Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia/Boku No Hero Academia, or any other property in this work that I did not make myself.
Vlad King's Green Bean
Chapter thirty-eight: The Hero Billboard Chart JP
"HOW COULD YOU IDIOTS BE SO STUPID?!"
UA's Class 1-A all, more or less, flinched when Aizawa shouted at them during the beginning of the first homeroom following the UA school festival that had to be called off abruptly, due to confirmation that members of the League of Villains had successfully infiltrated UA during the festival and also successfully got back out. This terrible embarrassment was apparent because said League of Villains members who had infiltrated UA, those being Spinner, Gentle Criminal, and La Brava, wore plain clothes disguises and got in like normal civilians visiting campus for the festival. The villains had even recorded a video on a home video camera, even getting the whole of the improv performance that 1-A did as their part of the school festival.
...During said improv performance, they got a volunteer from the audience to help with a skit, and they got someone who they didn't know was the disguised Gentle Criminal. After the performance was done and Gentle left the UA campus with his group, the villains uploaded a copy of the video they recorded to the internet while the UA school festival was still ongoing (modern technology is amazing), and this video was discovered on the web while the festival still had a few hours left in it. Given that it was clear cut evidence that villains had successfully infiltrated UA and got back out, it was a major breech of security, requiring the pro hero staff of UA to have to call off the school festival immediately so that the security breech could be discussed.
Naturally, Aizawa was letting his students have it because the villains had visited their attraction for the festival specifically; even more specifically, Aizawa was chewing out Mina, Sero, Kaminari, and Kurata because they were the ones who ran the improv skit that got the disguised Gentle Criminal as a volunteer from the audience. "How could you let villains get into the performance that you were doing?!" Aizawa snapped, "They were right there, within the immediate vicinity of civilians! The villains could have killed at least one civilian, and during an event hosted by UA, where their safety was supposed to be assured!" To the students who unknowingly had Gentle Criminal on stage with them, the underground hero went on, "And you four! You had one of the villains on stage with you!"
"The villains were wearing disguises!" Mina complained, "We had no idea who they were!"
"No excuses, Ashido!" Aizawa barked, "Not only could the villains have killed at least one civilian, but you or one of the other morons with you who were on stage with that villain could have gotten killed as well! Do you guys actually want to die?!"
"Sensei, with all due respect you aren't being fair," Yaoyorozu spoke up, a firm look on her face, "There's no excuse for straight up insulting us over an honest mistake."
Turing to look at Yaoyorozu, Aizawa scolded, "Life ain't fair Yaoyorozu, especially when villains are involved." After he got done shouting at and scolding his students, Aizawa proceeded to give the whole of Class 1-A after-school detention for everyday until 'the next Hero Billboard Chart announcement' dropped for how their letting three villains in and out of their performance during the school festival caused all sorts of problems. Shinso was notably excused from this mass punishment by Aizawa, given that Shinso was noted to still be out at the time due to being treated for Hizashi temporarily rendering him deaf, and as such the brainwasher boy had no part in the recklessness of the rest of Class 1-A. This further soured 1-A opinion of their teacher, as well as draw some of their ire towards their brainwashing classmate.
Some of them felt... something... starting to brew within them.
November soon started drawing to a close, and Izuku found that the remaining Pussycats decided to visit Class 1-B out of the blue. When some of Izuku's classmates in 1-B asked what the occasion was, some of the girls thought it was so Kota and Eri could have a playdate. Mandalay, while noting that she did bring Kota along so that he could play with Eri, said that it wasn't the main reason for her team visiting. Eventually, after Sekijiro came in to help explain things, the 1-B students learned the reason for the Pussycats visiting UA.
"You guys are going to be employed by UA as new staff members?!" most of 1-B exclaimed in unison.
Mandalay nodded in the affirmative. "There are a number of reasons for it, actually," Mandalay began, "For starters, we don't really feel like we have it in us to continue working as a mountain rescue team since Tiger was killed during the training camp we ran for you and Class 1-A. Luckily, Nezu said that he had some spots on the UA staff that needed filling, and he heard how Ragdoll, Pixie-Bob, and I had all helped out with evacuating civilians during the school festival when it had to be called off due to villain activity being confirmed to have occurred on campus."
