The group of teens were silent in the teacher's breakroom as All Might sat in a chair, opposite to them all. Fuka, Setsuna, Momo, and Kyoka sat on the couch in front of All Might, while Tenya, Izuku, Ochako, and Pony had gotten some chairs to sit in. Only Hiroshi had opted to stand, being behind the couch as All Might had his hands on his knees, trying to figure out what to do or say.
"... I'm very displeased about all of this," he finally said, letting the words escape his mouth. "I had zero intentions of letting anyone else know about this beyond Young Midoriya and a few others, and yet-"
"If you want to blame anyone, blame me," Hiroshi said, quickly to everyone's defense. "I'm the one that got suspicious of Midoriya saying that he thought he was Quirkless until recently, and I was the one that wanted to find out more about it."
"It's not entirely his fault," Setsuna interjected. "I was the one who willingly spied on Midoriya's and Bakugo's conversation, because I was also suspicious, too."
"In fact, the only ones that aren't at fault here are Yaoyoruzu, Jiro, Uraraka, Iida, and Tsunotori," Fuka added, looking at the other students, biting her lips out of guilt. "They just came across us while we were listening in and Setsuna told us what Midoriya had said. So if you need to punish anyone, punish us, not them, please."
"Easy there, I don't intend on punishing any of you," All Might said, to the relief of everyone in the room. Ochako looked at Izuku, who averted his eyes, ashamed of the fact that he had been in fact lying to her and everyone else. "I just... I have no idea how to talk about this at all."
The door then opened, revealing Principal Nezu who came in. "Then why don't we talk to them together, All Might?"
"Principal Nezu? You knew about this?" Hiroshi said, looking at him.
"Yes, along with a few others! I was checking the security cameras and judging from the way everyone was acting, guessed what had happened!" Principal Nezu said, laughing a bit. "So why don't you relax, All Might, so we can tell them everything, since they're this far in now?"
"I... you're right," All Might sighed. A giant cloud of steam burst from All Might, forcing everyone to close their eyes from the sudden wind, and when the cloud disappeared, instead of the heroic Herculean man, a skinny skeleton of a person had taken his place.
"Holy-!" Setsuna shouted, jumping back a bit. Fuka covered her mouth to prevent herself from yelling, though that didn't stop Kyoka from doing so. Tenya and Izuku paled at the sight, Tenya more so out of surprise, and Izuku out of the fact that everyone knew now.
"A skeleton!" Pony yelled, pointing at the skeletal All Might. Momo and Ochako sat there, dumbfounded by the sight. Hiroshi's eyes were wide as he struggled to keep his composure about it.
"That's a surprise," Hero said, echoing Hiroshi's thoughts.
"Yes, this is... this is my true form," All Might admitted, sighing as he pointed to the left side of his body. "Long ago, I had gotten injured fighting a villain so vile, that I've withered away into what you see now. My muscle form is me putting every inch of power I have left into my body to restore it to its previous state, and I can only maintain it for so long, which is one of the reasons I picked up teaching."
"It was my suggestion that he did," Principal Nezu added. "It would help explain why he was doing less hero work, as well as search for a potential successor, though he found Mr. Midoriya before that."
"So why him?" Fuka asked.
"Well, I met Young Midoriya on the day of the Sludge Villain incident-" All Might explained, as Hiroshi took another look at Izuku, and realized something.
"That's right! There was a green-haired kid that ran to try and save a kid from the sludge guy," Hiroshi said. "And I guess that kid was Bakugo, since he was making explosions, right? I do think I remember the news mentioned that you were Quirkless... I don't know why I didn't remember anything about that until now."
"Yea," Izuku said, finally saying something. "It was my fault that happened. All Might had already captured him in some bottles. I grabbed him by the leg when he jumped, and knocked the bottles out of his pockets because I wanted to ask him something..."
"Which was?"
"If I could be a hero... without a Quirk," Izuku said, as if he was ashamed of admitting it. Hiroshi understood that feeling; he was experiencing it a while ago.
"At that point, I had forgotten what being a hero truly meant, and said no, much to my regrets now," All Might explained, shocking Setsuna and Fuka. They remembered he said the same thing to Hiroshi, though in that case it was more of a test than his actual opinion. "But then he rushed to save Young Bakugo, when I and so many other heroes hesitated to do so, me in part because I had used up my time limit that day. He reminded me there and then, that heroes put everything on the line, Quirk or no Quirk."
"I trust that you of all people understand, Mr. Furinji?" Principal Nezu said, looking at the blue-haired teen. Hiroshi nodded, as he looked at Izuku again. It seemed like heroism just ran in the blood of the Quirkless.
"And it was that day, that I entrusted my Quirk to him, the power known as One for All," All Might said. "A power passed down from one user to the next, polishing it, refining it, strengthening it. I was the eighth, and Izuku is the ninth."
"Wait, there were more!?" Kyoka said, her eyes wide.
"Indeed. I'd even say that this is one of the first Quirks to ever exist," he answered.
"I... I can't believe this!" Tenya said, his hands on his temples. "This... this is just so much to learn!"
"Yea, I... certainly didn't expect to learn about any of this," Momo said, taking in a deep breath.
"So you chose Midoriya to inherit your power, huh?" Hiroshi said, looking down at the Hero Hand. "I... I can understand that."
"But why keep this a secret?" Pony asked, looking at All Might.
"It's probably because people who want to take it, right?" Fuka said, hand over her chin. "Think about it, the Quirk of the Number One Hero can be inherited? A lot of people would want that, right?"
"Indeed, One for All can only be known by few, for the power it stockpiles over time will only become greater and greater, and there are many who'd seek to make it their own," All Might confirmed. "Not to mention how the world could be thrown into chaos if it was known that the Number One Hero doesn't have a natural-born Quirk."
"So is that what Monoma meant when he got angry about your Quirk being an accumulation type, Deku?" Ochako asked, looking at him.
"Yea, I guess..." Izuku said, softly. "I still don't know how exactly One for All works, even after working out my body to contain its power. But it's still not enough, since my limbs and fingers just break when I try using it."
Hiroshi crossed his arms in thought as he began to pace a bit in place.
