Izuku sat in his assigned chair, watching the class. UA was out the day after the attack for obvious reasons, so he mostly ended up spending it watching the news coverage of the attack. Sixty-four of the seventy-four attacking villains were captured, but nine escaped, including one of the ringleaders, and the villain boss's location was completely unknown. There was a lot of panic about UA's security being breached, the prospect of a villain with a warp quirk, the fact nobody knew what the heck happened to Shigaraki- it was a mess. Izuku sighed before looking back at Uraraka. Apparently the day off did wonders, as she was smiling like nothing ever happened. He grimaced. I don't trust that.

"Hey, Kirishima." Ashido leaned over in her chair with a shit-eating grin. "Remember what happened to Aizawa at the USJ?"

Kirishima nodded. "Yeah, he fought all the villains and got his head slammed in by that big monster villain. Why do you bring it- oh." He grew a wide smile. "Oh. That would mean-"

Kaminari pumped his fist in joy. "Heck yeah! Aizawa's gonna be out while he's in the hospital! Sayonara, sucker!" He high-fived Ashido.

Satou smiled. "Nice."

Asui tilted her head. "Wait, then who's gonna be subbing?"

Sero put his arms behind his back and reclined in his chair. "I don't really care, I'm just happy to get a break from Mr. Expulsion Hobo-"

The door slid open, and Aizawa walked through, bandaged up like a mummy. "Morning, class."

"Noooooooo!" The expulsion squad was in despair.

Yaoyorozu said, "So, you're okay, Sensei?"

Aizawa stepped in front of the podium. "My wellbeing is irrelevant. More importantly, your fight isn't over yet."

The room froze, immediately picturing a villain attack and Shigaraki's current MIA status.

"The Sports Festival is approaching."

Whoo, just normal school stuff!

Jirou raised her hand. "Wait, are we sure about this? Holding such a massive event right after such a massive attack from the villains?"

Aizawa shook his head. "Admin's confident it'll be fine. Said that by confidently going along with such a major and public event, it'll restore confidence in our ability to defend our school. On top of this, they're beefing up security compared to last years. There'll be five times the police presence, and every top fifteen hero but Ingenium and Kanzen Kenkaku will be present. And with that hero roster is a massive opportunity for the students of UA, enough to make it not just an event we can cancel over a villain attack."

Aizawa turned to the side. "Remember, with the catastrophic end of the globalized order caused by the Advent of the Exceptional, countries needed new sporting events to replace the Olympic Games. The UA Sports Festival stands as Japan's successor. This is your chance to introduce yourselves to every Pro and civilian in the country!"

Yaoyorozu nodded. "And not only that, but it's our chance to market ourselves to the Heroes and make useful work connections to pass us through our careers."

Kaminari snapped his fingers. "And from there, you can go straight to being a sidekick for a big agency and get a score of popularity and work experience to kickstart a career off of!"

Jirou smirked. "Or get stuck as a sidekick forever, like you will."

"Hey!"

Aizawa nodded. "Exactly. Remember, your time is limited, and you won't have many chances to catch a pro's attention. The more options you accrue, the better your internship experience will be. One chance a year, three chances a lifetime: you can't afford to miss this event even once!"

Aizawa let his words sink into the class. Izuku clenched his fist in determination. Alright! Time to show the world how much I've grown!

Aizawa sighed. "Anyway, there's still one more thing to do."

Everyone tensed. Oh no. Were they gonna have some sort of brutal practice exam now?

"We're doing hero names now."

The class immediately erupted in cheers. Hero names! The all-important monikers that showed the essence of what that hero was all about!

Aizawa watched as the class broke into a discussion about their new hero names. "I see you're all excited." Everyone slowly quieted down as he spoke. "After the incident on Thursday, the faculty decided that revealing your real names to the public would be pointlessly and foolishly putting you at risk. So, we'll be using your hero names instead. Of course, this means you still need to come up with them, so we'll be spending this homeroom doing that. Take your time. They aren't actually due until the twenty-ninth. Besides, you need to be careful what name you pick. You should pick something you're sure you'll be willing to stick with, otherwise-"

"You'll know true hell!" Midnight confidently strode through the door, her arms behind her head. "What you choose now will be how the world knows you for the rest of your life, especially with the Sports Festival coming up!"

Aizawa nodded, a slight bit of pain showing through his bandages. "Right. I brought her in to make sure your names are up to par." He walked to the door. "I'm not good at that kind of stuff." He left right after.

Midnight stepped to the podium without missing a beat. "Think carefully about these names. They should impart a certain feeling or message- what you're about as a hero."

Like how the name All Might exudes confidence, and Endeavour meaning 'hard work.'

