Coco: Okay, guys there's the chapter I promised. Warning you now that I didn't proofread whatsoever. I'm sorry. I'm just really sleepy and I should have already been in bed XD But my vacation that's coming up in June (the last week of it actually) will be dedicated to cleaning up not just this story but my other stories as well. I'll even try to work on updating some of my other stories too during that time period. And while I'll have to return to work the beginning of July, I'll still have school off, which will help me get back on track as well.
So, once more, I'm sorry about the typos. They will be cleaned up...eventually.
And if you didn't notice in my last post, the poll for my second MHA story is up and I'd be interested to see your thoughts on the matter of who Kasai should be paired with.
Oh, and I would like to thank KingChomp for Ayumi's hero name. Thanks so much, KingChomp!
Ayano hummed to herself as her earbuds played some of her favorite classical music through her ears. Classical music really helped her unwind and calmed some of her worst headaches. While she didn't have a headache, she still enjoyed it as she was on her way to school. It rained around her with her umbrella keeping her dry. Many others carried their own raingear as they hurried to where they needed to be. Ayano herself wasn't in too big a hurry as she walked the streets with her phone in hand. She frowned when seeing no messages from Tenya. Though it didn't surprise her.
"Maybe I shouldn't have gone," She said to herself as she stopped at a crosswalk.
The light was red as cars and other mods of transportation moved across the street. As she waited for the light to change, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She felt a tug on her jacket. She blinked while removing one of her earbuds as she turned her head. She saw a little girl behind her with a big smile on her face as she stood next to who was most likely her father.
"Excuse me, Miss." The little girl said. "Are you Ishida Ayano?"
Ayano was a bit confused, but nodded her head. When she confirmed who she was the little girl's face lit up. She looked up at her father.
"I told you it was her, daddy!" She said. "She's the girl from the sports festival!"
As the girl's father chuckled, Ayano now understood how the girl knew who she was. She didn't realize one sports festival would get her any recognition.
"We're sorry to bother you," The girl's father said. "It's just when she saw you, she just had to come say hello."
The girl nodded along with her father's words as her smile grew even more—if that was even possible.
"You were really cool!" The girl said. "I rooted for you and everything!"
"Thank-you," Ayano said. "Though I wish I could have done better."
"You will next time!" The girl said with confidence. "And I'll be sure to cheer then too, I promise."
Ayano thanked the girl and her father, who wished her luck, one more time as the light finally turned green. Ayano continued on her way to school, but not before waving to the girl. As she continued her trek, she had gotten a few more people stopping to talk to her. It was an odd experience, but she supposed as an aspiring hero, that she'd have to get used to it.
"Not sure I ever will though," She said to herself as she crossed under the gate onto the school grounds.
Ayano then made her way to where she could store her umbrella until the end of the school day. Many other students were stowing away their own rain gear as well and catching up from not seeing each other over the two-day break. After Ayano finished putting away her umbrella she turned to head to class, but found a tall, muscular way in front of her. She frowned in confusion before looking up to meet the blue eyes of an upper classman. Despite the unusual shape of his eyes, the rest of him looked rather plain. At first the two just stared at each other as he grinned down at her.
"…Can I help you?" Ayano asked the blonde.
The blonde's grin grew as he stepped back just enough to bend over to get a better look at Ayano.
"I just came to get a look at the first-year Sir told me would be joining us," He said as he tilted his head. "You're Ishida Ayano, right? You placed third during the first-year's sports festival, yes?"
Ayano's frown deepened as she wondered who this guy was. All she was getting out of his head was his thoughts on her, and his own curiosity to get to know her.
"Yes, you're correct—on both accounts." Ayano said. "And you are?"
"Oh me?" He asked as if he forgot he hadn't introduced himself. "The name is Togata—Togata Mirio, third-year."
Ayano hummed while still not knowing what his purpose was with her. Though he did mention someone he called "sir" and that she'd be "joining them"—whatever that meant.
"Pleasure to meet you, Togata-senpai." Ayano said.
Mirio chuckled as he placed his hands on his waist. Ayano's brow quirked as she pondered what was funny.
"You're sure a polite one." Mirio said. "Not exactly what I was expecting, but I can't wait to see what you can do in person…Well, see you around."