"How did you expect to keep this a secret for so long, though?" Fuka asked, as everyone looked at her. "There are telepathic Quirks, and there are ones that let people spy easily like Setsuna's. Don't you think there are a handful of people who know already?"
"Luckily, I've learned many tricks to prevent those with telepathic Quirks from reading my mind perfectly," All Might said. "Which I have not taught Young Midoriya- dang it, I knew I was forgetting something... And that's in addition to needing to help him with his mumbling habit... Usually I'm more careful talking about One for All, but I guess in my haste, I had neglected to make sure that the courtyard was secure..."
"Regardless, I hope you all understand the necessity of why I and Young Midoriya kept this a secret," he added, looking at them. "You absolutely cannot tell anyone about what you've found out. This is... this is-"
"Yea, no worries," Hiroshi said, catching All Might's attention. "Your secret's safe with me."
"Really?"
"Yea. Are you worried that I'd tell people 'cuz I told everyone about Hero?" Hiroshi asked, pointing to the Hero Hand.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"It's fine, I get the concern. But you don't need to be," Hiroshi said, walking around the couch to face All Might directly. "This is your secret, and Midoriya's. I told everyone about Hero because it was mine to tell. This? It's not. I'm honest, but I can certainly keep secrets."
"Yea!" Setsuna said, jumping up from the couch to join Hiroshi. "You don't need to worry about me either! Us curly green-heads gotta stick together! This is super important top secret stuff too, so we won't let others know, right Fuka?"
"Of course," she replied, joining her brother and best friend. "It's still something that I need to process, but I think I can do it if it means I can help out Midoriya with training his Quirk."
"... While it pains me to be burdened with a secret, all heroes do have their own, and are no less heroic for them, right?" Tenya said, adjusting his glasses. "You can trust me with this information, Midoriya! All Might!"
"Me too!" Pony added, nodding her head up and down.
"I guess I'll have to, too, since you're giving me your trust," Kyoka shrugged. "Certainly didn't expect this today, but hey, a lot of things happened that I didn't expect today."
"It wouldn't be right if I said no, especially knowing the weight of this," Momo said, smiling. "I'll do my part to keep this secret limited."
Hiroshi and the others turned to Ochako, who sat there, quietly. "I'm sorry," she said, "I'm just... I always thought Bakugo was lying, but to hear that it's true in a way... it just, kinda hurts to learn..."
Izuku looked away, realizing that he hurt a friend by keeping the nature of his Quirk a secret. It wasn't like he intended to do so, but it happened, and the guilt began to crush him.
"Don't be upset with Young Midoriya, Young Uraraka," All Might said, getting up to give a reassuring pat on her shoulder. "That burden should be on me for asking him to keep this secret."
"... Right," Ochako said, perking her head up. "I don't blame you for keeping this secret either, All Might. But now that I know, I'll give it my all to support Deku!"
"I've been meaning to ask, why are you calling Midoriya 'Deku'?" Fuka asked, raising an eyebrow. "That's kinda mean, isn't it?"
"It's a nickname Kacchan- I mean, Bakugo gave me when we were kids," Izuku explained.
"I just think it has a 'I can do it' feel, to it, you know?" Ochako said.
"Heh, I guess it does," Hiroshi said, smiling. He walked up to Izuku, and held his right hand out for a fist bump. "Since you're still trying to get the hang of using One for All, we're all gonna help you train with it and brainstorm about it, alright? That way, you can give it your all to be a hero!"
"You're... you're not jealous?" Izuku said, his mouth slightly agape.
"That you got a Quirk when you were Quirkless? No way, I'm actually pretty happy for you! You and I are just two lucky Quirkless guys in the world who inherited great powers, so we gotta help each other out, right?" Hiroshi pointed to everyone behind him. "You got a whole team of friends now ready to help!"
Everyone gave an affirmative nod and smile, as they looked at the two boys. Izuku stared at them all before giving Hiroshi a fullhearted fist bump, tears flowing of his face. "I-I-I'm so sorry, everyone. It's- I- thank you. I was so worried about how you'd all react to this, and I... I just-"
"It's alright," Fuka said, coming over to give Izuku a hug. "I know you said that you had a lot of bullies growing up. That must mean that you really didn't have many friends, huh? Most of the class talking during the hero exercise about Hiroshi probably worried you even more, didn't it? Trust me when I say, that we're all here for you."
Izuku almost collapsed, his sobbing getting the better of him, as Hiroshi gave him a pat on the back, and the others joining in to hug the boy. For the first time, Izuku felt like he belonged somewhere.
All Might smiled at the sight; as unhappy as he was initially, he was glad that things turned out for the better for Izuku and his friends. He no longer had any doubts about Hiroshi- the boy is the one who'll drive Izuku to do his best, and vice versa. Principal Nezu smiled as well, as he looked at the skeletal man.
"Seems like this went off better than you thought it would," the white creature said.
"Yea..." All Might whispered. He wondered if this was what his own time as One for All's bearer would've been like if he had let more friends into his secret. He never thought about it until now, but he realized how lonely he really was keeping the secret with so few people who knew. "I can't wait to see what kind of heroes they'll turn into."
"Alright, first things first," Hiroshi said, as everyone broke off from the hug and Izuku finished sobbing. "We need to figure out how to teach you not to break your bones."
The next day, Izuku met up with Hiroshi and the others at the train station before walking to UA, having waited for him to talk and walk with him relatively early.
"So what do you think today will go?" Ochako asked, as they walked down the sidewalk.
"Hopefully with less explosions," Hiroshi said, making Setsuna chortle. "I'm sure it'll be a more average day, since it's All Might's day off, you know?"
"Speaking of, we're all still, you know?" Pony asked, indicating the conversation they had last night about helping train Izuku at All Might's personal gym later today.
"Of course! It would be rude to suddenly change plans without reason!" Tenya replied, with everyone nodding.
"Just remember to keep talk about everything on the downlow," Fuka said, as they approached the front gate. "We gotta practice secrecy in public, got it? And All Might's yet to try and teach us those mental tricks."