"Also," Ragdoll went on, a bit of a rattled look on her face, "The entirety of the forest area we had for the training camp had been ravaged while the ladies, Kota, and I were all out. It was like a walking natural disaster had just plowed right on through everything while the four of us were out."
Scoffing, Setsuna said, "I bet it was that monster who the League of Villains have at their beck and call."
Surprisingly, it was Kota who shook his head. "I don't think that it was the dragon villain, no," Kota spoke up, "The paths of destruction over at where the lodge used to sit aren't the right width for either Felgrand's standard dragon size or his super big dragon size. Also, there's no evidence of fire damage of any kind from the destruction of the forest and the lodge, and Felgrand has been noted to having a proclivity to use fire, especially when spewing it as a breath weapon." The young boy gently shook his head. "No, I don't think that it was Felgrand who caused that specific destruction."
Izuku looked at Kota in surprised realization, realizing that the young boy made some valid points. "That... that are some good points actually, Kota."
"He's right, Kota," Mandalay said, "But you ought to go play with little Eri now."
"Do I have to play with her?" Kota asked, "She's kind of weird."
Hearing Kota say point blank that he thinks Eri is weird surprised and shocked the Pussycats and some of the 1-B students, as well as Sekijiro. "And why do you think she's weird, young man?" Sekijiro asked in a firm tone.
"Because she's apparently never heard of chicken nuggets before," Kota replied, "I mean, chicken nuggets are awesome, so someone who's never heard of them has got to be weird, right?"
The 1-B students went from looking shocked in disappointment to shocked in confusion. "...That's why you think Eri's weird, Kota?" Itsuka asked, "Because she's never heard of chicken nuggets before?"
"And it's not because she's quirkless?" Ibara went on.
Giving the vine haired girl a curious and mildly surprised look, Kota said, "Eri's quirkless?" After a bit of thought, Kota gentle shook his head. "Nah, her being quirkless ain't weird. What IS weird, however, is the fact that she's never heard of chicken nuggets before."
Izuku smiled warmly in appreciation of Kota's character; the young boy is proving how truly wonderful children can be, given he's showing no concern of any kind over the fact that Eri is quirkless. The green haired boy wished that he had more classmates like Kota while growing up prior to UA, classmates who wouldn't have given even one iota of a care that Izuku wasn't among the gifted eighty percent of humanity (at least at the time). Izuku also found a bit of amusement in the fact that Kota's sole concern regarding Eri is the fact that she's never heard of chicken nuggets before.
...A concern that some of Izuku's classmates seemed to share with gusto. "She's never had chicken nuggets before?!" Bondo cried out, "This is a problem that we need to fix STAT!"
"We're going on a run for nuggies!" Togaru declared, inspiring cheers of agreement from more or less the rest of Class 1-B. Sekijiro and the Pussycats all smiled warmly in appreciation, and Sekijiro and Pixie-Bob even chuckled in amusement, over how Class 1-B wanted to address what they viewed as a genuine problem regarding Eri. The Pussycats and Kota even joined 1-B and Sekijiro for a 'chicken nugget party' that night in the 1-B dorm, where the 1-B students, as well as Kota, rectified the issue of Eri never having heard of or having chicken nuggets before.
Eri found chicken nuggets to be awesome. "I know, right?" Kota said in response to Eri's first reaction to having chicken nuggets.
The next afternoon, the latest rankings for the Hero Billboard Chart JP was announced, getting the attention of people all over Japan. The announcement ceremony was held in a concert hall located near Kamino Ward, partly to serve as a reminder for why the pro heroes need to continue being heroes. It was also special in the sense that it would be the first time in ages where All Might didn't rank anywhere at all on the list, due to him having retired. As to be expected, the entire nation was tuned in to see how their champions ranked compared to one another.
All of 1-B, along with Sekijiro, Eri, the Pussycats, and Kota, were all watching the announcement ceremony in the common area of the 1-B dorm. "Time to see how the latest rankings look," Pixie-Bob said as she rubbed her hands together in eager anticipation.
"Hey Pixie-Bob," Jurota spoke up, "How do you think you and the rest of the Pussycats will rank?"
