The world was hardly fair. That was a truth Hiroshi Furinji accepted a long time ago. He never asked to be born in a world where heroes and superpowers were the norm, yet for whatever reason, he was born without one. It no doubt caused a lot of problems growing up; ostracized by other kids for being the 'odd one', pitied by adults and teachers, and bullied by people who'd abuse their Quirks the second no one was looking, he had it rough. Any dreams of being a hero he had as a child, were routinely squashed by everyone, even his parents and siblings, so he's long accepted that he wouldn't be one.
That didn't mean that he was just gonna roll over and let others pick on him.
"Hey, Furinji!"
Hiroshi turned around, and saw one of his classmates, a horned boy named Kenji Takagi, walking towards him, his lackeys behind him. "Can ya lend a guy some cash?"
"Piss off, Takagi," the steel blue haired teen stated bluntly, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. "I don't have time for this."
"Oh, really?" Kenji said, grabbing Hiroshi's shoulder with his left hand. The muscles in his arm started to tense up and swell to three times their size, leaving the rather lanky horned student with an disproportionally huge arm. "I think you might want to reconsider, considering your... condition."
"Leave him alone, you simpleton," someone said. Kenji swiveled around, and saw a short girl who looked similar to Hiroshi approaching them.
"Oh, lookie here, it's your little gradeskipper, here to protect her big brother!" Kenji mocked, as he and his lackeys laughed.
"Fuka, I appreciate that you care, but I'm fine," Hiroshi muttered, his gaze shifting to the side, though he firmly planted his feet in preparation. Fuka's eyes narrowed, and took a deep breath, before releasing a giant gale of wind from her mouth. Kenji and his friends barely had time to steel themselves against the wind, getting knocked over and into the wall, while Hiroshi managed to withstand the sudden gust, having gotten used to her Gale Breath Quirk growing up.
"Ergh, you win this round again, No-Quirk Hiro! But mark my words, you will give me some money soon!" Kenji promised, as he and his lackeys limped away in shame.
"I had it handled, Fuka, but thanks," Hiroshi grumbled, as Fuka smacked the backside of his head.
"Idiot," she said, as he rubbed his sore spot. "Stop picking fights. I can't always be around to help you out, and with Setsuna in UA and Tsubasa away at Isamu, you gotta be more careful."
"Don't remind me, you little genius," he sighed. "Hopefully she's having a good first day there than I did. Hell, hard to imagine anyone having a worse first day than me."
"Stop right there, you stupid lizard!" a giant green-eyed alien shouted, as he chased the aforementioned 'stupid lizard' through the vacuum of space. His body was red and blue with silver armor, an "H" adorning his chest armor, with silver lines running down his body that resembled the letter as well. The fin-like horns and red mask over his face made it appear that his head also resembled an "H". The 'stupid lizard' turned around and spat energy bolts into the giant, knocking him back a bit, though he resumed his chase.
"My first solo mission as an Inter Galactic Defense Force member, and I'm already having trouble! Get back here!" the giant said, firing a beam of light from his hand, striking the lizard in the back. The lizard cried out in pain, as it began to be pulled into the atmosphere of a nearby blue planet.
"Huh is that-? Well, I guess I was going to encounter one eventually," the giant said, as he flew towards the planet to follow the falling alien. "Always wondered what Earth was like."
Hiroshi and Fuka had stopped by a café before they could get home, Fuka getting a big parfait, while Hiroshi had just gotten himself a cup of coffee. The two of them sat there in silence, something he had gotten used to.
"So how was your first day of school, Fuka?" Hiroshi asked, finally breaking the silence. "Your classmates treating you well?"
"... Yea," she replied, halfway finished eating her parfait. "Everyone's alright, so I'm fine."
"I see," Hiroshi said, looking off to the side. "You sure you're happy not going to UA? I mean, you did well enough on the written exam, and you got recommended, I'm sure that-"
"I said I'm fine," Fuka stated, eyes narrowed.
"I know you said that, but I know that you don't feel that-"
"Come on, Hiroshi! We know that it's too late for that, besides-" Fuka snapped, pinching her eyebrows, "someone needs to look out for you, since you didn't even bother applying for UA's General Studies."
"I just don't want to see people doing something that I can't. I'm not exactly helpless," he muttered, crossing his arms. Silence overcame the two siblings again, when a familiar voice caught their attention.
"Heeeeey, there's my favorite two blue haired people!"
"Hey, Setsuna," Fuka said, smiling a bit as Setsuna ruffled her hair for a bit. Hiroshi sighed a breathe of relief at the sight of one of his only friends. Setsuna Tokage was a girl with shoulder length dark green hair, and was a fair bit shorter than Hiroshi. The two had been friends since childhood, and the fact that he was Quirkless never bothered her. The grin she had on right there was definitely something Hiroshi needed to see after a long first day. "How was your first day at UA?"