"Um, that might be hard to do now," Kyoka said, pointing to a large crowd of reporters standing at the school's front gate. "Why're they here?"
One of the reporters turned her head, and spotted the nine teens walking towards them. "You! You're wearing the UA uniforms! Curly Green! What's it like having All Might as a teacher!?" she asked, shoving a mic into Izuku's face.
"Um, uh, well, er, I-"
"Too stuttery! You! Roundface! What's it like having All Might as a teacher! What does he look like in front of your class!?" the reporter said, swiveling to Ochako.
"Er... he's muscly? Yea, real muscly and tall! That's how he looks like in front of us!" Ochako replied, pretending to flex her muscles like All Might.
"Not good enough! Glasses! Tell us how 'All Might, Hero Teacher'!" she pointed her mic to Tenya.
"Being in the presence of such a great hero is a reminder that I am extremely privileged to learn at this exceptional establishment for future heroes. He exudes an incredibly dignified aura while still having a rather humorous side to him as he teaches us the ways of heroism. Being taught by him is an honor, as we can learn how the Number One Hero acts and thinks while he's-" Tenya said while he adjusted his glasses.
"Too longwinded! Long Earlobes! Is All Might up to the task of teaching you all!?" the reporter said, interrupting Tenya, his jaw clenched in annoyance that he wasn't allowed to finish speaking.
"He's certainly got a... flare to how he does it," Kyoka said, shrugging.
"Too short! Horns! How do you feel about having All Might as a teacher!?"
"He's super cool! I love learning from him! He's like, 'vee-shaoh'! 'Wapah'! 'Ba-bang'!" Pony said, invoking her best impression of Manga's onomatopoeia while making action moves with her hands like Tenya.
"Too quirky! Ponytail! Do you think All Might's really teacher material!?"
"While this is his first year teaching, I do think he's giving it his all so that we can learn how to be the best heroes we can be," Momo said, dignified. "He's certainly learning alongside us as much as he teaches us."
"Hm... better, but a bit too dignified, and we need more answers! Sharp Teeth, is All Might everything you expected to be!?" the reporter said, turning towards Setsuna. Momo raised an eyebrow at what the reporter by that.
"Well, I guess I'd have to say that I'm-" Setsuna plucked her head up a bit off her neck "- losing my head over how great he is!"
"Oh! Do not like that! Bluey! Do you think the other teachers are happy with All Might being around!?" The reporter jumped back a bit and decided to shove her mic into Fuka's face.
"Why would I know, I'm just a student, I hadn't asked them about their feelings," Fuka replied, her brow furrowed.
"Fair enough! Gauntlet Guy! Do you think you Hero Course kids have it lucky that All Might's teaching you!?" she said, finally pointing her mic to Hiroshi.
"What makes you so sure I'm a Hero Course kid? There's no difference in uniforms for the Hero Course and General Studies, you know," Hiroshi answered.
"Oh, um, I'm sorry, I thought-"
"Nah I'm pulling your leg, I am a Hero Course kid," Hiroshi grinned, flustering the reporter as they pushed through the crowd of reporters. She shook it off, as she went on the prowl for more students, spotting Katsuki walking. "Guess we know what they're here for."
"You'd think that a student with an alien possessing him would be bigger news," Kyoka said, looking at him.
"It's not like I went to any news outlets about Hero yet, it's only really UA, the government, some police, and a few heroes. In fact one of the reasons why All Might wasn't teaching here earlier was to help train me to figure out how much to hold back Hero's strength and to make sure I really was ready to transfer here," Hiroshi admitted.
"He did tell me that he was involved with something concerning Hero when I called him a while ago," Izuku said, realizing that that was what All Might meant by being busy.
"Yea, so sorry if that feels like I was getting special treatment again. Principal Nezu asked him to do it since he's pretty much the closest to Hero's strength."
"It's alright, it's understandable why he'd be asked to do that," Momo said, when they heard sirens go off and loud clanking. They turned around, and saw Aizawa walking away from the gate, which had been shut closed for some reason.
"What's up with the gate?" Pony asked, eyeing the big closed gate.
"It's a system that locks out anyone without a school ID or a visitor's pass," Aizawa explained, dryly. "Now get to your classrooms, you're wasting time standing here."
"Yes sir!" Tenya said, as everyone went into the school building.
The nine teens managed to make it to their classrooms before their teachers in time, with Setsuna, Fuka, and Pony saying bye to their 1A friends. Neito had objected to the three calling any 1A student a friend, before getting swiftly knocked out by a chop to the neck by Itsuka. The students in class watched as Hiroshi, Izuku, Ochako, Tenya, Momo, and Kyoka walked in, chatting with each other about various things like the news crews outside.
"Wow, I wouldn't expect you guys to form a friend group," Tsuyu said, as each of them got settled in their desks. "All of you seem so different from one other."
"Well Yaoyoruzu and Jiro were on my team yesterday, so we kinda hit it off, and when you nearly die in an explosion, you want to get to know each other better, right?" Hiroshi explained. "And I became friends with Midoriya, Uraraka, and Iida during lunch, so we just kinda fused the groups together, you know? And that's including Setsuna and Fuka, too. Tsunotori joined it too 'cuz she was on Midoriya's and Uraraka's team and she hit it off pretty well with them."
"Stop trying to capture the hearts of all the girls-" Minoru shouted, being interrupted by Tsuyu slapping him hard with her tongue. The door opened again, and they immediately assumed their seats as their homeroom teacher walked in, a stack of papers in his hand.
"Good work yesterday. I went over your grades, evaluations, and the recorded footage All Might gave me," Aizawa said, dropping the papers onto his desk. "I'll go over the ones that I feel need the most attention."
"Bakugo, drop the attitude and grow up," he said to Katsuki bluntly. "And learn some restraint. While villains would resort to lethal attacks, heroes shouldn't unless absolutely necessary." Aizawa turned to Hiroshi.
"Furinji, good job. You made full use of your teammates' abilities and your own intuition to help win your exercise," Aizawa complimented flatly. "And while I'll forgive you for using Hero to protect your teammates from Bakugo's blast, I will not tolerate it if you do it without permission again. I need to see firsthand that you two can actually hold back using that scale limiter Hero made. And learn how to monologue less, or at least quicker."
