Disclaimer: I don't own Boku no Hero Academia

Chapter 11:

Zach made it a point to get to school early on the day they went back. It was raining pretty hard out, which he was grateful for as it meant he could wear a jacket and have his hood up all the way to school. He reached school and left his wet things at the lockers, then he went to class where he was the second one there. Todoroki had turned his gaze to the boy who entered second, and he asked Zach about his vacation to California. Guess word finally got around about that, he had a bead of sweat rolling down his face as he thought it. "We cancelled. I decided I couldn't miss that much class."

"Well I'm glad you're here," Todoroki said and nodded at him.

"Yeah, me too," Zach said, then he walked over towards his seat as he heard the door opening behind him with another early comer to the class.

"Ah! Zach! I thought you were going to…"

And that was about how Zach's morning went. Really, really regretting the lie at this point, he thought as Sato and Kirishima stood at the side of his desk saying how much it stinks that he couldn't go on the trip, even though he had been pretty specific with the reason he was still at school.

As more of the class got in, people started talking about the last few days since the Sports Festival. Zach listened in but did not look around as the other students talked about how people had recognized them on the train, talked to them on the streets. Kaminari came in, and then he ran to Zach's seat and asked the same question as everyone else had when they saw him. His face looked panicked though as Zach said why he cancelled it. "Did that Aunt of yours get angry? I feel like she's the type that really freaks out-"

"Actually, she still went on the trip," Zach replied, scratching the back of his head. Wow, it's like talking to Kaminari just makes it so easy to lie. That's probably not a good thing. "Though she was a little annoyed I didn't say something sooner."

Someone else walked in while the two of them were talking, and she walked towards Zach and Kaminari. She looked at Zach in surprise when he turned towards her, giving her a small smile even. Did he actually, feel better because of that? Jirou wondered, as she had thought he was just messing with her back when she visited him.

Jirou was not the only person in the class to feel this way. Ojiro, Hagakure, Ashido, Kaminari, and Yaoyorozu all felt like they had a part in getting Zach to school that day. As did All Might who sat in the teacher's lounge with a huge grin on his face after the principal had just told him of Zach's early arrival. One boy who walked in right behind Iida did not share the feeling of the others who went to visit Zach. Midoriya looked over and wanted to ask him something, but there was no time until class was starting.

Aizawa walked in right after Midoriya sat down, and everyone else shot to their seats at the same time to avoid the glare from their teacher. Asui mentioned how Aizawa had gotten his bandages from the USJ incident off, as he had worn what looked like a full-body cast for the entire Sports Festival. Then Aizawa got a semi-serious look on his face and began while the class gained serious expressions themselves, "More importantly, we're having a special hero informatics class today."

Special? That sounds dangerous. Zach sat up straight in his seat looking as anxious and on-edge as the others.

"… Code names. You will be coming up with hero names," Aizawa told them. Half the class jumped up and cheered, though Zach stayed seated just letting out a breath of relief. Aizawa's irises flashed red and everyone sat back down in an instant, the whole room silent. "This is related to the pro hero draft picks I mentioned the other day. The drafts begin in earnest in the second and third years, after students have gained experience and can become immediate assets to pros. In other words, for them to extend offers to first years like you shows that they are interested in your future potential. These offers are often cancelled if that interest dies down by graduation."

Pro draft picks. Getting picked up by a pro hero means everything at U.A. Zach looked to his left out the window and into the rain. Maybe next year…

"…and here are the totals for those who received offers," Aizawa said. He pressed a button on a remote and the board on the wall behind the podium a little to his right turned on with 'Class A No. of offers' at the top.

Zach looked back over and he stared in a bit of surprise as Todoroki's name appeared first with the longest bar, and then Bakugo's was a little shorter than it. Probably because of how Bakugo was acting at the end. Tokoyami and Iida got the next two highest numbers, though there's were a tenth the size of Bakugo's. Each of them received in the three hundreds, while Bakugo was in the high three thousands and Todoroki even passed four thousand. These guys are crazy strong, Zach thought. I saw the fight of Iida and Tokoyami being played on the news. It was epic, even if Tokoyami won, that was one of the coolest fights, and it was only a quarterfinal. Then again, Midoriya and Todoroki's wasn't even that and caused the most damage of the day.

Kaminari's name popped up, then Sero who complained at him that he won only for Kaminari to put his hands behind his head and brag that his power was just cooler after all. Yaoyorozu popped up, then Kirishima, then Jirou who sweatdropped at the sight of her very, very tiny bar. She had one more offer than Uraraka at 20, with 21 herself.

