"Seven times! Isn't that something!"
"Yeah…" I replied distractedly, too focused on eating my breakfast as quickly as possible.
"I fainted seven whole times since the cavalry battle!" enthused my mother, "And the last two times were from dehydration!"
"You've even got me beat in that department…" I mumbled around the last of my eggs.

"... I know you told me that private mentor of yours is helping you, but why do you have to fight using such risky methods?"
I glanced up at my mother, but didn't pause or slow in my eating. I didn't answer; I had no answer my mother didn't already know.

"Of course I support you, and I am SO PROUD of you… but that doesn't mean I won't worry."
"Yeah…" I swallowed the last of my food and stood up.
My mother's plate was untouched.
"Wanna see the videos?!" she said excitedly, "They're in HD. HD!"

"Sure. I'll take a look later, alone…"
I put my shoes on and grabbed my bag.
"After I get back. I need to meet my mentor to train today."
I opened the door.
"Love you! See you later!" I said over my shoulder.

"Izuku! Wait a moment!"
"Hm?"
My mom walked over, took my head in her hands, and, putting her lips on my forehead, gave me a long kiss. When I looked up at her afterwards, she was smiling warmly. "I love you too, sweetie."
I stared at her for a moment. Then smiled back.

I met Master at the bar that day, rather than the warehouse. When I entered, I noticed the plant was in one corner underneath an ultraviolet light.

"Congratulations on your win, Midoriya."
Master was sitting in the same spot as when I had first met him. In fact, aside from the presence of the plant and absence of Kurogiri… the bar looked almost identical.
"But…? I didn't win…?"
"You would have," Master said, "if you had had a quirk."

I set my bag on the counter, taking a seat.
"What do you mean?"
"Well…" Master swirled the liquid in the small cup he was holding, "The judges didn't say 'Iida wins his match because, if the wind hadn't blown him, or if the arena was bigger, he'd have landed and defeated Hatsume,' did they? And yet, Hatsume didn't use her quirk. She won with technology, and technology alone."
"It was gear she made, though," I said, "I didn't make mine."

"Did she use her quirk to make that gear?"

I looked away from him.

"... It's okay to be angry." I looked back up. "I dare say you should be angry."
"... I'm not angry, though," I said, looking down at my hands.

I fidgeted, twisting my fingers together and apart. "I'm… confused. And frustrated… and disappointed."
"Because you thought heroes were fair? More fair than normal people?"
"Well, they're heroes! That's what they do!"

Master sat for a moment, still swirling his drink.
"... I want to show you something."
He set his glass on the table and pulled a small device from his pocket. He messed with it, tapping at the screen, then handed it to me.

A video played on it.
A dark-haired young man was giving a speech from a street corner. He was trying to tell the people passing by about something he called the "Revival of Heroics," but no one was stopping to listen (except, apparently, the person recording the video, who was snickering and making fun of the man).
The video didn't show the beginning of the speech, and it didn't last until the end, but it was enough to understand what the man was getting at: He claimed heroes had become mostly corrupt, believing that the entire system needed to be changed to prevent "those without sufficient passion" from getting licenses.

When it finished, Master asked me what I thought.
"I dunno… He had some good points, I guess, but… I don't think things are as bad as he was claiming. I mean, some heroes need to take on outside work to make a living! Most need to! And as long as they're helping people, I don't think a person's motives for becoming a hero matter."
"Hm."

Master picked his glass up, swallowed the contents, set it down, then pulled out a piece of paper and pen from another pocket. He wrote down an address.
"Go for a walk for me. I can't go with you, as I have other things I need to take care of today, but go to this address."
He slid the paper over to me.
"No need to go inside; just look around the area a bit."

I took the paper, and Master said goodbye to me, going through a door leading, I could only assume, further inside the building.
I looked at the address. The place Master wanted me to go was on the outskirts of the city. I'd need to take a train, and even then, I'd be gone all day.

But… if it was for my training, then of course I'd go.

As I made my way there, I couldn't help noticing how the people on the street were whispering about me, as though I couldn't hear them…
"-should have caught their mistake sooner." "Why do they even let him attend?" "Poor, delusional…"
… I tried to ignore them… to act like I really couldn't hear.

When I made it to the address… '... It just… looks like a normal neighborhood.
'… Maybe a little rowdier than usual…?'