"Surprisingly pretty boring," she said, taking a seat next to Fuka. "It was like going to any orientation and whatnot. But apparently Class 1A had to do some Quirk Assessment thing instead for their homeroom teacher. I heard that guy's real tough, though Vlad King's definitely not gonna go easy on us either."
"Oh wow, that's right. Pro heroes are actually teaching you at UA," Hiroshi said, crossing his arms. "Man, that's something, huh?"
"They teach all courses, too, not just the hero one," Setsuna said, looking at Hiroshi. "I still don't get why you didn't apply for the General Studies course, Hiroshi, you'd be a shoo-in with how smart you are."
"It's... it's just weird for a Quirkless guy like me to go into a school known for its hero course, right?" Hiroshi said, his smile shrinking. "I mean, I'm doing fine in Seto High, it's-"
"He got hustled for cash by Takagi again," Fuka said, her smile completely gone.
"Really? That horned bozo?"
"It's not like I'm giving him any money," Hiroshi said, his face now steeled. "I could've handled myself when Fuka butted in and used her Quirk to push them away."
"They're gonna keep bothering you regardless."
"Just because I'm Quirkless doesn't mean I'm helpless-"
"You basically are, Hiroshi!"
Hiroshi leaned back against his chair, pinching his forehead with his right hand in frustration. "I've been taking self defense and karate classes, so no, I'm not!" he said, as he attempted to keep his voice low to avoid drawing attention themselves.
"Alright, alright, so your first day wasn't that great," Setsuna said, trying to calm the two down. "Why don't we just head back to our neighborhood? It's getting late anyways."
The two siblings mumbled in agreement, but barely two steps out of the café, trouble found the three.
"Well well well, if it's the Worthless Quirkless!"
"Oh, hi Takagi," Hiroshi sighed, barely turning to look at the bullheaded bully, who was by himself this time. "What do you want?"
"Heeeey, just calm down, man, I'm not here to fight," Kenji said, raising his hands. "After all, we're in public, so no Quirk usage allowed. Oh wait, not like you could even use one!"
"Back off, Takagi," Setsuna said, as she and Fuka got in between him and Hiroshi.
"Yea, aren't you tired of constantly bothering one guy?" Fuka asked, scowling.
"Come on you guys, I don't need your protection," Hiroshi said, as he lightly pushed Setsuna to the side to backtalk Kenji directly. Fuka kept moving in front of him, however. "I'm perfectly capable of handling him myself!"
"Aw, does little Quirkless baby Hiroshi need protection?"
"Seriously," Hiroshi said, gritting his teeth. "I can handle this."
"Hiroshi, you-" Fuka started to say, when she looked up to the sky. "What is that?"
The four teens turned to look where Fuka's eyes went, and saw a strange black dot in the sky. It kept growing and growing bigger, until they could all clearly see what it was. It was a giant, spiked lizard with large clawed hands, and huge fangs coming out of its mouth. It crashed onto the ground, shaking everything before standing up and roaring.
"What is that!?" Kenji cried, forgetting about antagonizing Hiroshi as he broke off into a run away from the giant lizard.
"Is that some guy with a giant lizard Quirk!?" Setsuna said, sweating nervously at the sight of such a creature. Fuka stood there, frozen in fear, as the giant lizard walked through the city. Panicked screams filled the air as cars drove over the speed limit and everyone ran away from the sight. Hiroshi grabbed Setsuna's and Fuka's wrists and pulled them with him, forcing them to run away as well.
"I've never heard of a Quirk making you that big!" Hiroshi shouted, as rubble began to fly everywhere. "The closest one would be that new heroine's Quirk, right!? Um, Mt. Lassie or something!?"
"It's Mt. Lady!" someone cried out. Hiroshi turned to look, and saw the said-giant lady growing to her giant size. Except she only reached half the height of the giant lizard.
"Holy smokes you're huge!" Mt. Lady said, though that didn't deter her from fighting. "No matter! This is a job only I can do! Take this! Canyon Cannon!"
Mt. Lady took a running start, and leaped towards the giant lizard with her right foot sticking out to kick it. The giant lizard barely budged from its spot, taking only the simplest move to knock her aside with no issue before resuming its rampage.
"Hey! Don't ignore me!" she cried, recomposing herself as she prepared to attack it again from behind. "How about my Peak Punch-"
Suddenly, without warning, a flash of light flew down from the sky and landing right in front of Mt. Lady. A giant red humanoid alien had appeared, just as tall as the giant lizard. His skin was red and blue with silver lines that resembled the letter H, with silver armor covering his chest, shoulders, forearms, and shins. His face had an unmoving mouth, with green eyes surrounded by a red mask with fins that made it look like an H. And going with the H theme, on its armored chest was a green gem-like adornment that was shaped like an H.