"Guess getting to the semifinals doesn't mean as much when you get a bye in the second round," Kirishima mentioned over his shoulder to a girl who got a round ahead of him but only a third of the offers.

"Yeah, guess so," Jirou replied, putting her hand on her cheek. She looked towards the board in some surprise though and lowered her hand as she looked down beneath Uraraka's name where a final bar popped up so thin she did not notice it until spotting the name.

"Three?" Zach whispered, his eyes growing wide as he stared at the board ahead of him. "But, I just, punched a guy and gave up," he said.

"Some people are too scared to ask for a guy who had to be restrained on the podium," Sero whispered about how Todoroki and Bakugo's places had switched.

Bakugo spun his head and roared with a scary look on his face, "What are the pros scared of?!"

"I really got, three," Zach whispered. He looked to his right, and after Kaminari groaned about how big the gap was between them and the top two, he looked over and saw Zach staring at him in semi-shock. Kaminari stuck a thumbs up his way, and Zach grinned after a few seconds as the shock was finally wearing down.

Did the pros see something? I thought, the festival was a total bust. Zach's expression darkened as he turned back forward, thinking about the moment he gave up again. All those voices in the crowd. All the people he ran past on the way into that dark, smelly alley. He grimaced just thinking about it, and how it was not even a week ago that it had happened. Telling Jenny about stuff, really did calm me down. Even if I only told her, about killing the villain. There are some things, I should just keep to myself.

"…whether or not anyone asked for you, you will all be participating in internships with pros." Aizawa continued explaining. Internships? Does that mean, out in the field? Against, villains? Zach gulped then refocused back on the number 3 next to his name on the board. I have three choices. Probably less than anyone else, since the people who didn't get any offers will have a big pool to pick from. I'll have to make a good choice then.

"At USJ you already got to experience combat with real villains, but it will still be meaningful training for you to see pros at work firsthand." Aizawa finished.

"So that explains the hero names!" Sato called out.

Uraraka spun to him and pumped a fist, "Things are suddenly getting a lot more fun."

Aizawa told them the names might be temporary but they should make sure to treat them seriously in case people started recognizing them while they were still interning. Then Midnight came in to help them choose names since Aizawa claimed he had no idea how to help with that. Aizawa just picked up his sleeping bag and decided to say one more thing before taking a nap, "When you give yourself a name, you get a more concrete image of what you want to be like in the future, and you can get closer to it. This is what it means when they say 'Names and natures do often agree.' Like 'All Might' for example."

Ah, because he's all mighty, Zach thought, though he sweatdropped at the idea. Still, when the white boards were passed back to him and he passed the rest on, he stared down at the board with a nervous expression. "When you give yourself a name, you get a more concrete image of what you want to be like in the future…" Is this that serious? Hero names, I never thought too much on it. He glanced around while taking the cap off his marker, but the others were all writing fast or looking deep in thought about what they were going to come up with. He stared back down at the board. What I want to be like in the future.

Zach's eyes closed and he moved the marker down to the board. It started to move, but he froze and his lips twisted around. Hero names, match the heroes' natures. Can I really use something like that, with my Quirk? He hesitated and took his marker off the board, staring down at the mark he left there. He was still having trouble deciding when Midnight called them up to start presenting. Zach gulped at the thought of that, and he became even more hesitant to write the name he had thought of before. His nerves only got worse as Aoyama and Ashido started them off with really weird names. Luckily Tsuyu Asui got them back on track with 'Froppy,' which everyone started cheering for as they were able to get serious again.

Everyone has such good names. I shouldn't be embarrassed to say it. He tightened his grip on the marker, using his right hand as he always did when he wrote. It was the worst part of his curse, the fact that he was also right-handed. He looked down at that hand, and he imagined the villain's face he saw just recently in the news, but which he already could not get out of his mind if he tried, and he had tried. I could go with Grim Reaper. Or, the Black Death. Insta-Kill. Nightmare… Zach shook his head fast, a bead of sweat rolling down his face at something that appeared in his mind. How about something simpler? Like, Hero-Man? Villain Smasher?

As another three students went, all of them using names that reflected their bodies or Quirks, those bland names seemed so embarrassing to him. More so, than the one still on his mind that he started drawing the first line for on the board. Death Hand. Right Hand of Murder. He thought these names while writing a different one down on the board. He finished up and then held the board towards him, afraid someone would see it. That just made him gulp though as he was currently watching Yaoyorozu proclaim herself the 'Everything Hero: Creati.' I really can't do this, he thought, pushing the board out to erase it. He froze though as he looked down at the name again. "When you give yourself a name, you get a more concrete image of what you want to be like in the future, and you can get closer to it." Can I get closer to it? Is this, really a step in the direction of becoming a hero?