"Oh, I get the feeling we're gonna nail it," Pixie-Bob replied, "Especially since we got back to active duty after fan request."
"Even though we lost a member and we're now more focused on our careers as new UA staff members?" Ragdoll pointed out.
As Pixie-Bob slinked back down, the announcement ceremony for the Hero Billboard Chart JP was started up. The ceremony first began with a called for moment of silence to honor the pro heroes who had died since the previous rankings announcement and the current one that's happening right now. In particular, a slideshow that showed the heroes who died in the Battle of Kamino Ward was shown. After the memorial slideshow, the ceremony went underway, getting through heroes who were at lower ranks first before moving on to the meat and potatoes of the Hero Billboard Chart JP's announcement, that being the latest Top Ten.
Surprisingly, the BMI Hero Fat Gum, who Izuku recognized from the raid on the Shie Hassaikai hideout as well as being the pro hero who employed Kirishima of UA's Class 1-A as an intern, was noted to have jumped nearly ten spots up the list, and now currently sat as the fifty-first ranked hero in Japan. The Pussycats had also been noted to have jumped up nearly ten spots to the four-hundred and fourth ranked spot. It was said that they could have been higher, but the loss of their teammate Tiger plus their taking on teaching positions at UA which meant their field availability would be limited did have an impact on their ranking this time.
Then came time for the announcements of those who stood in the Top Ten spots, who the ten best heroes in Japan were this time around. To the surprise of many, at the number ten spot was Mt. Lady, who had barely been a pro hero for over a year before she had debuted in the Top Ten. Although Mt. Lady was known to enjoy being in the spotlight, she very clearly had not expected to be in the spotlight THAT much, as she was notably quite humble when she went up to give a small speech about how she vowed to live up to the rank that she had earned. She seemed like a person who now wanted to take things a lot more seriously.
At the number nine spot was a pro hero known as Takeshita, who none of the 1-B students aside from Izuku (a noted hero fanboy) had heard of prior to now. Eri and Kota were also clueless about him, and Sekijiro and the Pussycats, despite knowing who Takeshita was, all said that they did NOT expect him of all heroes to have gotten into the Top Ten on the Hero Billboard Chart JP. Regardless, Takeshita was now standing in one of the loftiest spots a pro hero in Japan could ever hope to achieve, and in the speech he gave Takeshita vowed to live up to the expectations that came with his prestigious spots in the rankings.
At the number eight spot was another pro hero who Sekijiro and the Pussycats were not expecting, another person who Eri and Kota never heard although this time a few more 1-B students knew who he was ahead of time. The number eight hero this time was Gunhead, who Izuku remembered gave Uraraka some employment during the first round of internships in which Tenya lost his life because he tried going after the Hero Killer for revenge. Gunhead, like Takeshita and Mt. Lady before him, gave a speech about how he would prove himself worthy of his rank before stepping off to let the next hero go.
Speaking of, the number seven hero this time around was another surprise entry, Death Arms. Sekijiro expressed surprise that Death Arms ranked as high as he did this time, given that despite how he had some popularity, Japanese parents considered Death Arms something of a negative influence on children because he was noted to have a smoking habit. Indeed, Death Arms had mentioned in his speech that he gave after his rank was announced that, among other things, quitting his smoking habit would be the first thing he'd do to prove himself worthy of the spot that he had earned in this latest rankings.
At the number six spot on the Hero Billboard Chart JP sat Shishido, a pro hero with a quirk that gave him a lion-like vibe. He was already fairly high ranked prior to this current rankings list, but Sekijiro noted to the Pussycats that he quite frankly felt that the main reason why Shishido had finally been able to make it into the Top Ten was due to a mix of how a number of top ranking heroes (plus Kamui Woods who was seeing a lot of favor at the time) had been killed during the Battle of Kamino Ward and the fact that All Might had retired; a lot of space had been cleared up in the Top Ten for other pro heroes to get in.
Coming in at the number five spot was the pro hero Majestic, a man who gave off wizard like vibes given his costume, particularly his trademarked favored hat. He was noted to have had the potential to break into the Top Ten, and Sekijiro felt that Majestic, similar to Shishido, was able to finally break into the Top Ten due to so many spots being cleared out ahead of him and the others. Even so, Majestic vowed in the speech he gave that he would prove himself worthy of being a hero who was ranked as high as he was, as well as saying he'll show any villains he came across WHY he was a hero.
