavour's ascent is motivating them"
"Oh"
"Now then! Let's keep these interviews coming, shall we?" Mount Lady chirped, pulling the attention back towards her.
And just like that, the rest of the lesson passed with each of the students shuffling up onto the stage and declaring their ultimate move(s) for all to hear, with the occasional interjectory comment from Mount Lady. Of course, as Class President, Iida went first (or second, as the case may have of been). "…I chose my hero name, Ingenium, because it was my brother's and I want to live up to the honour & passion that he embodied as a hero!"
"You're oozing with sincerity!" Mount Lady cooed.
"My name is Creati" Added Momo, "And your safety is guaranteed thanks to my encyclopaedic knowledge!"
"Confidence makes people rely on you!"
"I'm Froppy, ribbit!" Tsu croaked cutely, "The amphibious hero! Ready to help out!"
"Aww! How cute!"
"Hi there! I'm Uravity!" Ochako chirped, "My Quirk is Zero Gravity and whenever I'm around, you're problems & fears are weightless!"
"Everyone loves a gentle hero! And a good pun!"
"I am the jet-black hero, Tsukuyomi!" Tokoyami all but growled as Dark Shadow hovered menacingly over him, "Glory is reserved for those who have [not] touched darkness"
"Hoo boy! Talk about a mood!"
"I'm Red Riot! The sturdy hero!" Kirishima sharpened in greeting, "I am an impenetrable wall of protection!"
"If you say so, boss!"
"I'm the acid master: Pinky!" Mina sang, striking a pose.
"Ooh! So hot, girl!"
"I'm Tail Man! The hard hitting hero with a whipper-snapper tail!" Ojiro punctuated his point by flicking his tail with a loud snap!
"You'll get 'em with a flick & a snap!"
"What's up? I'm the stun gun hero, Chargebolt!" Kaminari sauntered across the stage, and stuck his thumb to his forehead in the symbol of an 'L' And then looked confused as to why Mount Lady looked so put-out, whilst some of his classmates were snickering at the fact that he had just made the universal sign for 'Loser'
"What a shocker!"
"Hey guys, I'm Tentacle, the tracking hero"
"So mysterious!"
"Ah, I'm Prism and I work with light!" Toru chirped, waving her wands about as fireflies sprung up. "In fact, both Twinkling Star & I can perform some super awesome combo moves!"
"Oui! Tis I! Twinkling Star!" Aoyama quickly joined her up on stage. "And we sparkle like a thousand stars!"
"Get it, guys! I was afraid that you'd all be hopeless at this, but you're killing this lesson!"
"We're killing it?!" Todoroki panicked to himself; although not as quietly as he would've of hoped. "But that's not what heroes are supposed to do!"
"Oh, Todoroki…!" Mina sighed pityingly as she patted him on the back, much to his confusion. Turning to the invisible girl at her side, the pinkette clung to her side like a limpet as she exclaimed rather loudly."Oh wow, Toru! You're so good at this!"
"You think so?" Toru replied sheepishly (she tried her best not to flinch at the sudden attack).
"Oh yeah! Have you done something like this, before?"
"Uh, no, not really—"
"—Oh, c'me on! There's gotta be something! Spill!"
"Uh, well, I mean, in middle school I was on one of those "Voices from Town" segments?"
"No way! Really?" Ochako butted in, "What was it about?"
"Er, something about the…Quirkless, I think?" Toru hummed, trying to remember more than a few fuzzy details about the day in question. "I forget what the question was, but I remember the reporter sounding mean, and I went off on him, and they kept it"
"Oooh! What station was it for? Maybe we can find it—!"
"—Hagakure! Uraraka! Ashido! Pay attention!" Aizawa scolded them.
"Yessir…"
All was going well, that is until Bakugou got up on stage; which, in this class, was to be expected. Since he was one of the trademarked "Problem Children". Toru didn't have to look to see how Aizawa's eyes rolled about in their sockets as he hunkered down into his sleeping bag suit; already predicting that this was not gonna go well. It was a sucker's bet at this point. Toru had half a mind to stick her fingers in her ears just to prevent any burst eardrums from the blonde's (undoubtably) loud exclaimations that would soon follow because Bakugou didn't exactly have a multitude of volumes. It was either mute, Kirishima or loud.
"I'M NOT GONNA STAND HERE AND SAY STUPID STUFF LIKE THAT!" Bakugou predictably blew up, a wide grin stretched across his lips as he spoke. "SHUT YOUR TRAP AND TRUST ME!"
"…You're just as bad in an interview by yourself, huh?" Mount Lady bemoaned, likely referring to the previous ones with Todoroki which had already made it to air. "I think I understand now! You just have a problem with…humanity"
"What…?" Bakugou snarled.
"I'm sorry, Bakugou" Todoroki shuffled closer to the stage. "You were completely cut because I was there—"
"—YOU'RE NOT SO GREAT!" Bakugou interjected, more than a little put out. "I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT WHAT YOU THINK! AND I DEFINITELY DON'T WANT YOUR APOLOGIES!"
"…Okay"
"All right, that's enough from you" Mount Lady sighed as she forcefully turned Bakugou around and shoved him off in the direction of the stairs, much to his annoyance. "Next up is…Deku!"
"Ah! R-right!" Midoriya saluted, suddenly standing ram-rod straight as he marched up the stairs.
"So…Deku, right?" Mount Lady instantly sunk into the role of reporter as the greenette stiffly made his way over. "I watched your fight!"
"I—I'm glad…" Midoriya stammered nervously (Honestly, he looked like a deer in the headlights). "R-really glad…"
"How do you think you did?"
"I-I'm…glad…"
"When did that guy get so robotic?" Kirishima wondered, head flopping to the side in question.