Then as abruptly as he appeared, he left—leaving Ayano standing there in silence.
'What an odd guy,' Ayano thought as she watched him disappear amongst the other students. 'Though I'm noticing that to be trend with many of the students here.'
She decided not to dwell on it because he did say he'd see her around and that she'd be "joining them". She'd just wait and see what happens, she supposes. As the first bell rang above her, she supposed she better start heading to class.
As Ayano walked into her classroom she heard the others catching up and talking about people who spoke to them about the sports festival. Seemed like she wasn't the only one to be spoken to this morning.
"Hey, Ishida!" Eijiro called out as he waved. "Cutting it a bit close again, aren't ya?"
"As long as I'm not late, it doesn't matter how late I cut it, I suppose." Ayano said with a small chuckle.
There was then a breeze behind her, which had her turning her head to see Ayumi arrived just behind her.
"Wise words from our wise co-deputy." Ayumi said with a grin.
"You're just saying that because with your speed even if you arrived here with a second to spar, once you hit the doors you can zip right in here." Hanta pointed out.
Ayumi shrugged not denying it before she shook out her hair to rid it of water. Ayano made sure to put up a psionic wall between them, so not to be splashed.
"Did you not use an umbrella?" Ayano asked her.
"Nope." Ayumi said. "Forgot all about it this morning."
She then sneezed, and Ayano was certain their resident silver-speedster was going to catch a cold.
"You're going to get sick," Shoto said from his desk.
"I'll be fine!" Ayumi said with a grin.
Though as if to disprove her claim, she sneezed again. She didn't seem too concerned though as she made her way to her desk. Ayano shook her head before making her way to her own seat. As she was setting her bag down, their door opened to reveal their teacher. Their completely bandage free teacher.
"Morning," He called out as everyone quickly took their seats.
"Good-morning, Aizawa-Sensei." His class greeted him in return.
As he walked to his podium, Ayano also noticed his walking wasn't as sluggish either. It seemed either Recovery Girl or Doctorine finished up his treatment.
"Ribbit—Aizawa-sensei, you don't have bandages anymore," Tsuyu said. "That's good."
"The old lady and Naosu went overboard with their treatment." Aizawa replied.
Ayano was confused for about two seconds as to who Naosu was, but supposed he must be referring to Doctorine.
"Anyway, we have a big class today." Aizawa informed his class. "…on Hero Informatics."
While it sounded like a complicated class, Ayano wasn't worried and it wasn't because of what she saw in Aizawa's head. In fact, she was avoiding his mind. She didn't want to risk getting caught…and being failed—or something worse. Though she did hear to approaching minds who would soon be joining them for this class.
"You need codenames," Aizawa continued after a slight pause. "Time to pick your hero identities."
Many of the class cheered in excitement, but were quickly silenced when Aizawa's eyes started turning red and his hair lifted. Once they were quiet again, Aizawa deactivated his quirk.
"This is related to the pro-hero draft picks I mentioned the last time we were in class together." Aizawa said. "Normally students don't have to worry about the draft yet—not until their second or third year actually, but your class is different. In fact, my extending offers to first-years like you pros are essentially investing in your potential. Any of their offers can be rescinded if their interest in you dies down before graduation though."
Meaning that while they are getting a better opportunity to jump into hero world faster that their upper classmen, they have to constantly make sure to keep up their hard work to keep the pros interested in them. If several start to lose interest, it could cause others to as well, which could actually ruin their careers before they even graduated.
"Stupid selfish adults," Minoru gripped as he hit his fist against his desk.
His complaining went ignored as Toru turned to address Aizawa with a question.
"So, what you're saying is that we'll still have to prove ourselves after we've gotten recruited?" Toru summarized.
"Correct," Aizawa said.
Ayumi just snorted because she didn't have anything to prove to anybody but herself. If the pros lost interest in her so be it. Though she supposed to keep up with her classmates she'd have to go along with the recruitment. As long as she's in school at least.
"Now, here's the totals of those of you who got offers," Aizawa said.
He clicked the remote to his smartboard with a few of their names popping up.