I'd been wandering around for an hour or so, when someone raced past me. From behind me, I heard a man yell, "Stop!"
I turned around to see who had yelled. The man was also running, but he was out-of-breath.
The man looked at me and yelled again, "Stop them! They took my wallet!"

'Wha-!' my mind raced, 'Wait - I saw a hero patrolling..!'
Turning my head left and right, I spotted the hero. I called to them, and they came jogging over.
"This man," I gestured to the man who, seeing what I was doing and too exhausted to continue, had stopped nearby, "His wallet was stolen! The thief went that way!"

I pointed, expecting the hero to pursue the thief. But-
"-Huh?" The hero looked dumbfounded, "Is that all you called me over here for?"
I gaped at the hero.
"I need that money!" The man stood up straight, desperation in his eyes, "Without it, I'll lose my apartment! That's all the money I have for the entire month!"
"I need to stay alert for real threats! Don't call me over for-"
I joined in the man's desperation, "But! He needs that money to eat! Without it-"
"You don't know this place, kid," the hero glared at us both, "I can't afford to go after every crime I see, or I'll miss when something actually dangerous happens."
"But…" And I realized - this was the only hero I'd seen since getting to this area.

"There's a surplus of heroes in the city," I muttered, "Why is no one here?!"
"Because we need to eat too," the hero, thinking the question was directed at him, answered, "And this isn't a good location, so no hero agencies set up shop here. The only reason I'm here is 'cause I live nearby. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to work!"

The hero walked off.
The victim of the theft collapsed to his knees, breathing heavily. The way his breaths came in bursts… suggested it wasn't from the running.
With the thief long gone, the only thing I could do for the man was give him what money I had.

The man, still panicking, commented it was only about half of what he'd lost.
But thanked me anyway.

I barely slept that night.

My mind kept spinning over-and-over, playing my experience with the thief and hero, and the video about the "Revival of Heroics," on an endless, jumbled loop…
I walked to U.A. in a haze the next morning, umbrella in hand, doing my best to pretend the whispering of the crowd was just the rain. I didn't register the sound of rapid, splashing footsteps approach me.

"Good morning, Midoriya!"
I nearly jumped out of my skin! '… Oh. It's only Iida.'

The other student, sporting a poncho and rainboots, slowed his speed to talk to me.
"This is no time for an idle stroll! We'll be late!"
"Late? But we've got five minutes before the first bell."
"The students of U.A. make it a point to arrive ten minutes early!"

Iida's speed picked back up. I did my best to match Iida's pace.
My mind freed of its heavier thoughts, I remembered hearing about Ingenium, Iida's older brother, being attacked the day of the Sports Festival. I hadn't had a chance to talk to Iida since then…
But once inside at our lockers and shedding our wet shoes, poncho and umbrella, "... Um…" I couldn't think of what to say.

"You needn't worry about my brother," Iida said, seeming to guess what I was thinking, "I apologize if he or I caused you any undue concern."
He sent me an easy smile. I very much doubted Iida was actually okay, but… I couldn't think of anything else to say or do. So, for the time being, I decided to drop it.

Inside the classroom, everyone was chatting about how much attention they'd been getting since the Sports Festival: people stopping to talk to them, staring at them, congratulating them…

"One little event, and suddenly the world's got its eye on us."
"That's U.A. for ya…"

Aizawa walked in, and everyone settled into their seats.
"Morning."
"Good morning!" the class replied.
"Today we've got Hero Informatics class. And a special one at that. You'll be coming up with your hero aliases."

Everyone started cheering, standing up, jumping into the air… Even my mood lifted.
'We get to choose our hero names…!'

Aizawa erased everyone's quirks to get us to quiet down again.
"But first, concerning the pro draft picks I mentioned the other day… It's based on who the pros think will be ready to join the hero workforce after another two or three years of experience. …So you could say that it's a way for them to show interest in your futures.

"But there's ample time for their interest to wane before you graduate," Aizawa warned, "And any and all offers can be arbitrarily revoked. It happens quite often."

My mood shot right back down.

"So if we're picked now, that just means there'll be higher hurdles in the years to come!" said Toru.
"Yes."

A graph with a few names appeared on the board behind Aizawa. "Now, here're the complete draft pick numbers."
Todoroki was highest, with over three thousand offers. Bakugo had about half of that, and Tokoyami was close behind. Iida had only about seven hundred.

After that, the numbers dropped to around three hundred and less.

My name wasn't even on the board.