After that came pro heroes who were already in the Top Ten before this latest Hero Billboard Chart JP rankings list. In the number four spot sat Ryukyu, the Dragon Hero. Izuku was quite proud to see the hero who employs him as an intern ranking as high as she did; the green haired boy bet that Uraraka and Nejire who were also employed by Ryukyu as interns were similarly as excited to see Ryukyu rank so high. Ryukyu was noted as being one of the most humble of the heroes ranked in the Top Ten when she gave her speech following the announcement of what rank she had achieved.
After Ryukyu who was number four came the Rabbit Hero Mirko who was ranked at number three. Mirko, noted to still be the top ranked female hero in Japan, drew some mild degree of complaint from the audience surprisingly enough. Izuku and most of the people watching the rankings with him were also unamused, given that the Rabbit Hero was responsible for recklessness that resulted in a twenty-two vehicle multi-car collision that claimed forty-five lives. Sekijiro and the Pussycats were among the most vocal of those watching the rankings in the 1-B dorm's common area complaining about Mirko actually going up in the ranks despite her faux pas.
However, things were cleared up when the HPSC employees running the announcements said while Mirko was giving her speech that she had fought and defeated one of the League of Villains's Nomus which had caused the accident in question, making it quite clear that the HPSC was pinning Mirko's mess solely on the Nomu she fought. The HPSC employees also boasted how Mirko was 'the hero who the dragon villain Felgrand can't kill', citing how Felgrand did not kill Mirko during the Battle of Kamino Ward. "...The HPSC is covering up Mirko's mess and boasting how she wasn't killed by Dabi's monster in order to justify keeping her at a high rank," Sekijiro remarked.
After Mirko went the number two hero this time around, the Ninja Hero Edgeshot. Edgeshot's high ranking was much more warmly received by the audience at the announcements than Mirko's high ranking was. In the speech he gave, Edgeshot vowed that he would not only prove himself worthy of his rank, but that he would work hard to honor those who lost their lives at the Battle of Kamino Ward, particularly Best Jeanist who was a schoolmate of Edgeshot's back when the two of them were still students in their hero academy days. Edgeshot then left the stage so that the hero after him, the new official number one hero in Japan, could go.
As what many people all over Japan had been expecting, the newest officially ranked number one hero in Japan was Enji Todoroki, the Flame Hero Endeavor. He was even wearing a new costume, which looked like a somewhat more ornate and bulky version of the previous one. When he was asked what it was like to be the number one ranked hero in the country, Endeavor had a serious hint in his expression, knowing full well the main reason he got the position he had always been chasing after was due to how the previous holder of the spot, All Might, had to retire. Regardless, after the question was posed to him, Endeavor took the microphone and, with his fire he had decorating his form flaring up a bit, said only three words.
"Just watch me."
...
Back stage at the announcement ceremony after the main festivities were done and over with, Endeavor was surprised to find himself met up by Majestic, one of the many new faces in the Top Ten. "I have to say, Endeavor-san," Majestic began, "That one line you gave at the end, it was quite the show stopper. It'd really sent a chill down my spine!"
Endeavor arched a wry eyebrow at the Magic Hero. "You seem awfully friendly, Majestic. Strange you'd try to get in my good graces, especially considering how I'm not a woman." Turning to face Majestic more fully, the new number one hero went on, "Or is it that you're trying to butter me up because you want to have an in with the new number one hero?"
Holding his hands up at shoulder level with the palms facing forward, Majestic replied, "I'm actually attempting to ask you if you'd be willing to team up with me for something I heard involved sightings of creatures that have descriptions likening them to the Nomus used by the League of Villains."
"A Nomu sighting?" Endeavor said, his interest piqued.
The Magic Hero nodded in the affirmative. "The hot-spot is Fukuoka, the old stomping grounds of the late Hawks. There's this chill restaurant where we can discuss things while planning how to go about tracking the creature down. You in?"
"Defeating a Nomu would be a great way to kickstart me officially being the number one hero in Japan," Endeavor remarked, an amused grin on his face, "Count me in, Majestic." The two heroes, the number one and the number five, both shook hands, solidifying their partnership in this task of dealing with the supposed Nomu.