Todoroki: 4,123
Bakugo: 3,556
Jinsoku: 1,000
Fumikage: 360
Ishida: 345
Iida: 301
Yaoyorozu: 108
Kirishima: 68
Uraraka: 20
Sero: 14
It didn't seem if anyone had gotten any offers unless they made it to the final round. Except for Ayumi who looked almost livid when seeing those offers. Ayano was certain that the girl's father had something to do with how many offers she had. And Ayumi probably knew that too, which is why she seemed so upset. And while Mina and Yuga had been in the finals, they had no offers on the board. The same was for Izuku as well.
"In past years it's been more spread out." Aizawa explained. "But there's a pretty big gap this time."
Ayano frowned when seeing how little offers she and Fumikage had received compared to Katsuki and Shoto. They placed just below Shoto and he had over 4,000 offers while they only were in the 300s. She didn't want to admit it, but it did wound her pride a bit. Though overall, she was happy she had gotten offers. As the others discussed the results, Ayano wondered just what kind of heroes extended offers, and if one of them had to be this "sir" that blonde third-year mentioned. Aizawa quickly silenced his students as he went on.
"Despite these results you'll all be interning with pros, got it?" Aizawa said. "Even those of you who didn't get any offers."
This seemed to surprise some members of the class, but Hachiro was sure relieved. He didn't want to have to go home an explain why he wasn't moving forward like the rest of his classmates.
"Oh, so we're all interning?" Izuku asked.
"Yes," Aizawa replied. "You've already got to experience conflict with real villains during the attack on the USJ Facility. But it will still be helpful to see Pros at work—up close and personal, in the field, first hand."
"And for that we need codenames!" Rikido realized in glee.
"Things suddenly got more fun!" Ochaco said happily.
Ayano hummed. She never gave too much thought into a codename for herself. Not since she was younger and Ko was trying to get her interested in hero work. She hadn't really liked any of the names he had suggested.
'But hadn't I come up with my own?' She thought to herself.
It's been so long that she can't remember clearly, but she's certain she had decided on her own name back then—to humor her brother so he'd stop pestering her. But maybe—if she could remember—it was time to actually put that name to use.
"These hero names will most likely be temporary, but take them serious or—" Aizawa stopped speaking as the door to the classroom opened to reveal the two visitors Ayano had heard earlier.
"You'll have hell to pay later," Midnight warned as she stepped in with Gaea behind her.
Some of the boys became excited when seeing their two female teachers, which had Ayano shaking her head at them.
"What you pick today could be your codename for life." Midnight warned. "You better be careful, or you'll be stuck with something utterly indecent."
Midnight and Gaea came to stand next to Aizawa with the prior of the two women smiling kindly at the class.
"Speaking of indecent," Ayano deadpanned.
Izuku shushed before she could get in trouble as Ayumi snorted in amusement from her desk.
"Yeah, Midnight's gotta good point." Aizawa said as he grabbed his sleeping bag. "Midnight and Gaea are going to have final approval over your names. It's not my forte."
This had many of his students wondering what he meant, but they knew asking wouldn't get them an answer.
"The name you give yourself is important." Aizawa said. "It helps reinforce your image and show what kind of hero you want to be in the future. A codename shows people exactly what you represent, which is why you should speak with Gaea if you're having trouble deciding. She is here to help you through discovering yourselves as heroes and helping you set up your image."
"That's right," Gaea said. "So, don't be shy in asking for help. I'd be honored to help you make such an important decision."
After that the teachers passed out markers and whiteboards to the class for them to get started. Ayano looked down at the whiteboard as she pondered what to write across it.
'What was that name?' She wondered. 'What had I chosen back then with Ko?'
She remembers him smiling when she finally gave him her choice, but that's all she can remember. As she thought about it, other members of her class were already starting to write. Gaea walked amongst them while stopping every so often at one of their desks to speak with the students. It was silent in their class for the next ten or so minutes except for the noise of their markers writing and Aizawa's light snoring.
"Now, students, who among you are ready to share?" Midnight asked.
Her question had some mentally gasping since they had no idea, they'd be sharing these to others. No one moved at first, but then Yuga stood from his chair. Everyone got quiet as the blonde made his way to the podium.
"Hold your breath," Yuga said. "The Shining Hero…my name is I Cannot Stop Twinkling!"
He held up his sign high in the air as he said this as classmates gave him funny looks.