His hands tightened around the sides of the board. He got ready to go up, but he watched first as Todoroki went up and held up a board that just had his name on it. Midnight wondered if he was okay with it, and a bunch of people looked at him in confusion, but he just nodded and went back to his seat. Zach raised his hand when Midnight looked around for the next person, then he got up with his stomach feeling like it was full of butterflies. His breath picked up as he darted his gaze to the sign again, then back up to his classmates who were all looking to see what he was going to say. He held the board against his chest tight, then he turned it and put it on the podium.

Midnight looked at the sign and then at the boy behind it with widening eyes, then a lifting smile. The class in front of Zach let out more surprised gasps though, but no one said anything against it. Zach put his hands firmly on the sides of the board, and he said in a soft voice, "Lifebringer. Because, that's the hero I want to become." Instead of the bringer of death. I just, want to help people. Save people.

"A fine name, a fine name," Midnight said, and Zach turned to the sexy hero who gave him a thumbs up. He relaxed and started heading back to his seat, a smile on his face larger than he had had since arriving at school. I actually wrote it down, and said it in front of everyone. That's the name people will start calling me. It's like All Might said. Someday, they'll forget about what I've done as a kid, once I'm a hero whose saved so many more.

Zach sat down and Bakugo got up behind him, walking up to the front and shouting, "King Explosion Murder!" The whole class sweatdropped after Zach's meaningful name which seemed like a big moment for him, to what they thought was a joke. Midnight told him he should not use it though, and Bakugo looked seriously angry about it.

After all the names were decided, or left undecided for some of them, Aizawa went back to talking about the internships. As Zach suspected, the people who got offers were to pick from their lists, while the others got a choice of 40 agencies from around the country to pick from. They handed out all the lists and then told them they had two days to hand in their decisions, then the two teachers left the room and left the students to think on it.

Todoroki looked at his list and spotted Endeavor Hero Agency not far down it. He narrowed his eyes at his father's name, but he nodded his head after a few seconds as he made his decision.

"Actually, I've already decided!" Uraraka said from over near Midoriya's desk where a few others were standing after hearing Midoriya's muttering as he tried to pick from one of the forty agencies. He had fought too recklessly in the Sports Festival that he wound up not getting any offers. The others around her all looked in, and Zach turned his head with a dazed look on his face and listened to Uraraka say, "Battle Hero: Gunhead's agency."

"Huh, Gunhead's a huge battle type," Midoriya said in surprise.

Zach stood up and started walking over, and he listened as Uraraka gave her reasons for joining Gunhead's agency. She said that even though she wanted to be a mainly rescue-based hero like Thirteen, fighting Bakugo showed her that she could do a lot more if she was stronger. He frowned as she talked about it, and he lifted back up his sheet and stared at it with a closer and more hesitant look. "What about you Zach?" Ojiro asked, turning to the boy who just walked over. "You got three offers, right?"

"Not much to pick from then," Yaoyorozu said, realizing why Zach looked a bit frustrated as he stared at his sheet.

"That's not it," he muttered, knowing why she said it like that. "After Uraraka talked about broadening our skill set, I'm not sure I should do my original plan," Zach said hesitantly. "But I don't know anything about these other two heroes, and Grappler's been my-"

"Zach! You got a offer from Grappler?" Midoriya asked in amazement, his eyes lighting up. Zach looked down at him and nodded, and Midoriya continued while getting a more confused look on his face, "Isn't he a big hero of yours though?"

Zach nodded his head, and Uraraka spun to him and held up both her hands. "Ah! Then you should totally go for it! Who knows if you'll get a chance to meet him again?"

"Not just meet him," Kaminari added. Though he was surprised Zach actually knew one of the three heroes who sent him an offer, he continued with a grin to his friend who had not been avoiding him like Kaminari was worried he might after he spilled the beans. "You'd get to see him in action up close, and even fight villains with him-"

"I'm going to Grappler's agency," Zach said, and Kaminari started laughing as he never got to finish. Zach noticed out the corner of his eye that Midoriya was shaking where he was sitting, and his eyes lowered down before making him frown. He's doing air-sits during class? I guess he needs to train his body to be able to handle that strong Quirk… his Quirk, which All Might- I speculated too much when all I was doing was lying around thinking. Doing that to All Might, the same thing Monoma did to Kaminari and me, that was mean. I should apologize for prying. It's obviously an even bigger secret than the one he already showed me, which is huge in itself, so this must be even crazier. I'll just tell him I don't really know what I'm talking about, since it really was just speculation. I don't need to know the truth. I'll worry about my own Quirk, and I'll let Midoriya worry about his.