"Of course, sir," Hiroshi said, nodding.
"Todoroki, you're talented, but every hero needs to learn to cooperate with others. That was the entire point of the exercise," Aizawa said. Shoto only scoffed lightly, before turning his gaze away from the front.
"Midoriya, good progress on making sure you don't break your bones," he finished. "But you can do better. Keep at it. Especially so that you can go into situations without accidentally setting off bombs."
Izuku nodded, turning red after being reminded of Fuka's own scolding yesterday. "And now that that's settled, there's one more important thing to discuss."
Everyone began murmuring about what this important thing to discuss is, considering the direness that their teacher had said it with.
"You all have to pick a class representative," he said, which caused the classroom to break into yelling.
"Pick me! I'll be the manliest class rep there is!" Eijiro said, his fists in the air.
"It's a position certainly made for someone as elegant as moi," Yuga stated, giving a wink that sparkled.
"I'll make all the girls wear shorter skirts! Shorter shirts! Shorter everything!" Minoru screamed, though everyone ignored him.
"I'll give it a shot," Kyoka said, putting her hand up less energetically than the others.
"I'LL DO IT! I'M THE BEST ONE FOR IT!" Katsuki yelled, grinding his teeth with his hand in the air.
"Class representative?" Hero asked in Hiroshi's head.
"It's a position where we choose one of our classmates to be in charge of class affairs," Hiroshi explained, slightly raising his hand. "In normal schools and General Studies, it's basically mundane tasks, but for Hero Course students, it means that you're gonna be in charge of other prospective heroes. Which anyone who wants to be a top hero would want, you know?"
"I see," Hero muttered. "We sorta had that with rookie squad leaders, so I get it! Let's go for it, Hiroshi!"
"Settle down everyone!" Tenya shouted, getting everyone's attention. "Leading many is a heavy responsibility! Ambition doesn't equate to ability! If we want to choose the best one suited for the position, we must do the most reasonable thing, and put it to a vote!"
Tenya's hand was the highest out of everyone.
"You're the one who wants it the most, don't you!?" Denki said, pointing accusingly at the bespectacled boy.
"I guess it makes sense, we've all had time to get to know each other a bit more, huh?" Tsuyu ribbited, her finger on her chin in thought. "Though I'm pretty sure most of us will just end up voting for ourselves in the end."
"I'm fine with that," Hiroshi said, shrugging. "I might be at a disadvantage with the fact that I just got here, but I think voting is fair enough."
"Thank you, Furinji!" Tenya said. "I promise you, the one with the most votes will be the one most trusted to do so!"
To Hiroshi's surprise, he had gotten five votes. The most out of anyone in the class. Momo followed closely in with two, and as predicted, most of the students had voted for themselves. Only Ochako, Tenya, Kyoka, Mina, and Shoto had no votes.
"Zero votes... I anticipated that outcome, but to see it for myself...!" Tenya lamented, his head hanging low.
"Congrats Hiroshi, you got the trust of a lot of people," Hero said, congratulating his host.
"Really? But I just got here," Hiroshi said, looking at his classmates. "Was certain it would've been like, Yaoyoruzu..."
"Yea! Why do you get to be the class rep!? THIS IS BULLSHIT!" Katsuki screamed, slamming his hands onto his desk. "I DEMAND A RECOUNT!"
"ME TOO! I WAS ROBBED OF MY CHANCE!" Minoru cried, though he was slapped by Tsuyu's tongue to quiet him down.
"I got two?" Momo said, looking at the board.
"Wait, you mean you didn't vote for yourself?" Mina said. "I guess I know who also voted for my choice now."
Ochako looked at the board, certain that she was Izuku's only vote. She turned to him, and realized who he had probably voted for. Hiroshi and Momo walked to the front to address their classmates.
"Well, I'm flattered that so many of you decided to trust me as class rep, despite only being here for a day," Hiroshi said, rubbing the back of his head with his right hand. "I'll be sure to be a great one. My first order as class rep, though. Mr. Aizawa-" Hiroshi turned to their homeroom teacher, who had gotten into his sleeping bag while they voted, "- is it alright if I like, have a sort of 'mini student council'?"
"Sure, whatever. You really like breaking convention, don't you?" Aizawa said, falling backwards and laying down again.
"Alright!" Hiroshi said, clapping his hands together. "In that case, I'd like Iida, Midoriya, Uraraka, and Kyoka to join me and Yaoyoruzu as that mini student council!"
"R-r-really!?" Tenya said, staring at the blue-haired boy.
"Yep! I think we can get a lot done if we work together, right?" Hiroshi replied, smiling. The other five realized the hidden meaning behind his words.
"I won't let you down!" Tenya cried, tearing up and saluting Hiroshi.
"Me neither!" Ochako followed.
"Same," Kyoka added. Midoriya nodded furiously, slightly dumbfounded at Hiroshi's plan.
"No fair! That's favoritism!" Minoru shouted. "I DEMAND A VOTE TO DECIDE THAT MINI STUDENT COUNCIL!"
"Overruled," Hiroshi deadpanned. "Sorry."
"Can I be a part of it? I voted for you, you know!" Mina said, giving Hiroshi fluttery eyes.
"Sorry, but it's already like, a third of the class, and I think that would be a bit much, you know?" Hiroshi apologized, as Mina looked downcast, disappointed that she wasn't awarded. "But, if it makes you feel better, you can always help out with some small things we need handled, okay?"
"Yea!" Mina said, immediately perking up.
"You know, thinking on it now, Furinji would make for a pretty neat class rep!" Eijiro said, crossing his arms. "How many classes can say that an alien their rep?"
"We definitely have a unique one," Tsuyu stated, nodding her approval.
"He's got guts, I mean, he did jump onto Yaoyoruzu and Kodai during that exercise to protect them," Rikido added, as the others began to murmur their agreements. Hiroshi smiled. Who knew getting blown up would be the thing that got everyone to trust him?
"Congrats again on winning the vote, Furinji!" Ochako said, as they ate their lunch.