"Mon amie, you cannot deny my sparkle." Yuga told them.
Gaea clapped for Yuga politely as the boy looked so proud of what he had chosen. Midnight took the board from him, which had the others thinking she was going to tell him to try again. However, she just started making adjustments with her own marker.
"It will be better this way," Midnight said. "Take out the "I" and shorten the "cannot" to "can't."
"It's stunning, Mademoiselle." Yuga complimented.
"She likes it?!" Some of them asked in shock.
"Also, you're not really French, are you?" Rikido questioned. "That's just an act."
Yuga didn't comment on Rikido's question as the blonde youth returned to his seat. As soon as he sat down, Mina was hoping out of her seat.
"Okie-dokie, let me go next," She began as she bounced towards the podium. "My codename: Alien Queen."
Midnight looked disturbed by Mina's choice as she looked to Gaea. The green-skinned woman, who had been working with Mina, shrugged her shoulders with a smile on her face.
"It's creative." Gaea defended Mina's choice. "And fitting if you think about it."
Mina nodded her head in agreement as her grin grew even wider across her face. However, Midnight wasn't having it.
"I don't think so," Midnight said. "She's not naming herself off of that horrible monster with the acidic blood."
Mina pouted at Midnight's words before returning to her desk. Gaea pat her shoulder before speaking to her about other choices she might be able to make.
"Ribbit—I think I've got one," Tsuyu said as she raised her hand. "Okay if I go next?"
Midnight called her on up and the class went quiet again as Tsuyu walked behind the podium. She placed her whiteboard in front of her as she looked to her classmates.
"I've had this name in mind since grade school," Tsuyu explained. "Rainy Season Hero: Froppy."
Ayano smiled while quite liking the name, and it appeared Midnight did as well since it was given her approval. Many of the class cheered for Tsuyu, which brought a smile to her face as she returned to her desk. Hachiro was the next to go to the podium.
"Like Tsu, I've hard this name in mind since I was a kid." Hachiro said as he showed his whiteboard. "Just call me the Arachnid Hero: Webslinger."
"Wonderful!" Midnight said. "It definitely suits you."
Hachiro thanked her before leaving the podium. After he sat down, Ayumi was quick to get to the podium.
"It's my turn now," Ayumi said then held up her whiteboard. "You can call me the Speedy Hero: Velory!"
"Velory?" Midnight questioned. "Care to explain?"
"Well, I combined the word velocity with the name of the Roman God Mercury." Ayumi explained. "Why I chose velocity should be a no brainer, but I decided to combined it with Mercury because he's the messenger of the gods and the fastest amongst them. That and the element mercury is silver."
So, it was like her hair and the name of her quirk—quicksilver. It really was creative how she combined those components together to get her name. Ayano's brow quirked. Hadn't she combined things together to get her name?
"Lovely," Midnight said to Ayumi. "I believe that's a perfect fit."
Ayumi nodded in agreement before she returned to her seat. Eijiro was up next as he set his whiteboard down for the others to see.
"I've got mine too!" Eijiro said. "The Sturdy Hero…My name is Red Riot."
"Red Riot?" Midnight hummed. "Interesting. "You're paying homage to the Chivalrous Hero: Crimson Riot, yes?"
Ayano doesn't believe she's heard of Crimson Riot before, but he must be someone pretty important to Eijiro for him to pay homage to him.
"That's right," Eijiro said. "He may be kinda old school, but someday I wanna be just like him. Crimson is my idol."
Midnight smiled as she looked at Eijiro who seemed so inspired by merely speaking about his idol.
"If you're bearing the name of someone you admire, you have that much more to live up to." Midnight warned him.
"I accept the challenge." Eijiro said with confidence.
Eijiro then returned to his seat as the rest of the class tried to decide their names. But soon more of them stood and presented their names. It seemed as if Ayano's classmates knew who they wanted to be and who they wanted to be known as. Even Konan who didn't really seem like the type to care about things such as codenames, had decided on Paper Crane for herself. The only ones left to chose their names were Ayano, Katsuki, Izuku, Ochaco, and Tenya.
'I'm not having any luck remembering…' Ayano thought in annoyance. 'Maybe I should just pick something different. Think of something new.'