Mt. Lady's fist promptly collided with the giant's right hip.
"SHEEEEEEEARGH!" the giant yelled, as he clutched his attacked hip. He took a look at the shocked Mt. Lady, seemingly in annoyance before taking a second one, this time one that seemed more surprised at what he was looking at. He shook it off, however, and turned his attention to the giant lizard.
"HIEYA!" the giant shouted, taking a running charge towards the monster and tackling it, before swinging its fists into its spine. The monster shrieked before managing to grab the giant's arm and pulling him off, and swung its claws onto him, sparks flying from hitting its armor. Before the giant could recover, the giant lizard opened its mouth, and fired a beam of light into the giant, knocking him backwards. Mt. Lady barely had time to dodge the falling giant, who immediately got up to continue fighting the monster, when the gem on its chest started to flash red.
"What is even going on!?" Hiroshi said, turning his head a bit to see the giant heroine and mysterious super giant fighting the monster, only to spot that in his left hand was Setsuna's right hand, with the rest of her being far behind. He must've yanked her hand hard enough to remove it from her arm. "Aw dammit! Fuka keep running! I gotta get the rest of Setsuna!"
"Hiroshi, don't-" Fuka cried out, though her voice was drowned out by the chaos as Hiroshi ran back to his handless friend.
"Setsuna!"
"Hiroshi, what are you doing!?" she shouted, slapping Hiroshi in the face with her detached hand. "Why did you run towards me!?"
"To make sure you didn't get stomped- LOOK OUT!"
The fight had gotten close to them, the giant lizard loomed near them. It opened its mouth, releasing another beam of light, which the giant intercepted, crossing its arms and a barrier forming in front of him, but it wasn't enough, and the beam broke through it and through him, with the two teens in its path. Without a second to lose, Hiroshi shoved Setsuna as hard as he could away from the path, managing to succeed. But to the terrified shock and cries of her and Fuka, he didn't have time to dodge the monster's attack, and disappeared in its blinding light.
Hiroshi opened his eyes, and found himself in a dark red space, with only small particles of H-shaped light accompanying him. "Am... am I dead?" he whispered to himself, as he got up and looked around.
"Not quite."
"What the-!? Who's there!?" he demanded, looking left and right in the strange place. The more he looked, the more he realized that the space seemed endless, with no walls, floor, or ceiling.
"I am a member of the Inter Galactic Defense Force. Or, well, a rookie member, at least," the voice explained. "Hold on, you're in my mental dimension, so give me a second."
Hiroshi raised an eyebrow, wondering what the voice meant, when some of the particles of light coalesced, and changed into a light construct of the giant that had just been fighting the giant lizard, though he was now about his size. He pointed to the small giant, "So you're that weird giant! What's going on!? Who are you!? What are you!? What is that giant lizard!?"
"I am an Ultraman. Or at least, that's what you people call my kind. And that giant lizard is called Tyrannion," the giant said, crossing his arms. "Though I'm not sure if this Earth has ever encountered any of my kind in centuries, or aliens in general for that matter..."
"Wait, 'your kind'? 'This Earth'?"
"Oh yea, there are multiple dimensions, and each one has its own Earth," the Ultraman said, as Hiroshi attempted to process what he was saying. "I chased Tyrannion from my home dimension to this one, so I'm quite shocked at how... different it is. Is it normal for you all to have powers?"
"... Yea, why?"
"Well, it's just that I was taught that most humans, while they have special qualities, they don't have any outwardly obvious powers like your Earth does," he answered, before shaking his head. "Wait, we're getting off track. The reason why you're here, is, well, that you're dead. And that last attack from Tyrannion disrupted my physical form. But we Ultramen have special abilities that allow us to fuse with a host, and resurrect them from the dead while granting them our powers, and together we become stronger than when we're alone. And I believe that you can be that host."
"What?" Hiroshi said, mouth agape.
"You went back to save your friend, with only her safety on your mind, and you saved her by shoving her out of the way of Tyrannion's Lighterror Beam. Your selfless act proves to me, that you have a heart of a hero," the Ultraman stated, pointing to Hiroshi's chest. Hiroshi stood still, hearing those words, until he realized something.
"Wait, Setsuna and Fuka, they're-"
"They're safe, don't worry. One minute here is equivalent to one second in the real world," he said, to Hiroshi's relief. "Still, I need an answer. Will you accept my power to save others?"
Hiroshi looked at his hands, and clutched them. All his life, he's had friends and family looking at him and acting as if he was made out of porcelain, as if he couldn't handle himself against bullies like Kenji. All his life, he's been told that without a Quirk, he couldn't pursue his dream of being a hero to help others. He thought he had given up on that dream a long time ago, but all of a sudden, his dream had become possible.
"... I will," he stated, as a burning passion blazed within his eyes.