"I'm surprised that I got so many votes, even though I've been here for just one day," Hiroshi admitted, as he ate his curry. "Seriously, thanks you guys."
"I'm glad that my vote was put into a person worthy of the position," Tenya said, his juice in hand. "Your composure and quick thinking is definitely that of a hero."
"I as well," Momo agreed. "Even though you weren't named MVP of yesterday's exercise because you didn't take initiative, it was thanks to you that we managed to beat Bakugo's team. Not to mention that you did try to take most of that blast for me."
"That's pretty much why I voted for you, actually?" Hiroshi said, scratching his head. "You're real smart, Yaoyoruzu, so I thought you were a shoo-in for class rep."
"So that's one vote accounted for," she muttered to herself. "Than who's the second one..."
"Maybe it's Todoroki?" Kyoka suggested. "He did have no votes to himself after all, and I don't know if he'd vote for you, Furinji."
"I take it that you're one of my votes too?"
"Well duh, of course!" she said, lightly punching him in the arm. "You definitely deserve it for taking that blast like a hero."
"So that's four that I know... so would that make you the fifth, Uraraka?"
"Actually, I voted for Deku," she admitted. "It's... sorta the same reasons why Yaoyoruzu voted for you, since he saved me and all during the Entrance Exam, and he did get us the win for our exercise."
"Huh, so I guess that means that the fifth vote's you, Midoriya," Hiroshi said, looking at him.
"Y-y-yea," Izuku answered. "I-I-I really don't think I'm quite ready for a position of leadership like that, especially with my lack of control over my Quirk, but the way you're so confident... that's really hero material, you know? Make no mistake, though, I'm still going to aim to be the Number One Hero! And you'll have to beat me to get it!"
"Wouldn't have it any other way," Hiroshi smiled. "And thanks!"
"Heeeey, there's my favorite crew!" Setsuna said, as she, Fuka, and Pony made their way to their table. "Let me guess, you guys chose your class rep, too?"
"Yep, I got it by five votes. Yaoyoruzu's the vice rep, but I managed to get our homeroom teacher to agree to let me make a 'mini student council' with Iida, Uraraka, Midoriya, and Jiro," Hiroshi explained. "We'd get a lot done if we worked together, right?"
"Oh, that's smart! We decided by Rock Paper Scissors, and Fuka won the whole thing. I got second," Setsuna said, as the three immediately understood his words.
"I wish I did better than sixth," Pony lamented. "My siblings and friends are gonna make fun of me for losing when I'm the Rock Paper Scissors champion."
"Well, besides class representatives and all that, I've been wondering, Iida," Fuka said, looking at him. "Your armor looks like Ingenium's, and he also has a speed-based Quirk. Is he your idol, or-"
"He is! In fact, he is my own older brother!" Tenya said proudly, adjusting his glasses. "I admire the respect he has for rules and regulations, as well as his willingness to work with others!"
"Yea, doesn't he employ like, over 60 sidekicks at his office? I imagine that you'd have to be good with working with others if you got that many sidekicks," Setsuna said.
"It's 65," Izuku said, as the others stared at him. "Sorry, I... keep up with a lot of hero news and trivia."
"Nah, that's impressive that you know," Hiroshi said, grinning. "So I guess being a hero runs in the family, huh, Iida. Sorta like ours."
"Wait, that's right! You mentioned that Fuka got her costume ready within a short amount of time 'cuz of your connections and older siblings! Does that mean that you guys are-" Izuku said, remembering what Hiroshi had said before they had gotten to the locker rooms yesterday.
"Yea, our older siblings are pro heroes, too. UA alumni, in fact," Fuka replied. "They're the wind pro heroes Green Wind Hayate and Hurrikana. And our parents co-own Furin-Kazan Corporation, a hero support company."
"No way! That company makes some of the best hero equipment there is!" Izuku said. "Even UA works with them to make hero equipment for students!"
"And I've heard about Green Wind Hayate and Hurrikana!" Kyoka said, her eyes wide. "They're popular twin heroes that are known for taking on villains and criminals 'in a flash of wind'! So they're your older siblings?"
"Yea, I didn't talk about them that much 'cuz I didn't want you guys to think I really did get in on a handout," Hiroshi admitted, scratching his head. "Honestly, Hayate and Kana both were against me being Hero's host and demanded he'd get out and all. I assume you know what happened though."
"I don't blame you," Momo said, frowning slightly as she recalled their exercise. "The way that Bakugo brought them up during our exercise was certainly uncalled for."
"Wait, how did Bakugo learn that?" Fuka asked.
"He said something about how he 'asked one of those Class 1B losers' about Fuka and me, and apparently they told him about what she said during her introduction or something," Hiroshi said, shrugging.
"I bet it was Tsuburaba," Fuka muttered, before Pony turned bright red.
"Actually, it was me," she said. "He was just so mean and scary about it and I wanted him to go away. Sorry..."
"Nah, don't be," Hiroshi told her. "Everyone in 1A would've learned about our family's affluence eventually."
"So I guess that means you're super rich!" Ochako said, laughing a bit. "That's three rich kids in our class. Though you don't really talk like you're rich."
"Our parents are big on humanitarian projects, charity, and saving money, so we live comfortably, and we went to public school with Setsuna," Fuka said. "Though our house is probably the biggest in our neighborhood. Not that we haven't been able to go to fancy parties-"
All of a sudden, an alarm began blaring in the cafeteria, making everyone jumped, Ochako choking on her rice.
"Security Level 3 has been broken. All students please evacuate in an orderly and calm fashion," a robotic voice said over an intercom. Students in all courses got up in concern, third years especially, as they began running towards the exit.
"Security Level 3? What's that?" Tenya asked, looking at the retreating students.
"It means someone's gotten past the gate! That's never happened in my 3 years here! You should book it!" a passing-by third year shouted, as the crowd of retreating students got bigger and bigger before it became a sea of students trying to escape, shoving each other as they tried to get out.
"Gah! What part of this is orderly!?" Hiroshi yelled, when Setsuna lifted him into the air by his arms, her lower half still on the ground, having only enough space to get her upper torso up.