"He's too nervous" Tsu pointed out the obvious. Even from here, the entire class could see how the usually animated greenette suddenly found himself sweating like a pig. "Now, that I think about, he doesn't do things like this that much"
"At least Bakugou was discernible" Mineta hummed from the back of the class, "But this is just…sad. Guess you finally beat Deku at something, Bakugou!"
"Tch—!" Bakugou scoffed, turning away from the grape boy as if acknowledging him with a response would be too much effort.
"…Many of your moves seem to be based on All Might's" Mount Lady continued, "Do you admire him?"
"YES!" Midoriya nodded enthusiastically.
Then again, anyone with eyes could've told you that. Toru bit her lip as Midoriya suddenly came back to life, displaying his gift of the gab.
"But I didn't want to just copy him; I tried to customise those moves to better fit myself! For example, with Delaware Smash, I chose a state that All Might didn't name a move after and recently, I've incorporated part of my training into the move, Delaware Smash: Air Force…"
"…And now he's talking too much" Tsu mused, finger on lips in thought. "He's not really very good at moderation, is he?"
"No, not really" Toru replied, "Though, I s'pose the broken bones could've of told you that"
"Oh?" Mount Lady tried to ground his ceaseless mutterings, "And what does this new move look like? Can we get a demonstration?"
"Uh…yes!" Midoriya nodded jerkily as he turned to look out at the sea of faces starting back up at him.
This new move—the Delaware Smash: Air Force—was likely the black whip-like thing that he had displayed at their last joint training lesson; the one with Class B and where Shinso had made his debut to the Hero Course. Toru had been a little preoccupied at the time, but what she had seen of the move, well, it had reminded her of the misty warp gate that Kurogiri had used way back at the USJ incident. Taking a deep breath, the greenette raised a hand out towards the crowd, far above their heads (and over towards the teachers stood at the back of the room), whilst the other locked that one in place, by the elbow. Breathe in, breathe out and eyes…open.
WHOOSH!
The same black whip from the joint lesson sprang to life, only this one was much smaller—much weaker—than the one before. Far less impressive, but also far easier to control. "All right!" Midoriya cheered, happy that he hadn't accidentally lost control and taken anyone's head off. "Just a tiny wisp came out this time! That's the first step into controlling it! Someday, this too'll—!"
"—What was that wimpy thing?" Mount Lady huffed, unimpressed, and sounding a lot like Bakugou (however unintentional it may have of been).
"Ah!" Mina cheered, doing an odd little dance of triumph even as she stood half-dressed in her costume.
"What is it, ribbit?" Tsu asked, peering over her classmate's shoulder as the other girls in the locker room continued to change back into their school uniforms.
"I found it!" She chirped.
"Found…what?" Toru hedged as she looped her tie back around her neck. Suddenly, it felt like noose.
"Your middle school interview!"
"Oh God…!"
Needless to say, Mina now had the entire locker room's attention.
NEWS TOON: VOICES FROM TOWN
MIDDLE SCHOOLER SCHOOLS NEWS TOON NUMBSKULL
"…Okutama was recently described—on WORLDWIDE NEWS, the reputable news source, that is WORLDWIDE NEWS—as '100% Quirkless" A titchy twelve year old Toru Hagakure said, speaking directly into the camera (and to the red-faced reporter next to the cameraman), "100% Quirkless, they said, 100% Quirkless? There's a sort of truth there, I s'pose, 'cause there's a lot of Quirkless in Okutama—lot of ALL types of people here, really; we're kinda known for it. Our next door neighbours are Quirkless—Rin & Jin, they're a lovely guys; loves a damn power tool on Sunday, but they're lovely guys.
And—and did you know? One of the most famous Quirkless people from Okutama, was this girl called Lucy Wong! Do you know about her? If you don't—she's brilliant—she's a sixteen year old schoolgirl who was imprisoned by the Hero Public Safety Commission for wanting to be able to defend herself and others—to be a HERO—like everyone else. The story goes that whilst everyone else—people with QUIRKS—stood on the sidelines and watched this building go up in flames, SHE—the Quirkless girl—ran into the building to help the people inside. And she rescued SEVEN people before she was arrested for being a vigilante! Even behind bars, the city awarded her the Red Ribbon Medal of Honour for her bravery, isn't that cool?
But, y'know, I was pretty annoyed when I heard that bit about Okutama; the one from the WORLDWIDE NEWS? 'Cause there's a subtext to that, isn't there? When they say we're '100% Quirkless' what they're saying there is that we should be worried about that. That there's something terrifying—frightening—about the Quirkless! I DO think we've got a problem, but I think we're using the word 'Quirkless' far too quickly to describe people doing stupid shit when they don't represent the Quirkless any more than I do. And I think we should be using a more accurate word for those people, which I would argue, is 'Numbskull'
There would be levels of Numbskull: you could start with a Moderate Numbskull, and go all the way up to Fundamental Numbskull! And if we ALL did, the news would have to catch up! They'd have to go: 'Today, two numbskulls robbed a convenience store' They'd HAVE to do it, if we ALL did it! AND—Ooh!—And it wouldn't necessarily have to do with villainous activity; ANY numbskullery activity would get the 'Numbskull' sticker. Like—ooh!—people who wear a festival wristband AFTER a festival! Or—or heroes that try to get away without paying for something, just 'cause they're 'famous!' Or news reporters who think they're the bees knees just because they get to shove a microphone & a camera in people's faces" Toru's voice was practically predatory as she continued, encouraged by the muffled snort from the cameraman.
"So, no, I don't have a problem with Quirkless in Okutama. I think that they add to our city and our culture; which is MORE than I can say about the likes of YOU. Does THAT answer your question, Mr Reporter?"