"Give me a name."
"Huh? Oh, um, I'm Hiroshi Furinji-"
"No, not your name. Give me a name," the Ultraman clarified.
"Why?"
"It's custom for humans to give us a name, a title that we go by on Earth. Some are already named, but I've chosen to abandon my given name in order to go through this tradition one day," he explained. "So, what shall my name be?"
Hiroshi looked at the Ultraman, and observed his markings and adornments, which were all shaped like the English letter H. He took a deep breath, and with a simple word-
"Hero. Your name, is Hero."
The Ultraman nodded, and with a quick grab of Hiroshi's right arm, the light that formed his construct transferred to around his forearm, forming a silver gauntlet with blue and red accents, a large stylized H on the top, with a dial underneath the H and a symbol shaped like an O occupied the top space in the H.
"What is this?" Hiroshi asked, examining his new gauntlet.
"This is the Hero Hand, the symbol of our new bond!" Hero stated, his voice echoing through the mental dimension. "Now, hold your hand and call out-!"
For a second, Hiroshi was at a loss at what Hero was asking before immediately understanding what he wanted. He thrusted his hand above his head and to the sky, and screamed with all his might-
"HEROOOOO!"
"HIROSHI!" Fuka cried, as the monster's beam incinerated her brother. The giant lizard was held back by Mt. Lady grappling its leg, though its stride was barely affected.
"You idiot!" Setsuna whimpered, her hands covering her mouth in horror, and tears streaming down her face. "You didn't need to do something so stupid!"
The two girls sobbed over the fallen boy, when a brilliant sphere of light began to glow where he once stood. They looked at the sphere, which shot up to the sky. A figure formed around the sphere, until it solidified into the giant that attempted to shield them from the monster's blast, with his right fist in the air.
"HIEYA!" the giant shouted, readying itself in a fighting position. The monster cried as it readied its beam attack again, though the giant rushed it, clamping its mouth shut before it was released. The beam exploded in the monster's mouth, stunning and injuring it before the giant grabbed it by the torso, and flew up into the air.
"Hey!" Mt. Lady cried, falling off the monster's leg as the giant flew away. "What's the big idea!?"
They didn't go too far, going outside just of the city limits, where the damage would most likely be minimal to any buildings. The giant tossed the monster to the ground hard, as it struggled to get back up.
"SHEEAH!" the giant cried, as it landed a solid kick to the giant lizard's gut, knocking the air out of it. The monster slammed its right claw at him, knocking the giant off of it, though he regained his footing quickly.
"This shitty lizard is tough!" Hiroshi said, as he and Hero fought Tyrannion. Transparent light constructs of Hero's hands, feet, chest armor, and mask had formed over Hiroshi's, allowing him to see and influence Hero's attacks.
"I know," Hero replied, as they blocked another claw swipe. "Be careful of the spikes, Tyrannion can launch them out."
"Wait, what?"
The giant lizard shrieked, as the spikes alongside its shoulders and back glowed at their bases. It turned around, and the spikes launched out, hitting the giant who barely enough time to cross his arms and form its barrier. A couple of the spikes struck the giant, causing it to grunt in pain.
"Ow! That hurts!" Hiroshi said. "That... hurts? Why does that hurt!?"
"You're my host, so we share the same sensations, pain being one of them," Hero grunted, when a blaring beep started to echo through the mental dimension.
"What's that?"
"Uh oh, that's my Color Timer."
"Color Timer?"
"It's a device that tells me how much sun energy I have left or how much damage I've taken. My armor can absorb sunlight, so I'm normally able to operate a little longer than most other Ultramen, but since I've taken a lot of damage, not to mention using a lot of energy to resurrect you, I'm running pretty low right now."
"Does that mean-!?"
"Yep, we gotta defeat Tyrannion within two minutes now."
"Two minutes!?"
"You'd be surprised at how much can happen within two minutes," Hero said. "So let's make the most of it!"
"... Alright!" Hiroshi said, regaining his composure. "Let's go!"
The H-shaped gem on the giant's chest armor had began flashing red again, though it doesn't pay any attention to it. The giant's fists began to glow green, before charging the monster and slugging it in the face and chest multiple times with each hand, finishing with an uppercut to the monster's jaw.
It staggered back, dazed by the uppercut, but before it could do anything, the giant resumed its attacks, striking the monster in its throat, head, and chest without giving it a chance to fight back. The monster cried weakly as its injuries began to catch up with it, allowing the giant the chance to grab it, and lift it over his head. With a mighty toss, the giant threw the giant lizard into the air, where it flailed helplessly. He slammed his forearms together, slowly pulling them apart as energy gathered between them, forming an H-like energy projection over his arms.