"Ow, ow, ow!" she said, as people kept running into her legs and stepping on her feet. "These guys really should read a dictionary! Ow! My toes! O-oh! Oh! Someone's touching my ass! That is a whole hand on my ass! It better not be you, Tsuburaba! Or you, Mineta!"
"Fuka! Midoriya! Uraraka! Everyone!" Hiroshi screamed, looking for his friends. He saw that in the panic of the crowd, they were all separated, being shoved and pushed around in uncomfortable ways.
"Iida!" Hiroshi spotted the bespectacled boy pushed against a window, with Ochako being a few feet away from him. Setsuna flew over to them, and Hiroshi tried to help pull the boy out of the way. "You alright!?"
"The infiltrators-! It's just the press!" Tenya shouted to them. "We have to tell everyone somehow!"
"We'd have to do something that'd leave an impact to get everyone's attention!" Hiroshi said, trying to rack his head for any ideas.
"I have one! Uraraka!" Tenya yelled, reaching out to their classmate's hand. "Touch my hand and use your Quirk!"
"R-r-right!" she moaned, struggling to reach to Tenya. Their fingertips touched, which was enough to make the boy lighter. He managed to pulled himself above other students, as Hiroshi and Setsuna moved towards him.
"Furinji! Tokage! Give me a boost!" Tenya commanded, as the two positioned themselves behind him. He put his feet into Hiroshi's hand and pulled his pants up to reveal his calves, giving the blue-haired boy an idea of what he was going for.
"Alright, go for it, Iida!" Hiroshi shouted, pushing the boy as hard as he could. In midair, Tenya activated his Quirk, sending him spinning until he slammed above the entrance, his position resembling that of the figure in exit signs. He grabbed a pipe near his head, and shouted.
"Everyone remain calm! Everything's fine! It's just the press that got in! We're all UA students, aren't we!? We need to behave in a more dignified, shouldn't we!?"
As the crowd of students calmed down, Hiroshi took a breath of relief. That could've gone a lot worse if there really were a situation that demanded-
"Everyone remain inside. A giant monster has been spotted downtown. Remain calm."
"What!?"
"Now we have to stay inside!?"
"I don't want a monster to crash into us!"
"Shit!" Hiroshi growled, realizing that things have definitely gotten worse, as the panic began to resume. "Setsuna! We gotta-"
"I know! I'd take you to the entrance, but that's jampacked right now! There's no way we can get through!" she said, as the crowd began to move to and fro, not knowing where to go for this. Hiroshi looked around, trying to think of how he could get out of the cafeteria, when he noticed Juzo next to a window, pressed against it much like Tenya was minutes earlier.
"I got an idea! Honenuki!" Hiroshi shouted, as the boy turned his head around as much as space could let him. "Soften that window! I need to get through!"
"Alright, I understand!" Juzo said, following Hiroshi's order, as he touched the window and activated his Quirk.
"Setsuna, throw me through that window!"
"Alright, if you insist!"
With a mighty yell, Setsuna threw the boy as hard as she could into the window. Hiroshi closed his eyes as he moved through the soft window, though the impact made it splatter all over the ground and out of the windowsill. He rolled until he landed on his knees and stood up.
"Hold your hand and call out-!" Hero shouted in Hiroshi's head, as he reared his right arm back, before throwing it into the air above him.
"HEROOOOO!"
Meanwhile, minutes earlier...
"They're technically trespassing, so we can blast them away, right?" Present Mic asked, looking at his friend and colleague Eraserhead to his left.
"That'll just prompt them to write a bad article, just wait for the police to arrive," he mumbled back.
"We won't leave until we get a story about All Might as a teacher!" the reporter from earlier screamed, when they all heard a loud cacophonous crash miles away. They all turned around, Present Mic and Eraserhead not needing to peek above their heads to see the giant alien monster landing downtown. Mt. Lady was on the scene already, but like before, she was much shorter than it.
"Everyone remain inside. A giant monster has been spotted downtown. Remain calm," a voice on the intercom said, as the news crew began to panic.
"Damn, things just got bad to worse, didn't they?" Present Mic gulped. That's when they heard a strange slopping sound to their left. The two teachers and news crew turned to look at what it was. It was a student who had jumped out of the cafeteria, with odd clear liquid surrounding him. The news crew couldn't see who it was, but it was very clearly Hiroshi Furinji based on the situation. He must've used Juzo to soften the window to get through.
"Gah! It's that maniac!" Present Mic cried, as Eraserhead sighed in exasperation. "Don't ruin UA property like that!"
"HEROOOOO!" Hiroshi shouted, not hearing Present Mic's indignations. A sphere of light surrounded him, before flying into the sky towards the giant alien monster, before Hero's form manifested around it.
"Holy shit, forget All Might! That red giant's a student in UA!?" the reporter shouted, turning back to the two teachers, who moaned as they realized how Hiroshi's and Hero's stunt just reinvigorated the news crews.
"You're gonna have to give that Furinji kid a stern scolding about this!" Present Mic grumbled.
"Honestly, with everything that's been happening, I don't know if I could do one that I'd even understand," Eraserhead grumbled back. "All of this is so irrational..."
"Another big guy, huh!? Well, I'm the only one here right now, so it's my time to shine!" Mt. Lady said, pointing at the giant monster. It was a bipedal birdlike creature covered in dark green feathers, with a large pointed curved beak with rhino horn-like protrusions running along the top, a lizard-like tail with spikes, and two arms with four sharp talons on its hands that matched the ones on its feet. It screeched, as it ignored Mt. Lady and started rampaging across downtown, taking down several buildings as it went. Thankfully the buildings had been evacuated, and heroes were working as fast and hard as they could to minimize the damage and save civilians.
"Hey! Don't ignore me!" Mt. Lady shouted, as she started to run to give the monster a flying kick. "Take this! Canyon Can-!"
All of a sudden, in front of her the red giant appeared once more. Her foot collided with its back, pushing it forward.
"SHEEEARGH!" the red giant yelled, rubbing its attacked back.
"You again!?" Mt. Lady said, as the red giant refocused its gaze on the giant monster. "This is my fight! Get your own!"
The red giant shook its head, before charging the giant monster, picking up and flying as far as it could out of the city.