Zach headed for lunch when he had circled the Boxing Hero: Grappler's agency on the list. He put it away and headed to the cafeteria, going to hand it in afterwards, but when he was only halfway there, he heard Midoriya call up to him. He turned and saw the boy with dark green hair running his way, not with the others who Zach thought he would go to lunch with. He picked his agency faster than most others, so he was heading to lunch to get some food since he skipped breakfast in order to arrive to school really early.

"Hey, Midoriya," Zach started, a confused look on his face at the other boy's expression. He stared at the kid about his height, an inch taller or so even with the spikes of black hair over Zach's head. "What's up?"

"Did I do something wrong?" Midoriya asked, stopping panting and just looking at Zach up close. The other boy leaned back at that question, a bead of sweat rolling down his face.

"I've got, no idea what you mean," Zach said.

"It's just," Midoriya glanced around, but they were alone in the hallway for the moment. "You didn't say anything, when I went to your apartment. And all the others who went said they talked to you…"

Zach lifted his eyebrows and cracked a smile at the nervous look on his classmate's face. "Midoriya, I fell asleep like, right after you got there."

"Huh?" Midoriya's bottom lip dropped and a blank look replaced all the anxiety on his face. Zach just nodded at him while trying to hold in a laugh. "So, you didn't hear anything I said?" Zach shook his head around, though he was not going to mention how he intentionally did not listen so he could pass out. Midoriya then said, "Do you want to hear the speech? I was outside your door for five minutes-"

"It's fine," Zach said, reaching a hand out and putting it on Midoriya's shoulder. "It's the thought that counts," he said with a reassuring smile, and Midoriya smiled genuinely back, even though Zach had a sweatdrop sliding down the back of his head as he really hoped Midoriya felt better and would just drop it.

On the day that Class 1-A were leaving for their internships, they all gathered together at the train station before they would be scattering around the country. Most of them had internships far from any of their classmates, and only a few were going places in the same areas. After Aizawa saw off the class, Zach started heading towards his train without waiting for anyone. Grappler, he thought, holding his costume case tight. It had the number '13' on it indicating his number alphabetically in class.

He was concentrated on his internship which he had been looking forward to for what felt like months now, even though it had only been a few days. The day he learned he would be interning there, he told Jenny all about it, and her parents invited him over for a celebration for it. He also told them the hero name he had come up with in class, and the three of them had loved it. Zach lowered his gaze to his costume box, then he pulled his backpack straps tight again. Everything I need for a week away. It's more than I was planning on taking for an indefinite trip… Zach shook his head around, then he kept walking but froze and glanced back over his shoulder.

And then there's this, he thought, his expression darkening as he saw Iida turn to face Midoriya and Uraraka. Zach was already close to the escalator up to the platform for the trains to Hosu City, where Grappler's agency was situated. Grappler's such an awesome hero, it makes sense for me to go here. But Iida had what, 320, 350 offers? Iida turned around and Zach turned away an instant later. He turned away and took a step, then he sighed and bowed his head. He closed his eyes and imagined that expression on Iida's face as he turned from Midoriya and Uraraka, the two Zach figured were the class rep's closest friends in the class. Can't well ignore that, he thought as he made his way for the escalator and headed up.

He darted his eyes to the left as he saw someone pointing towards him, and he saw a couple of kids who looked ten years old each going down the opposite escalator across the stairs from him. As soon as they brought attention to him, others on that escalator looked his way. One look, is that really all it takes? Even in a regular school uniform… Maybe I should stop styling my hair like Dad's. He reached up and touched his spiky black hair, but he stopped and brought his hand back down. No. It'll take time, but this is a cool style. Dad was a cool hero, saving people with his hair like this.

Zach got on his platform and he headed over to wait for the train to Hosu City. He took deep breaths to try and calm himself down, but his heart rate kept speeding up more at the thought of what he was about to do. I don't even know him that well… but that doesn't matter here. He's my classmate, and a friend. He may not have showed up, but he texted me those long paragraphs, even though he's in the middle of this. Keeping up the class rep guise until the very end, huh? Zach shivered as he thought it, thinking about that look on Iida's face when he turned away from his friends one more time. If I wasn't already convinced, that would have been the dead give-away.