"Herorum CROSS!" the giant shouted, launching the energy into the monster. It cried out in pain before exploding in a massive fiery ball of smoke, leaving behind only an H-shaped mark of light in the sky before fading. The giant looked up to the sky, and with a mighty grunt, leaped into the air and flew until he disappeared from sight.
Hiroshi's lungs heaved out air, as he found himself back on Earth somehow. He clutched his chest to calm down his beating heart, only to look at his arm and see the Hero Hand on it.
"So it wasn't a dream," he muttered, touching the gauntlet, before hearing two familiar voices yelling.
"HIROSHI!"
He turned to his right and saw Setsuna and Fuka running towards him, their eyes red and tears going down their cheeks. "Fuka, Setsuna-"
Fuka slapped Hiroshi on the cheek before embracing him in a tight hug. "You idiot! I thought you were dead!" she whispered, burying her face against his shoulder. Hiroshi was shocked by her behavior, though he patted her head and hugged her back.
"I'm sorry, Fuka, but I'm here now, and I'm alright," he assured her, when Setsuna came from his right and hugged him as well.
"You crazy dumbass," she sobbed, as he gently patted her head as well. "How could you risk your life like that for me?"
"... Because," Hiroshi said, smiling as he let go of them. "Because... I want to be a hero."
"... Hiroshi, what is that?" Setsuna asked, wiping her tears off and staring at the Hero Hand. Before he could explain, however, heroes and officers began surrounding him.
"Indeed, what is that?" a detective asked, as he approached them. "Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi, we have a few questions to ask you. Namely, what is your connection to that giant?"
"So, let's get this straight," Detective Tsukauchi said, looking at the blue haired teen. They had moved to the police station, which luckily survived the rampage, where Hiroshi told him, Setsuna, and Fuka everything about what happened.
"That monster, Tyrannion, is an alien that came from space, and that giant, Ultraman... Hero, was chasing it to stop it attacking other planets as a member of a Inter Galactic Defense Force, but that when he took Tyrannion's beam attack it disrupted his physical form, and you shoved your friend out of the way to save her from it. That's when Hero took you to his mental dimension, offered you to be his host so he could resurrect you and to become stronger together, and now you two are bonded as one."
"That's correct," Hiroshi said, nodding. "There's still a lot of stuff I don't know that he'll explain to me later, but that's what happened."
"... I'm having a hard time believing any of that," Tsukauchi admitted, rubbing his right temple. "You sound trustworthy, but... aliens? Giants that work as space police? Alternate universes, each with its own Earth? That's... hard to imagine."
"I know, I'm still shocked about all of this, too," Hiroshi admitted, before lifting his arm and looking at the Hero Hand. "But the fact that this is on my arm, means that it all happened. This means that I can actually help people. That I can... That I can finally be someone's hero instead."
Tsukauchi raised an eyebrow at this statement, while Setsuna and Fuka looked at each other with concern, though they couldn't help but give a tiny smile when they saw how happy Hiroshi was for once.
"What do you mean by that?" Tsukauchi asked, as Hiroshi began to swift uncomfortably in his chair.
"Oh, um... I'm... actually Quirkless," Hiroshi said, almost as if he was ashamed. "I mean, I know that ordinarily, I wouldn't be able to become a hero, so I gave up on that a long time ago. But with this, with Hero, I think I can finally become one myself!"
"Well, even if I'm to believe that this Hero is a member of a Inter Galactic Defense Force, that still doesn't mean that you get to be a hero here," Tsukauchi said, as the realization of what happened only now became apparent to Hiroshi. "I take it that you realized right now that you committed vigilantism?"
"But there was a giant monster!" Hiroshi shouted, standing up from his chair. "And it was shrugging off everything that Mt. Lady was throwing at it! Hero needed my help to take Tyrannion down, what am I supposed to say!?"
"He's right!" Fuka defended, standing right by her brother. "I understand that we have laws and regulations, but I think a giant space lizard qualifies as something that goes beyond that!"
"As a hero-in-training, normally I'd side with the law, but there's no way the law can be applied in this case!" Setsuna added, wrapping her left arm around Hiroshi.
Tsukauchi pinched the brow of his head, taking a deep breath. While it was true that Mt. Lady was having difficulty fighting Tyrannion, and that there weren't any other heroes nearby with a size-changing Quirk to respond, the matter of the fact was that Hiroshi participated in vigilantism, Quirk or no Quirk.
"Listen, I understand how you feel, but we still have procedures to follow, and-" Tsukauchi began to say, when the door opened. They all turned to look at who was coming in. The first was a long black-haired man with stubble and bags under his eyes. He was dressed in all black with a scarf and goggles around his neck. Following him was a tall muscular man with white hair who wore red spandex with white gauntlets, boots, and belt, with an orange mask covering his eyes. On his shoulders was a white creature that vaguely resembled a mouse, bear, and dog all at once, who was dressed professional, save for the bright orange sneakers on his feet.