"Let's take the next fifteen minutes for the first draft. Go!"

Izuku fiddled with his pencil, frustrated. Nothing decent was coming to mind! He had a lot of names as a kid, but it wasn't like he'd get away with 'All Might Jr.' He slammed his fist into the table. And it wasn't like he could come up with something based on his quirk, he had no quirk! He sighed. There had to be something. . .

"I got it!" Ashido stood up with a wide smile on her face, and confidently walked up to the podium. She sat her name card up facing her, letting the dramatic tension build. She was first, right? Her choice would set the tone of the day!

"Here's my hero name!" She flipped the card around, and Izuku couldn't help but be impressed. What a cool and fitting hero-

"The Riduri Hero, Airiien Kuwiiin!"

. . .

Somewhere, Present Mic is crying.

Midnight was appalled. "You mean from that horror movie franchise? Absolutely not!" Ashido slunk back to her seat, disappointed.

There was a long moment of hesitation. After that last disastor of a name, nobody wanted to be next. Finally, Asui stood up, undaunted by the crushing atmosphere, and went to the podium. She simply flipped her card, and began to read off her name.

"The Springtime Hero, Froppy. Kero."

Midnight squealed. "Wonderful! It has such a nice, friendly feel!" The class started to cheer for her name.

Kirishima stood up next. "Alright, my turn. The Sturdy Hero: Red Riot!"

Midnight nodded. "Is that out of respect for that last-gen hero Crimson Riot?"

Kirishima nodded, sweating but with a smile. "Yeah! He's my idol, and I want to be a hero just like him!"

Midnight smirked. "You know, carrying the name of an old great like that carries a lot of pressure."

Kirishima clenched his fist in determination. "I'm prepared!"

Midnight chuckled. "Fufufu. I like the enthusiasm!"

Izuku smiled. It was really cool that Kirishima was confident enough to pick a name like that! He slammed his head into the table. Of course, he still had nothing.

The names started to pick up. Jirou stepped to the podium. "I'm the Heartbeat Hero, Kyoukoro."

Shouji was next. "Here's mine. Tentacole."

Midnight nodded. "Interesting portmanteau."

Sero stood up. "Well, can't think of anything better. The Taping Hero, Cellophane!"

"Well, it can stand on its own."

Ojiro sweat as he said his. "Uh, how about Tailman?"

Midnight facepalmed. "No. That's unoriginal, and I'm pretty sure you'll get sued." Ojiro sulked back to his seat. Hagakure and Satou quickly started erasing theirs.

Ashido stood up, frustration clear. "Pinky!"

"That's better."

Kaminari slid to the podium. "The Stun-Gun Hero, Chargezuma!"

Midnight gave him a thumbs up. "Electrifying!"

Momo walked up. "I won't bring shame to this name. The Everything Hero: Genera!"

"I like how multifaceted that name is!"

Shouto slammed his card down, clearly enraged by something. "Toushou."

Midnight chuckled. "Like 'frostbite,' eh?"

Iida chopped his hand down. "Callidium!"
Midnight put her hand to her chin. "That sounds like the name of your brother."

Iida nodded. "Of course! It is a Latin word, meaning the same thing as Ingenium, but lesser so! That symbolizes how much I have left to learn to match him!"

Midnight smirked. "Clever. Really, quite clever!"

Iida waved her off. "I didn't come up with it."

Tokoyami stood dramatically. "Tsukoyami!"

"God of the Night!"

Kouda went up silently, his card reading 'Faunus.' Midnight gave him a gentle smile.

Kacchan walked up and slammed his card to the podium with a slight blast. He said in a low, dangerous tone, "Bakusatsuou."

Midnight sputtered. "Absolutely not!"

Kacchan snapped at her. "What do you mean?"

Midnight stood her ground. "You can't just put 'murder' in a hero name, you know!"

Kacchan growled. "Desutegoro gets away with it, why can't I, huh?"

Uraraka walked up behind Kacchan, and Midnight faced her. "Get moving, we have another person ready." Kacchan started muttering under his breath, but complied.

Uraraka put her card to the table, her face filled with determination. "Uravity."

Midnight smiled. "Cute and punny, I love it!" Uraraka went back to her seat.

Midnight looked over. "Alright, that went smoother then I expected. All that's left are the revisions, and Midoriya. . ."

Izuku jolted. Shit, did everyone else go? He had to come up with something quick! He put his head in his hands, wracking his mind. It needed to fit him, and be the name of a hero-

"I'm sorry, I thought it was a cuter way of saying 'dekiru' or something-"

Izuku smiled, as he quickly wrote his new hero name down. How could he forget? A name that had always followed him, and spurred him to say he could do it. Absolutely perfect!