The train arrived, and Zach got on. Musutafu City was not far from Hosu, both of them located around Tokyo. Alright, this'll be a nice thirty minute trip. Nothing big. Just relaxing. Zach stood there inside the train as it started to move. He stood even while everyone else sat. There were seats open for him, even with the box he was carrying. If I just took a seat though, what kind of hero would that make me? Zach turned and walked back for the door connecting this car and the one behind it.

They were racing over the track, and Zach used the poles for support as he made his way back through the train. He opened another train door and entered, then he saw the tall boy in his class sitting in a more empty section than most. He was staring straight ahead, his expression dark and intense. Tenya Iida stared out the windows across the train from him above the empty seats. He glared out towards the tall buildings of Tokyo, while their train raced over tracks curving around the outside of the city. "Tenya… actually, I don't have any feeling in my legs… The hero, Ingenium, will probably end here." Hero Killer, I'm…

Iida was so focused staring straight out the windows, that he did not notice who had walked in front of him until he had sat down on the seat directly across from him. Iida's eyes opened wide, while Zach sat back in the chair and stared at him. Zach put his costume box down next to him, then he tilted his head while looking at Iida, wondering if Iida was going to pretend like he was not just giving the window an 'I'll kill you' stare. "Zach, I heard you were going to Hosu City too. Grappler, correct?"

Zach nodded his head, "And what about you? Must be some amazing hero right? Since you got so many offers." Zach smiled at the taller boy and acted like he had no idea.

Iida got a serious look on his face and said, "The Normal Hero: Manual. He is also a fine-"

"Normal Hero," Zach said, nodding his head as that was not 'amazing,' as he had predicted. Iida frowned at him for interrupting, but Zach just looked back with a straight expression. "So Iida. We gonna pretend like we both don't know why you're going to Hosu?"

"I don't know what you're-"

"Alright then, I guess I'll be the one to stop playing first," Zach said, interrupting him again. "I spent four days straight watching tv after the Sports Festival. Just nonstop sleeping, and watching tv." Iida's eyes opened a little wider at why Zach would mention that, then they narrowed again as Zach started reciting news clips he had watched several times in pretty much the same wording each time. "The Hero Killer, Stain. He took out the Pro Hero Ingenium. I'm sorry by the way," he added, and he was apologetic about that. He continued while Iida was openly glaring at him now. "I checked out Stain's patterns, seems like he's not done with Hosu. Weird then, that you'd choose to come here."

"Zach, you don't know what you're-"

"Iida, I'm not going to tell you not to do it," Zach said, shaking his head and leaning back in his seat. Iida froze with his mouth open, still ready to deny everything. Yet Zach just looked at him in a serious way and said, "If my, family, had been hurt by someone. You can bet the first thing I'd want to do is go after them." Jenny, her parents, even Aunt Maye, and Tsura. "But that box you've got there," Zach continued, losing his sympathetic tone. "That's a costume made by U.A. that they entrusted to us to be responsible with. Whatever we do in these costumes will reflect back on our school and everything it stands for. As the class rep, I feel like you'd be the one most clear on that." Iida's head lowered and his forehead scrunched up, such a frustrated look on his face all of a sudden. "Be careful Iida," Zach said, standing up and making Iida lift his gaze fast to see his classmate turning away from him.

Zach took a step, then he paused and looked back towards the boy still staring at him. "Do you really think, you're stronger than your brother was?" He asked, then he turned back forward and walked away, clenching his teeth hard as he knew that was a terrible way to end that conversation. He did not want to look back at Iida's face now, but if he had he would have seen such furious frustration that he would have believed he only made the situation worse.

Of course I'm not stronger! But, what am I- supposed to do, with all this anger?!

A/N Hope you enjoyed. Thanks for reading! Leave a review below telling me what you think and predictions for the next chapters.

zerom1v chapter 10 . 18h ago

Wow. I was in chapter nine just a moment and then BAM chapter ten appears.
Mr. Akers one heck of a dad! His words have more positive impact than All Might XD
Hope Zach discovers how his quirk works. And I hope his hero name is epic

Haha glad you liked Mr. Akers. Thought Zach needed some more positivity in his life. Hope you liked Zach's Hero Name. And as for this rapid posting, we're still only halfway through the chapters I already have finished, so expect more coming every day for another week at least! Thanks for the review!

Roxas Itsuka chapter 10 . 15h ago

Good chapter. Great emotional turmoil you displayed here.

Thanks! That's what I was going for, so glad it showed well!

bloodyhound17 chapter 10 . 11h ago

Will Jenny become Zach's girlfriend?

No spoilers... XD Thanks for the review!