...
Elsewhere in an unknown building, Dabi, with Spinner and Tengai standing behind him, was speaking to a Nomu-like creature; despite its scary and sinister appearance, it seemed to possess a level of intelligence greater than what the Nomu had been known to possess. "I believe that you'll do quite well in the task that I have assigned to you," Dabi said to the Nomu.
To the surprise of Tengai and especially Spinner, the Nomu actually responded verbally. "...Don't worry," the Nomu said, "I got this one." The Nomu then turned around and took off, supposedly to go about the 'task' that Dabi had given to it.
After the talking Nomu was gone, Tengai remarked, "So that was one of the Nomu creatures we of the League of Villains have access to, huh? Interesting. And here I was thinking that they were mindless monsters who couldn't talk."
"I..." Spinner remarked, "...Thought the exact same thing. I didn't know some Nomu could be talkers."
Dabi chuckled, gently shook his head. "That Nomu was made special by the good ol' Dr. Ujiko. He's stronger than the average Nomu." Turning around, Dabi went on, "So don't go worrying about Hood. He'll be fine, and give us a good show in the process." Dabi then proceeded to leave, with Spinner and Tengai turning to leave with him.
The following day, Endeavor and Majestic were seen walking together towards the restaurant the latter had previously mentioned to the former. On the way, Majestic used his quirk, Magic, to conjure circles of energy that he used to, among other things, stop a nudist from charging at a random building, save a dog from getting hit by a truck, and helped an old lady carry some bags up the stairs of a building. All of that happened while Majestic casually talked with the Flame Hero by his side, showing a level of both attention to detail and fine control over his quirk.
Even Endeavor had to admit that Majestic really did show some promise, at least enough to warrant all of the consideration he got for potentially making it into the Top Ten. But Endeavor still didn't know if Majestic really deserved it at least this soon, especially since he got it mainly due to how many high ranked pro heroes were killed by Dabi's monster during the Battle of Kamino Ward. But Majestic did have talent, and he also had a potential lead that could result in taking down one of the Nomus the League of Villains have at their disposal.
As such, Endeavor while he saw some young women who were clearly fans of Majestic crowd around him decided that he had to hear the Magic Hero out. Granted, the Flame Hero was a bit annoyed when, after Majestic explained to his fans that he needed to get going to discuss private business with him, the women showed dry and indifferent looks to him, but he dismissed it at fans being unamused that a hero they liked had to take off. After Majestic waved his fans good-bye, he rejoined Endeavor and the two of them continued their walk to the restaurant.
"Sorry, but I got to keep up good relations with the citizens of our country," Majestic said, "As you ought to know, having good PR with the people is one of the factors of maintaining a good ranking."
"I know that all too well," Endeavor said, knowing that if his PR had been higher then he might have actually stood a chance at defeating All Might in the rankings and win the number one spot of of him, rather than essentially just have the number one spot handed to him by virtue of All Might retiring. Even today, as a retired man with his power more or less gone, All Might was still more popular with the citizenry of Japan than Endeavor was. Considering that Majestic seemed to have a pretty high PR level, Endeavor figured it wouldn't hurt to ask for pointers on raising his one PR level.
Maybe they can discuss that during lunch.
...
"Oh yeah," Majestic said as he and Endeavor ate lunch in a private dining room with a great view of the city, "Resolving cases and helping to fight crime is the cake part of being a pro hero. But if that business is the cake part, then having a good PR with the citizenry is the cake's icing. You can have the best and most flavorful cake in the world, but even then it can only go so far without the right icing."
The Flame Hero, eating a piece of vegetable he grilled on the grill in the table he and Majestic shared, arched a wry eyebrow. "...An interesting analogy, Majestic."
Majestic nodded in thanks, ate a piece of vegetable (a different one than Endeavor) that he grilled himself. "PR isn't the whole picture, but it is an important part. Let's look at just the current Top Ten heroes in our country. Out of the current Top Ten, you Endeavor, with all due respect, have the second lowest level of good PR with Japan's citizenry. Only Mirko is doing worse than you in that regard, so worse that many are suspecting that the HPSC is doing some manner of cover up work for her to justify keeping a hero of her skill and power ranked so high."