"HEY! COME BACK HERE!" the indignant giantess hero said, waving her fist in the air.
"So what's this alien!?" Hiroshi said, as he used his light construct of Hero's mask to look at the giant alien. They threw it onto the ground as it screeched in pain from the landing.
"It's called Bekarus, and it's an alien species that moves planet to planet to lay its eggs underground," Hero's echoed in the mental dimension, as they dodged a claw swipe.
"That doesn't sound so bad."
"They lay eggs that are the size of a small human house, lay about ten at a time, and when they hatch they eat everything they can on the surface. Plants, animals, even mountains."
"Okay that's bad."
"They're a civilization-threatening pest. But it's... odd though, this Bekarus is green," Hero said, puzzled.
"Does that matter?"
"It does. A completely green Bekarus means that it's still young, and they don't start moving planet to planet until their face feathers turn blue and grow wings when they're young adults. Not to mention they hate planets with a significant amount of water, since they prefer dry and arid planets, and the presence of water softens their eggshells. So it shouldn't even have picked Earth as a nesting place."
"We can figure out why it's here later, right now, we need to take it out!"
"Of course, let's do it, Hiroshi!"
"That kid's the red giant!?" a student yelled. The crowd had stopped struggling and panicking to escape as they saw Hiroshi disappear in a sphere of light and Hero's body forming around it. The crowd mostly dispersed mainly for the students to try and find the best vintage points to watch Hero and the giant monster fight (some of them climbing out of the window he broke through to do so). Fuka, Setsuna, and the others gathered together and managed to find a way to the roof, which was surprisingly not crowded.
"Look at Hero and Hiroshi go!" Pony shouted, pointing as their friend lifted the monster and toss it out of the city limits, landing a few miles away from UA. "Kick it's butt you two!"
"Why is there an alien attack so soon after Tyrannion?" Fuka muttered. "I know that Hero said that all Earth's are magnets for aliens, but it's been barely a week since the last one!"
"I guess aliens don't care about how frequently they attack Earth," Kyoka replied, as they watched Hero slug the monster on its beak with a punch.
"So Hiroshi turns into Hero by yelling "Hero" with his fist in the air as a sphere of light forms around him. Does he need to say that every time they change, or is it simply a symbolic ritual that shows their bond? Besides that, Hero seemed to have possessed Hiroshi for a split second before breaking through that window, which is several centimeters thick. Does this mean that when Hero possesses him, that Hiroshi gains a boost to his strength and speed? If so, does this mean that he gains other abilities like flight, laser generation, and-"
The group of friends turned their heads to look at Izuku, who was furiously scribbling down notes into a blue Campus notebook, noticing that instead of the usual "Hero Journal" title, it was "Ultraman Hero and Aliens Journal #1".
"Oh, you're starting to keep notes on Hero and aliens now?" Ochako asked, snapping Izuku out of his muttering.
"Y-y-yea! It's just so interesting to think about! I just need to record everything, you know?" he answered. "Besides, we might be able to help Hero and Hiroshi out if we keep stuff about them, right?"
"That's a great idea!" Setsuna said, as they saw Hero get knocked back a bit by the giant alien's talons (though thankfully not hard to make him fall down, nor in the directions of any buildings). "Because I feel like he'll need as much help as we can give him."
Hero grabbed Bekarus's arm and swung it over his shoulder, slamming them against a mountain away from the city. Bekarus screamed as it snapped its beak at Hero's feet, successfully nabbing his right ankle. It swung its head back, causing Hero to fall down, and it used this opportunity to get up and pin the Ultraman down, who retaliated by slamming his right fist into Bekarus's gut.
"SHAA!" Hero shouted, pushing Bekarus to the side, making it roll across the land. The two managed to recover, getting up and charging at each other. Bekarus's beak opened wide, and managed to clamp down onto Hero's left arm, making the giant grunt in pain. But he used this opportunity to cover his right hand in glowing green energy, and slammed it into its eye, blinding it. Bekarus backed away, crying in pain, when Hero's Color Timer began going off.
"It's time to finish this, Hiroshi!" Hero's voice said, echoing through the mental dimension.
"Right!" Hiroshi stated, pressing down on the Hero Hand's stylized H.
"ORIGINAL! HERORUM!" it announced, as it flashed blue and red.
"I still don't get the purpose of the announcement," Hiroshi said, remembering when he pressed it before during their fight with Tyrannion.
"It's just something cool, don't worry about it," Hero replied.
"But it's not even your voice."
"Don't worry about it."
Before Bekarus could regain its senses, Hero grabbed it by the arms, and starting spinning it around, before throwing it into the air, screeching as its attempted to adjust itself with its yet-to-be-grown wings. Hero slammed his forearms together, pulling them apart as energy formed between them, creating an H-shaped beam of energy over his arms.
"Herorum CROSS!" Hero yelled, launching the beam into Bekarus. It screeched one final time, before exploding into a cloud of burning dust, leaving nothing behind but a H-shaped mark of light in the sky. With a mighty grunt, he leaped into the sky, just as Mt. Lady finally made it to the edge of the city.
"Hey! Come back here, you jerk! That was my fight!" she yelled, as he disappeared. "Stop stealing my spotlight!"
Hiroshi landed on the roof of UA, as his friends came towards him to congratulate him.
"Nice job, Hiroshi, Hero!" Pony said, giving him a thumbs up.
"Yea, you really showed that weird bird thing who's boss!" Setsuna said, slinging her right arm around her friend's neck.
"It didn't even see you coming!" Ochako said, though Hiroshi seemed to be deep in thought, no doubt talking to Hero in his head.
"Hiroshi? Is something wrong?" Fuka asked, looking at her brother.
"I'll tell you what's wrong!"
The teens turned to see Present Mic walking onto the roof with Eraserhead and Principal Nezu following him. "You broke a window to get out!? What's the deal with that!?"
"Broke a window? I had Juzo soften it, it shouldn't be broken," Hiroshi said, befuddled.
"The window's all puddles now!"