But she had no idea. She just decided she was going to better her two best friends, and when she first joined the hero course, her choice for being her was just to prove she could use her quirk for some good. She never really thought about what kind of hero she wished to be. Ayano sighed. She never knew picking a hero name could be so hard. She then looked up when Katsuki stood from his desk. He went up to the podium then set his whiteboard down. When seeing what was written on it, Ayano dead-panned.
"King Explosion Murder." He said with one of his evil expressions on his face.
Ayano couldn't believe him. Not only did he put murder in his name to begin with, but it wasn't even "Murderer", which would have made more sense. The way he has it worded makes it look like a badly named murder case.
"I'm gonna say that's a little too violent," Midnight said.
"I must agree with her on that," Gaea said as she sweat-dropped.
"Huh, what do you mean?!" Katsuki demanded.
Both women were hardly phased by his snappy tone, and his classmates just plainly ignored it.
"Why don't you be Explosion Boy?" Eijiro suggested teasingly.
As Katsuki snapped at him to shut-up, Ayano got up from her seat. She went up to Katsuki to jerk him out from in front of the class.
"Sorry about him," Ayano said to her teachers as she forced the blonde back in his seat.
He was snapping at her the entire time, but she shut him up, or at least muted him by putting a thick psionic box around him.
'Just quiet down and think of a better name,' She thought to him, so he'd hear her.
He frowned at her though started writing on his whiteboard again. But he did have one more snarky remark for her.
'At least I'm coming up with something,' He retorted. 'You haven't even written anything down, stupid.'
Ayano, who released him from the box, decided to ignore his remark though knew he was right. She just sighed as she retook her seat. After Katsuki was silenced, Ochaco went up to the podium.
"This is the name I thought of—Uravity." Ochaco presented.
Ayano's eyes widened a bit as a little light went off in the back of her subconscious.
'She combined part of her name with her quirk,' Ayano said. 'That's what I…'
Ayano quickly pulled the lid off of her marker to scribble across it as Midnight gave Ochaco her approval. Ayano stood next after she finished writing. She went to the podium.
"This name is one I picked a long time ago with my older brother," Ayano said as she looked down at the whiteboard. "He wanted me to become a hero for as long as I can remember, which is why he helped me chose this name. However, for a moment I forgot what that name was…which I think is because I gave up wanting to be a hero until a little while ago. It might not be super clever or catchy, but I want this name to show I've committed myself to the path of a hero."
Her words brought a different level of silence to the class as everyone waited to see what she wrote. Ayano then turned her whiteboard around to show her classmates what she had chosen.
"The Psionic Hero…my name is Ayonic." Ayano presented.
"Lovely!" Midnight said as her classmates clapped. "It's certainly an ionic name."
Ayano thanked her teacher before leaving the podium. As she walked down the row to her seat, she and Izuku's eyes met. He gave her a smile and a nod that had her smiling as well. She nodded to him in return before taking her seat.
"To be honest, choosing names is going faster than I thought it would." Midnight said. "All we have left is Young Bakugo, who needs to rethink his, and Iida. Oh, yes, and Midoriya too."
Said boys took a few more minutes before Tenya finally stood from his seat. He walked to the podium, and Ayano watched him. Though he was putting on a brave face—even without looking into his mind—she could see he still had so much angry boiling up inside of him. But she didn't know what to do. She offered her help and she feel like that's all she can do. She doesn't want to force it on him.
"So, what have you chosen, Iida-kun?" Gaea asked kindly.
Tenya silently turned his board around to show that just like Shoto, he chose his own name.
"You're using your name too?" Midnight asked sounding a bit perplexed.
Ayano bit her lip while feeling like Tenya not choosing himself an actual codename has to do with his brother. And while she wanted to know what he was thinking, she remained out of his head out of respect.
"Yes," Tenya said in reply to Midnight's question.
Midnight sighed shaking her head, but gave her approval nonetheless. Tenya returned to his seat thus leaving Izuku and Katsuki as the only ones without their chosen names.
"Well, Midoriya, are you ready?" Midnight questioned.
Izuku gasped as he seemed to come out of his thoughts. Despite his frazzled reaction, he nodded while standing. He walked up to the podium. He paused for a moment before turning the whiteboard around. When Ayano saw what he had chosen, her eyes widened, and she wasn't the only one surprised.