"And who would you say has the best level of good PR with Japan's citizenry among the current Top Ten?" Endeavor asked.
"Edgeshot, with Ryukyu a close second," Majestic replied in a heartbeat, "They won a lot of hearts over with how much effort they gave when they ran evacuation duty during the Battle of Kamino Ward, working to ensure innocent civilians were escorted away from danger and to safe locations. Trust me when I say that if it weren't for the sheer amount of work you've done and number of cases you've resolved, then Edgeshot would be the number one hero in Japan right now. If amount of work done and number of cases resolved were the sole deciding factors in the rankings, then you would have long since surpassed All Might. But the Endeavor cake can only be so appetizing without a good icing applied to it."
Endeavor couldn't help but let out a hint of an annoyed growl, especially since he's realized that Majestic... actually has a rather valid point. Sure, Endeavor has done more work and has resolved more cases than any other pro hero in Japan's history, even surpassing All Might in that particular regard. There's no denying that Endeavor, aside from being one of the strongest pro heroes that Japan has to offer, is also one of the country's most effective, if not the most effective, pro heroes. Even so, that won't mean squat if the citizenry of Japan just plain don't like Endeavor as a person.
This time, Endeavor ate a piece of meat he grilled on the grill in the table he and Majestic shared. "...How would you rank yourself among the current Top Ten in terms of having a good PR level?"
"I'd place myself at number four in terms of good PR level," Majestic replied, "Mt. Lady is number three above me, given that a fair chunk of the good PR she's cultivated runs a bit on her somewhat blatant use of sex appeal. She is pretty sexy, by the way."
The Flame Hero scowled in annoyance. "I don't have to try to be sexy to raise my good PR level, do I?"
Majestic burst out laughing. "You're a riot, man! That bit you just said is comedy gold!" Settling himself down, Majestic said, "No, no, you don't have to try being sexy to raise your good PR level. It's as simple as Hey wait a minute, you see that thing rushing towards our window right?"
Endeavor was just as alert as the Magic Hero. "Yeah, I see it too." At that moment, the waitress came back in.
"Is there anything else you gentlemen need?" the waitress asked, "I can bring in more-"
"MA'AM GET DOWN!" Majestic yelled as he tackled her to the floor and used himself to cover her, right when something crashed into the room by smashing through the window. To the surprise of the waitress when she saw it, it was a hideous monster of some kind.
"Which of you..." the monster said, "...is the strongest?"
Endeavor smirked, glad that he came dressed in his new and improved hero outfit. The monster tried to attack, but the Flame Hero sent him flying back out the window by blasting him at point blank range with Jet Burn. The creature flew in the air as Endeavor came flying out as well, propelling himself with his fire by forcing it out through the bottom of his feet. "You want to face the strongest?" Endeavor barked, "Well come at me! I'm the Flame Hero Endeavor! I will show you what it means to be the number one hero!"
END, CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Author's notes;
This chapter sees some fallout from three members of the League of Villains sneaking onto UA grounds during the festival and then sneaking out to post a video they recorded of their time at the festival on the internet, with Aizawa reading his students the riot act (again) for how they not only endangered civilians but also themselves during their show at the festival. Then the scene shifts to show that the remaining Pussycats are being employed at UA as new staff members for a number of reasons, one of which being the destruction of their forest and lodge, with Kota citing some evidence that lends credence to the idea that Felgrand's not responsible. Speaking of Kota, his only concern about Eri is her prior lack of knowing about chicken nuggets, a problem that the 1-B students quickly fix. Gotta have those nuggies.
After a while, the latest official rankings of the Hero Billboard Chart JP drops, and as expected Endeavor takes the number one spot officially. The Top Ten also has a few surprising bits, such as the Magic Hero Majestic, who gets Endeavor to help him look into the sightings of a Nomu-like creature in Hawks's old stomping grounds. After a talk they had on the importance of a pro hero having a high level of good PR, their meal is interrupted when the very monster they were discussing crashes the party in a quite literal sense. The next chapter will see Endeavor and Majestic team up to deal with Hood, the high end Nomu. How things will end up with a slightly different duo fighting the Nomu will be seen in the times to come.