He rushed to the podium, and proudly showed his card. "This will be my hero name!"

The class stirred. A mix of them seemed slightly disturbed, while another group looked at him incredulously. (Izuku thought he heard Kaminari question if he was just using his first name. He preferred to think he didn't.) Shouji crossed his arms with a nod, apparently accepting Izuku's choice, and Kacchan stared at Izuku as if he was insane. Mostly, though, Izuku looked at Uraraka, and felt himself smile as Uraraka beamed, touched by his name. Really, this was proof he'd continue to call himself 'Deku-'

"Absolutely not!" Izuku blinked, before turning to Midnight. "No self-deprecating names! I'd think that would be common sense."

Izuku sputtered. "Wait, that's not what that means, it's supposed to be a play on 'Dekiru-'"

Midnight took his card, and replaced his name. "Then why don't you just call yourself that?"

Izuku took the card, which now read 'Dekiru.' He growled indignantly, insulted. He walked back to his seat, pointedly ignoring the smirk that had plastered itself on Bakugou's face. It's my hero name, damn it! Don't coddle me!

He watched as Kacchan went back up, and immediately got another identical hero name slammed by Midnight. Well, Izuku smirked mirthlessly, At least I'm not the only one.

Izuku was still seething by lunch time. So infuriating! This was such a foundational moment, and now it was ruined!

Shouji sat his hand on Izuku's desk. "Still mad about your hero name?"

Izuku abruptly leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "Yeah. It's just- Now every time I hear my own hero name, I'm gonna think about Midnight, and how apparently I'm not allowed to decide what insults me- Gah!" He slammed his hand into the desk. "Infuriating!"

Shouji nodded, his eyes closed. "That sucks, man." He put his hand to his chin. "Well, All Might seems to like you. Maybe you could get him to change it?"

Izuku got up from his desk, shaking his head. "Yeah, he'd probably just say the same thing."

Shouji clenched his fist. "Damn." He waited a second, then shrugged. "Well, if it's any consolation, it isn't like 'Dekiru' is a bad name. And if you really don't like it, you'll probably be able to change it down the line when you get your license."

Izuku let out a breath. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Shouji."

"Deku. Shouji."

Izuku turned around. "Oh hey, Uraraka-" Izuku froze as he noticed the look on her face. Wow, she's fired up.

"Let's do our best at the sports festival." Uraraka gave a fiercely determined smile, as the air around her practically dripped with intensity.

Izuku and Shouji cautiously cheered her on, before Uraraka turned her gaze to the expulsion squad.

"Let's kick some ass at the festival!"

They cheered too, although all of them but Kaminari were similarly concerned.

Kirishima said, "I'm ready too, but I think you're starting to lose it."

Izuku frowned. Was this because of Shigaraki? Doubtful. . . Actually, come to think of it, he'd never asked her why she wanted to be a hero. . .

Izuku put his food on the table and sat down. "Hey, Uraraka?"

Uraraka blinked as she scooted over to let Shouji in. "Yeah, what's up?"

"Why did you decide to come here? Be a hero?"

She froze. "Oh, uh. Well, it was for the money?"

Izuku was taken aback. "Wait, just that? To get rich?"

Uraraka rubbed the back of her head. "Well, yeah, I guess if you wanna put it bluntly. Ugh, sounds so greedy, like I'm just pretending to be a hero."

Shouji sipped his drink. "There's no shame in self-interest. The world wouldn't function without it."

Izuku nodded along. "Yeah, I just. Didn't really expect it from you."

Uraraka turned away. "Well, you see, my parents run a construction company, but it's so hard for a little company like ours to find work, so we're flat broke." She turned back, blushing. "It's embarrassing to talk about, so please don't spread it around."

Izuku blinked. "Wait, don't you have a gravity quirk? You could save so much money off of floating all your materials instead of using heavy machinery."

Shouji shook his head. "Nope, that's illegal. Technically she could get a work license, but Kourou-shou's notoriously picky about that and the Hero Commission isn't even worth asking. Quirk use is more or less inaccessible unless you work for the government."

Izuku slumped. "Oh. That's dumb."

Uraraka snapped her fingers. "I know, right? I was gonna go 'screw it' and do it anyway, but then my dad told me. . . He'd be so much happier if I was happy, chasing my dreams." She raised her head high, with a determined stare. "So I'm gonna be a hero, and earn enough money that my parents will never have to worry about anything ever again!"

Izuku smiled and pumped his fist. "Then I hope you take the world by storm!"

Uraraka smiled. "Heh, thanks!"

They all ate for a few minutes.