"Principal Nezu!? Mr. Vlad King!?" Setsuna said, recognizing her school's principal and her homeroom teacher. "And... a hobo?"
"I'm Eraserhead, Class 1A's homeroom teacher," the long haired man said, flatly. Vlad King chuckled at his student, while the principal leaped off his shoulder.
"He's the principal?" Hiroshi said. It wasn't like he hadn't seen him before, he watched the third years' UA Sports Festival, where he always served as the chief umpire. He just didn't expect him to be... so small in person.
"Why yes, I am!" Principal Nezu said, laughing as he walked over to Hiroshi. "I saw the news and the chief of police had contacted me about this, and I wanted to come see the boy responsible for saving the city with a power unlike any ever seen!"
"You are aware that what he did was severely illegal, right?" Tsukauchi said, raising an eyebrow. "Even if he did take out that monster."
"That's exactly why I am here!" the principal replied, laughing. "I heard quite a bit of your conversation before coming in, so I understand the situation. Pray tell, what is that exactly on your right arm?"
"This?" Hiroshi said, pointing to the Hero Hand. "It's called the Hero Hand. It's the symbol of the bond formed between me and Hero. It's basically what let's me turn into him."
"May I take a closer look?" Principal Nezu said. Hiroshi obliged, and lowered himself to let the principal examine the Hero Hand closer. He ran his furry little paws over the gauntlet, staring at the stylized H on it.
"Extraordinary." Principal Nezu let his arm go, and Hiroshi stood back up. "Is there any way that we can talk to Mr. Hero directly?"
"I don't know," Hiroshi shrugged as he looked at the Hero Hand. "I haven't really figured out too much of these powers, and he's-"
"There is."
"Oh thank goodness," Hiroshi said, to everyone's confusion. "Talk away."
"Hiroshi who are you talking to?" Setsuna said, raising an eyebrow.
"What? You can't hear him?" Hiroshi spun around to face her. "But he just said-"
Hiroshi's eyes rolled back and closed, as he fell onto the chair behind him, slumped over. Before anyone could rush to check if he was okay, he shot back upright and slicked his bangs back. He opened his eyes, and the gray in them had been replaced with a brilliant, unearthly green. "Hi," he said, his voice reverbing as if there were two people speaking at once. "I am Ultraman Hero. Sorry I didn't speak earlier, I was recuperating from the fight."
"What did you do to my brother!?" Fuka grabbed the possessed boy by the collar, shaking him. Setsuna pulled her away to let Hero/Hiroshi speak, who patted out the wrinkles in his uniform.
"Don't worry about him," Hero/Hiroshi assured her, as he sat back onto the chair and crossed his legs. "He's still here; in fact, he needed to do some recuperation of his own, but he's able to hear what's going on right now."
"Fascinating!" Principal Nezu beamed, as Hero/Hiroshi turned his gaze onto the furry little creature. "So I assume that if you are here, that must mean that what Mr. Furinji talked about is true, then?"
"Yes," he replied. yawning a bit. "I am a rookie member of the Inter Galactic Defense Force, and fighting Tyrannion was my first solo mission."
"So if that's the case, I assume that the whole bit about aliens and alternate Earths is true?" Tsukauchi said, looking back at his notes. He admitted, his Lie Detector Quirk did indicate that Hiroshi was telling the truth, but at the same time, it rarely worked if the person he's talking to truly believes in what they're saying. But seeing this happen before his eyes, it was becoming more plausible that he was telling the truth.
"Indeed. In fact, since this Earth's unlike any I've ever personally heard about, I think there are a few aliens who are passing themselves off as a human with powers. And it's most likely that there will be more aliens like Tyrannion coming, since all Earths seem to have this sort of... attraction to them."
"Does that mean that the other Earths don't have Quirks?" Setsuna asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, I was taught that the humans of Earth have special qualities, but those are usually more like, virtues, and spirit. Not growing giant like my kind. In fact, do all people on this Earth have completely different Quirks from one another?"
"In a way," Eraserhead interjected. "There are categories and some Quirks can be identical, but on a level, each Quirk is unique to the individual."
"Incredible, humans here are something else." Hero/Hiroshi was completely blown away by how different this Earth was from what he had learned, it certainly intrigued to no end. Though something did pop up in his mind. "But I recall during your conversation that Hiroshi said that he was Quirkless? Does that mean he has no unique powers?"
"Exactly," Fuka said, biting her lip. "There's a portion of the population that don't have Quirks, and I guess are exactly like the humans you're more familiar with?"
"I see. And he mentioned that he wanted to be a hero? Why can't he?"
"Being a pro hero means putting your life on the line," Tsukauchi stated, looking at Hero/Hiroshi in the eyes. "As a pro hero, they have to deal with situations where criminals are using their Quirks illegally, since Quirk usage can be extremely dangerous in the hands of the untrained. Because he's Quirkless, Hiroshi would most likely be putting his own life in danger rather than saving others' lives."