"... Oooooh," Hiroshi said, realizing that the impact splattered the window everywhere, making it difficult to return it to its solid state. "I am so sorry! There was just a crowd of students blocking the entrance 'cuz no one knew whether to evacuate or to stay inside, and everyone was panicking, and that was the only thing I could think of-"
"Actually, now that the panic's all over, I should tell you that it doesn't matter if you're inside or outside. If you transform by invoking the chant, I'll be able to move to the area the giant aliens are immediately," Hero explained, as Hiroshi gritted his teeth as he realized how big of a mistake he made.
"It's alright, it's only a window!" Principal Nezu laughed, to Present Mic's indignation. Though he swiftly became more serious in tone. "The question right now, though, is if that alien attack was related to the press getting through the gate, and if this is a declaration of war..."
"What are you talking about, Principal Nezu?" Hiroshi asked. The others looked down at the ground at the police escorting the news crews away, their eyes moving to the gate.
"What happened to the gate!?" Setsuna yelled. Hiroshi looked, and saw that the gate had crumbled into dust.
"Is that how they got in!? Did one of them disintegrate the gate!?" Tenya said, wiping his glasses to make sure that he was seeing the destroyed gate correctly.
"What sort of nutcase news group would hire a guy with a disintegration Quirk!?" Kyoka rightfully pointed out. Izuku stared at the gate, before shifting it to Hiroshi, who had gone deep into thought.
"Hiroshi-"
"I know," he said, crossing his arms. "Maybe Hero was right about something being odd... if this and Bekarus's appearance are related, then we might have some trouble on our hands..."
Elsewhere, hours later, in a seedy bar in a suspicious alley...
"What the fuck is this!?" a blueish gray messy haired man screamed, throwing his phone onto the ground hard enough to crack the screen. His skin was sickly pale, and he wore all black. He had deep scratch marks on his neck, but what was most disturbing were the disembodied gray hands on his arms and head, one of which was covering his face. "I go and show those hero assholes that they're not safe, and all the news is talking about is that fucking red giant asshole and that dumb bird monster! Bullshit!"
"Calm down, Shigaraki," a well-dressed man who appeared to be made of dark mist said, looking at the fuming man. "We'll show them soon enough that they truly are not safe in this society of 'heroes'."
"What's the point, if they don't actually pay attention to us, Kurogiri!?"
"I do wonder about those giants," a voice on a monitor said, catching the two's attention. "They're so... magnificent! I've never seen Quirks like theirs before! Why, I'd say it'd be a match against my and your teacher's creations!"
"Indeed," a second voice on a monitor replied. "I need to know who else is researching Quirks to lead to something like those giants..."
"Oh, they're not humans."
Kurogiri and Shigaraki snapped their heads around to see who spoke. To their surprise, a shadow on the wall of a strange figure had appeared. The shadow stepped off the wall, forming into a tall man dressed in a black trench coat, armored boots and shoulder pads, black gloves, and a strange, almost unearthly helmet. Another shadow appeared, this time of a smaller, more feminine figure, and it followed him off the wall. Unlike her compatriot, she was wearing armor that ended below her bust, boxy forearm armor, black boots, a long black waistcoat-like skirt that was opened at the front, and a similar helmet. Neither of their faces could be seen through their helmet's pitch black visor, and both seemed to have black spandex-like skin.
"Who the hell are you fuckers, and how did you find us!?" Shigaraki shouted, rushing the man, hand outstretched. He made contact with the tall stranger's chest as nothing happened.
That shouldn't happen.
"What the-!?"
"Oh, that's what I like about you humans in this world. You've gained such interesting and great powers, yet they're ultimately nothing compared to a higher, more developed race," the man said, lightly shoving the gray haired man, who was too shocked to process what was happening.
"Hm? I take it that Young Tomura's Quirk hasn't disintegrated our new guests? Intriguing," the second voice on the monitor said. "To whom do I welcome to my protégé's lair? And what do you mean about 'humans in this world'?"
"I have many names, but you may call me... Virus," the man answered, bowing down slightly with his left arm in front of his chest, as a red V flashed on his helmet's face.
"My friend here... you may call her Illne," he added. She also bowed similarly to Virus, as her helmet flashed a red I on her face. "Don't mind her silence, she only talks when she decides its necessary. She's more... a woman of action."
"As for what we're here and what I meant... tell me, what would you say, if I told you all that aliens of all kinds exist?"
Original AO3 Notes:
- Hope that everyone hugging Izuku wasn't too sappy, but I enjoyed writing it. I hope it doesn't feel like I'm just copying what I did in "Building Up A Hero!". I feel like the scenes are different enough in context and whatnot. Is it a little early for any of them to be friends with Izuku like that to accept the truth for One for All? Debatably, but I still think they'd be supportive of him 'cuz of his own dedication to putting effort to become a hero, and they did get to know each other better thanks to the story taking place a few days after the first day.
- So it turns out that Izuku's notes aren't called "Hero Journals", but are called "Hero Analysis for the Future". Oops. But I've used "Hero Journals" enough that I've gotten used to typing that instead, so for my MHA fanfics, I'm going to be using "Hero Journals" instead. Sorry if this slight change seems unnecessary, but I don't feel like changing it to the correct one, nor do I feel like I like constantly typing the full name out.
- Sorry if it seems like I'm purposefully leaving Mt. Lady out. I think for the most part Hero and Hiroshi are more concerned about causing damage to the city, which is why they try and take the aliens out of the city to fight them. And since Mt. Lady can't, you know, fly, she'd have to run to catch up with them, but she'd have to find a road big enough to let her through, and shrinking down to regular size would be pointless. Don't worry, she'll keep appearing and will have important moments eventually.
- I'm trying to decide what would be a good canon giant alien would be to use, but so far, I'm having trouble deciding 'cuz I'm never sure if it's an alien or a native Earth creature, and if it has intelligence or not. It's especially important, because I decided that this Earth's never had any native giant creatures. Though I guess I can technically use the idea that they're being brought over from different Earths.
- And we have our first "Ultraman Hero Academia" exclusive antagonists, Virus and Illne! I hope you enjoy them, 'cuz I think they're gonna be fun. Hopefully you all understand that Illne comes from "illness", and that it's not three capital I's or three lowercase l's.