"There's typically more of a spread. But our finalists stole most of the spotlight," Aizawa commented.
"These pros have no eyes for talent," said Aoyama. (His name wasn't on the board, either.) "Didn't they get the order mixed up?" said Kirishima. "Midoriya's not even on there!" "Guess they were scared of the guy who was literally chained to the winners' stand," commented Sero (Bakugo was cursing the pros from behind him), "Not to mention how what happened with Midoriya messed up the scores."
Momo congratulated Todoroki on his number of offers. "It's mostly just my father's influence… I shouldn't have even been given third place. I lost to Midoriya fair and square."
"Whoa!" Uraraka shook Iida's shoulders excitedly, although it was unclear whether she was excited on Iida's behalf - or because her name was on the board.

"With that settled… whether you were picked or not, you will all have a chance to work alongside the pros," Aizawa cleared the board, "Seeing the pros in action and taking part yourselves will be worthwhile training and experience."

Sato cut in with an excited, "That's where our hero names come in!"
"This is really getting fun!" Uraraka agreed.

"They're only tentative," Aizawa said, "but you still want to pick something appropriate…"
"Or else you'll know true hell!" Aizawa was cut off by Midnight, who strutted into the room, "The name you pick now… may be what the world ends up calling you. That's happened to plenty of pros out there!"
"Yes. True enough," said Aizawa, "And Midnight here will be assessing the sensibility of the names you pick. I'm no good at that."

Aizawa pulled his sleeping bag out, but gave one final piece of advice to the class before leaving, "What future do you see for yourself? The name you choose will bring you closer to cementing a certain image… Because names are capable of reflecting one's true character.
"Like with 'All Might' …"

My classmates all got really into it. They seemed to be picking names left and right. Many, I didn't doubt, had had names prepared for years, but it took a while for people to work up the nerve to present them.
Many also struggled to find a name Midnight approved of. Todoroki and Iida ended up just using their own names.

.~*~.

'Before I met All Might… and Master… I came up with a whole list of homage names - "Mighty," "Super Might," "Mighty Man"-

'-But…' I stared at the whiteboard in my hands, 'but now that I've made it here… And after what All Might said…'
'…I can't use any of those. Not anymore…

'I don't even know if I still-!'
-I cut that thought off. 'No. That's not true.

'I just- …'

…
In the end, like Todoroki, Iida, and surprisingly Bakugo…
… I couldn't decide on a hero name.

Stain stood smiling.
"Well?" All For One prompted. "Does he pass?"
Stain's smile grew. "Finally… Maybe there's hope for hero society yet."

Stain didn't take his eyes off the screen - as it showed Izuku Midoriya arguing with the pro "hero" who'd ignored the thief right in front of them. Stain's smile grew even wider at the sight of Izuku giving the victim his own money.

.~*~.

"Yes. I'll train him!"

Author's Note

Hi, everyone. What do you think of the story so far? I hope you're enjoying it.

This was the last chapter of Part 1, and all that I have written of this so far. I have the next couple arcs outlined, and plenty of ideas of where I want things to end up. But here's the thing: I'm exhausted.

Not because of this story, though. No, if anything, it's my stories that have given me a sense of purpose ever since Corona started. But, because of that exhaustion (and some outside life events and problems), I haven't been able to get the energy or time to write for any of my projects in the last few months. And things aren't looking like they're going to calm down for quite a while.

I'm not giving up, though! I am GOING to finish all the stories I've started, even if it takes me until a year or more from now!

I am, however, asking for your patience. I'm gonna come back, I really am. But I need a vacation, and I put a TON of time into planning out my stories before I write them. So just know that, when next you see this story updated, it means that the entirety of Part 2 is complete.

In the meantime, if this is the only story of mine you've read, I welcome you to go read my others:
"Phantasma Magica" - a Harry Potter / Danny Phantom AU crossover fic

The "OSWs" - a series of short stories I wrote based on reader requests.

And, of course, the first book of my original series "Crossroad of Infinity, Part 1: 'Alone'." This one is a little unusual. See, "Ciestess" is the main character… and me, the author. My pseudonym's backstory? Maybe. … Probably. Decide for yourself! You can read it on AO3, my Tumblr "cietessde", or on my website "crossroadofinfinity . com". (I'm also trying to get it formatted to post on here, but it might not happen. This site's formatting options are so limited, and the story relies heavily on that ability.)

Anyway, may your lives be less stressful than mine have been these past few months.

~ Happy reading!