"Alright. And you need a license after training properly, right? Much like how I had to to become a member of the Inter Galactic Defense Force." The room of humans nodded, wondering why he asked. Hero/Hiroshi crossed his arms, and smiled wide. "I guess the only answer is that me and Hiroshi get enrolled in this hero course!"
"What!?" Fuka fumed, as Setsuna held her back. "You're not going to risk my brother's life in your crazy giant fights!"
"Not to mention that you can't just enroll at a drop of a hat here!" Setsuna agreed, glaring at Hero/Hiroshi.
"Actually, that's precisely why I am here!" the principal laughed, to Fuka's, Setsuna's, and Tsukauchi's astonishment. "You see, when I talked to the chief of police, I also talked to the prime minister himself! And we came to the agreement that, while what he did was vigilante under the law, that it would be a waste to not let him be a hero!"
"Really?" Hero/Hiroshi said, raising an eyebrow. "That seems rather easy."
"Today's monster attack opened our eyes," Principal Nezu said, his tone having taken on a grimmer tone. "That there is a world that's beyond our knowledge, and that we are simply not nearly as prepared as we thought we were. This is why I came with the proposition; you'll be allowed to fight any giant threats that comes our way on this planet, as long as you and Mr. Furinji worked together to get your hero licenses, as your membership to the Inter Galactic Defense Force is not recognized by any government! And that's why Vlad King and Eraserhead came with me, as we want to suggest which class you should be in!"
"Now hold on a minute!" Fuka pulled herself free from Setsuna's grip, and glared at the small principal. "You can't be serious! I know what happened is something no one's ever seen, but you can't really propose something like this! It's... it's reckless! Detective, you agree, right!?"
Tsukauchi's hand rested on his chin, as he thought deeply about this. "This is highly unconventional, and it could be seen as a spit to the face by some-"
"See!?"
"- but considering the abnormal circumstances, it's probably a good idea if your brother went into a hero course with Hero."
"What!?"
"I... think I agree with it." Fuka whipped around, her mouth in shock from hearing Setsuna's words. "It'd be better if Hiroshi and Hero do this the legal way, even if it's seems... a bit unfair."
"Have you all lost your minds!?" Fuka shouted, her voice reverbing throughout the room. "My brother's Quirkless! He can't fight villains or criminals, let alone giant monsters and aliens! I've always protected him ever since we were little, and I-"
"You seem like a good kid," Hero/Hiroshi said, grinning a bit, though his face fall to a slight frown. "But did you ever really asked or respected what Hiroshi wanted?"
Fuka was taken aback by the question, as well as Setsuna. Fuka opened her mouth, but then she remembered this afternoon's spat-
"Fuka, I appreciate that you care, but I'm fine."
"I'm not exactly helpless."
"Just because I'm Quirkless doesn't mean I'm helpless-"
And that was just from that day. There had been many more like it. Many arguments where she made herself his guardian when he didn't want that, dismissals of how he's been taking self defense and martial arts classes to protect himself, and much more. She closed her mouth, as she began to feel ashamed of never truly listening to her brother.
"I'm handing over control back to Hiroshi," Hero/Hiroshi sighed, closing his eyes. "You know what my answer is for this proposal, but I want to let Hiroshi speak for himself. Sorry about taking control like that, Hiroshi, I promise you that I'll give a better heads up next time."
Hero/Hiroshi slumped over slightly, before sitting back up, his bangs returning to their place. He rubbed his eyes, and the brilliant green had turned into gray.
"Welcome back, Mr. Furinji," Principal Nezu said, completely unfazed by the change. "Mr. Hero said that you were able to listen to the conversation, so I take it that I don't need to repeat it?"
"Yea, I heard everything." Hiroshi's hands tightened in his lap, trembling as he recalled what was said. "So I really can enter the hero course?"
"Indeed!" Principal Nezu said, sticking his hand out to shake. "Of course we'll need to handle the paperwork to transfer you to UA, so it'll take some time, but we'll get you in before the end of the week!"
"You don't have to do this," Fuka said gently, though Hiroshi didn't turn to look at her.
"... All my life, I was constantly told how I couldn't be a hero or anything else because of my Quirklessness," he whispered, as Fuka felt a sharp tinge of guilt spear her heart. "That I'd need to be protected, when the truth is, I want to be someone else's protector. And with my bond with Hero, I can finally do it."
Hiroshi clenched his fist, and looked at Principal Nezu, his eyes determined. "I accept. But on a couple of conditions."
"Conditions? Kid, you're already being offered a unique chance, I don't think-" Vlad King said, though Principal Nezu held his paw up to stop him.
"Name them," he stated, his smile unwavering.