"So, uh." Uraraka swallowed her food. "Why do you want to be heroes?"

Shouji closed his eyes. "I want to be the hero for those who without them."

Izuku and Uraraka looked at him, as if to tell him to go on.

Shouji continued. "I grew up deep in a small town, deep in the mountains. Small enough to not show up on maps." He paused. "Out of curiosity, when was the first time you saw a hero in person?"

Uraraka said, "I was three."

Izuku paused. "Uh, I don't remember. It was early."

Shouji looked away. "Twelve."

Izuku and Uraraka looked at him, shocked. Izuku shouted, "But that doesn't make any sense! They're everywhere!"

Shouji shook his head. "In the cities. Where the crime and the cameras are. Nobody cares to look for villains in the boonies. All we had were a couple local cops, and they weren't exactly high class." He paused. "Again, when was the first time you saw someone with a heteromorphic-type quirk?"

Izuku and Uraraka looked at eachother, already having an idea of where he was going. They said in unison, "When I was a baby."

Shouji answered, "Twelve. Not including me, of course." He let the implications set in. "My parents didn't have mutation quirks. I never really met them, they skipped town the second they saw my arms. And nobody else was heteromorphic, so it was just me."

Uraraka blinked. "Wait, then. . ." Her face paled. "Don't tell me."

Shouji nodded. "Yeah. I managed to raise myself, since it wasn't like they could get away with stopping me from going to school. Grew up alone, never made friends, the works. Then, one day, I saw a little girl drowning in the river. When I saved her, the village reacted- well. There's a reason I wear this mask."

Izuku wanted to vomit. Uraraka stammered out, "That's-That's horrible!"

Shouji nodded. "Yeah. Probably would've snapped then and there, if the little girl didn't come crying to me afterward. I did a good deed, no matter what they thought."

"I ended up packing my bags and running away from there. Not like my parents were there to stop me, so after school was out there wasn't any reason to stick around. Ended up making it to Shizuoka, and scored a job at a diner. It really was shocking to see so many people like me in a single place." He smiled. "So, when I was looking for a more permanent arrangement I got the idea that. . . well, I'd never fix everything by myself, but if I can become a hero, somebody that'll go to the most backwater areas of Japan and be visible to them, and maybe I'll end up helping some kid in a position like me. If not physically, because they remember the heteromorphic hero that came through and helped out." He smiled. "So yeah. That's why I wanna be a hero."

Izuku and Uraraka stayed silent for a moment. Then Izuku started clapping.

Shouji was taken aback. "Huh?"

Uraraka joined in, clapping a bit more aggressively. Izuku said, "That's. Genuinely the coolest thing I've ever heard. I'll strive to be as heroic as you."

Shouji waved him off. "Oh, it's nothing. I just want to do what's best for the world, that's all."

Uraraka looked at him seriously. "It really is that admirable. I don't think I'd be so level-headed in your situation."

Shouji smiled under his mask. "Thank you. I appreciate the kind words." He turned to Izuku. "Well, what about you? Why do you want to be a hero?"

"Well, I just think heroes. . ." Izuku took a deep breath, and let it out. "Are really cool!"

Uraraka and Shouji stared at him. Izuku started to sweat. "Uh. Now I'm starting to feel inadequate. . ."

Uraraka shrugged. "Huh. I kinda expected some dramatic story about how you were bullied as a child because you were quirkless or something."

Izuku chuckled. "I mean, that's part of it, but it was never the reason or anything. It's more, I wanna save people, right? See the happy faces when I save them with a fearless smile. I get that I'll never be All Might, but. If I can be like that for a single person, that's good enough for me."

Uraraka smiled. "That's pretty cool, Deku."

Izuku smiled back. "Oh, there was one more thing that motivated me."

Uraraka nodded. "Right, that guy you mentioned before the Battle Trial."

Izuku said, "Yeah. That was Endeavour, by the way." Uraraka and Shouji looked at him in awe at that. "He saved my life from a villain one day, and I asked him if I could be a hero."

Uraraka looked at Izuku with anticipation. "What did he say?"

Izuku smiled. "Oh, he just told me that my dream was insulting and told me to get out of his sight."

Uraraka froze, and Shouji's mask got wet. "Wait, seriously? That was motivating?"

Izuku nodded. "Yeah. After all, before then, I hadn't trained at all. Now, I wanna improve myself, and show him how much I've grown!"

Uraraka and Shouji stared at him for a second, before bursting into laughter. Uraraka said, "That's-That's so you, Deku!"

Izuku chuckled. There wasn't a hint of mockery in their laughter, just the sound of friends joking around. He beamed back into Uraraka's smile. "Thanks!"