'He chose…Deku?' She thought. 'But he's always disliked that name.'
Even those who have known Izuku long knew what that name meant. It was Katsuki's name for him. A name that was meant to be the name of someone weak. Something Ayano had never seen Izuku as, but it was the name of hers and Katsuki's quirkless friend Izuku. The one who always needed looking after and the one who couldn't fight back—even when he tried his hardest.
'That name has always been like a shackle on him,' Ayano thought. 'A name Katsuki used to remind him of his "place" amongst the rest of us. But things are different now. Izuku has come so far and he's not the same kid he was when we were growing up…'
Which is why she didn't understand why he has decided to choose it as his codename.
"Really, Midoriya?" Minoru asked.
"Sure, about that?" Denki also inquired.
"Yeah, man, remember, that could be your name forever." Eijiro warned.
Izuku seemed set with what he chose as he nodded his head in determination.
"Right," Izuku said. "I used to hate it, but then something changed. I guess someone taught me if can have different meaning."
'And by someone he means Uraraka,' Ayano realized as her lips turned up into a smile. '…cute…'
Said girl had a smile on her face, and Ayano was sure the brunette was in full support of Izuku's chosen name.
"And that had a huge impact on how I felt." Izuku continued. "So now I really like it. Deku. That has to be my codename."
The class was silenced by his choice, but the silence was broken as Ayano clapped lightly. Izuku and the others looked to the ginger-haired girl as she smiled.
"I quite like it," Ayano said. "Deku the hero. Has a nice ring to it."
Izuku's face lit up when she said that, and soon the others clapped for Izuku as well as he was returning to his seat.
"Now, all we have is young Bakugo." Midnight said. "No reason to rush. As I said things are going faster than I imagined."
Katsuki just grunted in reply as Gaea went around the room again to start speaking with the others about agencies that might fit them well. As the rest of the class moved on, Ayano sat up in her seat to look at Katsuki's progress. He shot her a glare over his shoulder as she leaned against his back to peek over said shoulder.
"What the hell do you want?" Katsuki asked with hostilely.
Though despite his tone, he didn't make a move to push her off of him. Ayano didn't reply at first as she frowned at Katsuki's whiteboard. He hasn't made much progress. He literally just changed "King Explosion Murder" to "Lord Explosion Murder", which wasn't exactly an improvement.
"You're terrible at this side of being a hero, aren't you?" Ayano asked him as she cut him a sideways glance.
"Shut-up!" Katsuki snapped. "No one asked you!"
Ayano ignored his snappy tone while leaning even closer with arms on either side of his neck, so she could reach the whiteboard. Katsuki's heart thumped heavily in his chest as his face warmed. Just what the hell was wrong with him? He tried to ignore the feeling as Ayano took the whiteboard from him. She sat back in her seat while wiping it clean quickly.
"I didn't say you could have that!" Katsuki pointed out as he turned around in his chair looking even more pissed off.
"Shush," Ayano said. "Let me help. Like, I told you in our rescue training, when it comes to things like this, I'm better at it than you. Besides, I'm expecting to receiving more training sessions from you. Meaning the least I can do is make sure you have a proper name for someone who's aiming to be the Number One Hero."
Her words silenced Katsuki though the irritated look remained on his face.
'And just what the hell could you have in mind?' He asked her mentally.
'Well, we're definitely getting rid of "murder" from the name,' Ayano thought back sternly. 'Doesn't sound very approachable, does it?'
Katsuki snorted because he didn't care about any of that. He just wanted to become the number one hero. He'd get there by sear training and skill alone if that's what it took.
'What's something that sums you up?' Ayano wondered. 'Something that just screams explosive, rabid animal without really saying that?'
'Shut-up, Aya!' Katsuki snapped. 'I'll explode your ass so hard that the only thing left will be the ground underneath you!'
Despite wanting to tell him that he might want to think of rewording his threat, Ayano decided not to as a thought came to mind.
'Nothing left but the ground…the ground directly below the point of an explosion…' Ayano thought as she glanced over to meet Katsuki's eyes. 'Ah…that might just work…'
Katsuki frowned in confusion as he wondered what the hell she could have going on through her head.