"I want my sister Fuka to join UA with me," Hiroshi stated, as Fuka and Setsuna's eyes widened. "For as long as I can remember, she always stuck by me, even when she had the chance to leave me behind. She even worked and studied hard to move up a grade just to keep an eye out for me. And she passed up a chance to go to UA so she could come with me to a different school. It's not right if I left her behind. So can she come with me?"
"Hm... I do remember seeing Miss Fuka Furinji's test scores," Principal Nezu recalled. "They were quite impressive, though I was shocked to hear that she turned down a chance to go. Alright, consider it done. But we will need her to go through the test for recommended students again, so that we know that she truly is hero material."
"Thank you," Hiroshi said, nodding as he turned to look at Fuka. Her mouth hung opened, caught off guard by what her brother just did. Even after all those arguments, he still had the heart in him to give her a chance at being a hero. "And my only other condition? It's that the hero classes are taught together."
"What?" Vlad King and Eraserhead said, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't mean like, combine them together into one class," Hiroshi clarified, realizing the vagueness. "I mean like, have the hero training exercises done together? The classes themselves can be separate, but the reason why I want that, is that well, if Fuka's coming with me to UA, I want her to be in the class with Setsuna, since she's our friend. And I'm imagining that if we both go, she'd be in one class and I'd be in another to keep the number even since there are 20 students in each one, right? But I also want to be able to train with Setsuna, too. So that's what I want to do."
"Now wait just a minute there," Vlad King said, crossing his arms. "That's a tall order to go with! Combining the hero training exercise classes into one? It's a lot harder than you think, and-"
"I think that's doable," Principal Nezu said, cutting him off. "Plus, it could help foster a sense of comradery if the hero classes trained together. We accept your conditions."
Hiroshi slumped back in his chair, sighing a breath of relief. He didn't know how he managed to do it, but he did. This certainly wasn't the way he expected his first day of school to end. Well, now he can have another first day of school soon enough. He clutched the Hero Hand with his left hand, as Principal Nezu offered his right.
"So we'll be seeing you at UA. Welcome to the Hero Academia, Hiroshi Furinji, Fuka Furinji!" he said cheerfully. Hiroshi didn't hesitate and grab the small creature's paw, and gave it the best shake he could. Fuka did the same, grabbing Principal Nezu's left hand and giving it a shake.
"Boy, Monoma's sure not going to like hearing about that," Setsuna whispered to herself, grinning at the idea that her best friends were going to join her. She looked at Hiroshi, who, for the first time in a long while, was absolutely radiant with joy.
As unconventional as his situation has been, she's finally glad that he has the chance to be what he always wanted; a hero, though to her, he was always one to begin with.
Original AO3 Notes:
- So yea, this is the second crossover idea I had for MHA. While I'm not nearly as big of a fan of Ultraman as I am of Kamen Rider, I still love that franchise, and the idea for this kinda came up a while ago while watching an Ultraman Z episode. This is a sorta pilot/sorta first chapter, since I want to test the waters with this idea first before dedicating more time to it. That's why this is sorta fast-paced, lacks an obvious backstory for the Kamiya siblings, not necessarily a lot of character depth, a lot of exposition, and whatnot. I get it if it's not to everyone's taste, but I'm pretty satisfied with how this came out.
- If I do end up writing this crossover, the idea is that I'm alternating between typing paragraphs for "Building Up A Hero!" and "Ultraman Hero Academia" on the side while I focus mostly on my original works. However, I'm imagining that "Ultraman Hero Academia" will come out faster, since it's an Ultraman OC rather than an actual crossover, so I'll be able to have a little more freedom with the story, unlike "Building Up A Hero!", where I'm trying to blend two different plots together while still having my own unique spin on it.
- I'll admit that I did a loooooot of logic stretching to get it so that the Kamiya siblings can go to UA and also have the classes for hero training be combined, but since this is a fanfic, I kinda hope people would excuse that a bit. That, and I do want to have the Class 1B kids be more involved. It's why in "Building Up A Hero!" some of the Class 1B kids like Pony and Itsuka are becoming prominent.
- If you're wondering why Mt. Lady isn't as tall as Ultraman Hero or Tyrannion, in Ultraman canon most of the Ultramen and kaiju heights are at around 40-50 meters. Mt. Lady in MHA canon only grows up to around 20 meters. So yea, she's giant, but not "Ultraman-giant".
NEW NOTES (2/23/2021):
- Changed Hiroshi's last name from "Kamiya" to "Furinji", because I found out/remembered that Hiroshi Kamiya is an actual voice actor 'cuz I was looking through TVTropes and came across his name on the MHA page. And it just didn't feel right keeping it.
- Since I'm picking this up this story alongside "Building Up A Hero!", I went ahead and added some edits to reflect some elements I introduced in the next chapters.