The Price of Heroism
Class 1A settled into their seats. The clock to the left of the Interactive Blackboard read 13:10, indicating that they still had five minutes until their afternoon class. That said, this morning, when he was almost late for class, their Class Representative, Tenya Iida had quite literally run around campus, physically picked up Kaminari and carried him to the classroom. He then got a dressing down by Aisawa for not letting people make their own mistakes.
No-one wanted to give the speedster another reason to monologue.
"So, who do you guys think will be teaching Fundamental Heroics?" Mina Ashido asked the class at large.
"I heard it would be a 2-digit Pro!"
"Serious? 'Cause I heard it was some old retired hero."
"Nah, it's probably just Aisawa-sensei."
"Aisawa-sensei is great and all, but I really don't think it'll be him. Maybe Mic-sensei?"
"All of our other modules had teachers listed on the Student Curriculum. That would imply that whoever it is, is not one of our known instructors."
"Can you imagine if we got All Might as sensei? That would be awesome!"
"OhmygodsAllMightteachingusthatwouldmeanthatasdfghjk- "
"Breath, Deku"
"Yawn… Alright, settle down. Your Rudimentary Heroics Instructor will be here shortly," Shota Aisawa –also known as "The Underground Erasure Hero, Eraserhead- unzipped his sleeping bag and made for the door. Almost reluctantly, he twisted the handle and opened it, before looking outside. He turned to the Class, "As difficult as it may seem, please do not do anything irrational in this class. I will see you all tomorrow morning."
The Underground Hero left the room, leaving the door open, presumably for their next teacher.
"Well, that happened…"
"Good afternoon, Class." A figure walked through the door; whose appearance made more than one student pale.
Despite being slouched over, he stood taller than most any of the students, except Shoji Mezo. The blond man was horribly gaunt, with sunken eyes and limp hair. His shirt was well pressed but hung loose on his frame, and a bloodstained handkerchief could be seen in his left hand.
"My name is Toshinori Yagi, and I shall be your instructor for Rudimentary Heroics."
The class was deathly silent. This man, who looked like a light breeze might hurt him, was their instructor?
Izuku Midoriya had to physically hold his mouth closed before he said something that would get him or his mentor in trouble. Thankfully, he was not the only one covering his mouth, as Ayoma looked ready to void his stomach.
"I am sure that you all expected some powerful pro like All Might or Endeavour. Unfortunately, such heroes are always on call in the event of an emergency and would not be able to keep to a schedule as you do here at UA."
He took a moment to examine the classroom, noting that each one of the students was affected by his appearance. His eyes met Midoriya's for the briefest of moments and the boy nodded.
"From next week, this class will be a practical one, and I expect each of you to have finalised your Initial Hero Costume by Monday. As the year progresses, you will be allowed to submit requests or upgrades to the Support Faculty. If you have read your Curriculums as Aisawa-sensei instructed you to, you will know that you are allocated one partial upgrade each term, and a full overhaul of the costume at the end of this year. As of next year, you will be expected to pay for materials used in your upgrades. This removes the UA imposed limits but applies limits based on your budget. I would advise that you rely solely on your own funds, and not that your families'.
"Now, onto today's lesson: I understand that Aisawa-sensei ran you through a Quirk Appreciation test yesterday and obviously all of you showed enough potential for him to let you stay. Today, I would like to show you what lies ahead in your Hero career."
Toshinori paused again, this time to wipe some blood from his mouth. The class, for the most part, was more than a bit confused. What lies ahead in their careers?
"The Media always show Heroes as golden figures, infallible bastions of humanity. Unfortunately, that is not always the case.
"I was a lower-ranking hero before I got injured in the field. This is what could await you during your service as a Hero."
He grabbed his shirt, just above his left hip. Lifting the shirt, the whole class recoiled. Over his left side, a brutal scar was carved into his flesh. The epicentre, a raw red crater, was just over his fused ribs. Lang jagged ridges extended over his torso.
Most of the class had paled and more than a few audibly swallowed their bile. The only people who did not visibly react where Hakagure, Todoroki and Midoriya.
"The. Fuck." Bakugo was the first to speak.
Murmurs rose from the class, most still with a chalky pallor to their face.
"This is what can happen when you overestimate yourself in the field. Five years ago, Japan's Number 1 Hero, All Might, went up against his Arch-Nemesis, The Quirk Stealer All for One. I was on duty that day, aiding in the evacuation of Civilians from the battle zone.
I put myself between one of All for One's attacks and the civilians. Next thing I know, I'm waking up in a hospital a week later, minus one lung."
The class was stunned. Logically, they knew that heroes got injured in the Line of Duty, but this was the first time they had seen such a resultant scar upfront. And to think, it was five years old…
Yagi lowered his shirt and straightened for a long shallow breath.
"I would like to tell you that this sort of injury is an outlier, an extreme in the world of heroes. And while, yes, this is among the worst injury that heroes live with, that is because most heroes who take this sort of damage don't get medical attention in time."
He paused allowing the class to absorb what he had told them, while he focused on the computer. He pulled up a slide show, showing the aftermath of various incidents in recent history.
"I am sure you all feel like this is a rather demoralising lesson."
Murmured agreement came from some of the class.
"Well, it's not. I want you to take another look at each of these images. Look beyond the devastation. What do you see?
"I'll tell you what I see. I see people, both hero and not, helping to rebuild. I see hope in the face of desolation."
For a moment, the class saw a shadow behind Yagi-sensei; a proud man, standing tall and powerful; a man who stood for those who could not.
"That is your primary role as a Hero. Your first goal is not to defeat the villain. It is not to look fancy for the camera. Your first priority as a Hero is to inspire people to be better. My class, besides teaching you how to use your quirks in the field, will be to teach you all how to stand. How to let people know that you are here!
"On that note, once a week I will be assisting in teaching your History classes. I will be focusing on the hidden aspects of Hero History, including the existence of the Quirk-Stealer and other S-ranked Supervillains."
Yagi turned off the interactive screen. He turned to face the class, meeting each student's eyes.
"I want you all to think about what I have told you today. While Aizawa-sensei is allowed to expel you from the Hero course as your homeroom teacher, you are also allowed to withdraw from this course at any time and transfer to one of the other Faculties. If you feel that Heroics are not for you, you are free to talk to any of your teachers about switching.
Thank you, you are dismissed."
This was a plot bunny based on the thought: would it not make more sense for Toshinori Yagi to teach rather than All Might? If he has 3 hours of All Might mode, and two hour-long classes to teach plus travel time, he'll have no time at all to still be a Hero. Then it occurred that his scar/wound could be a valuable lesson to the hero aspirants. Thus: The Price of Heroism.
You may notice that this is part of a mass update today. The past few months have been rather chaotic for me, culminating in the Remembrance Day parades of this month. If you know any servicemen or -women, be they currently serving or veteran, Military or Emergency Services, thank them. They have sacrificed far more than you will ever know.
Anyway, the mass update is in part an apology for the lack of updates from me and part me clearing out my think tank on my hard drive. The updates are as follows:
Code Geass: The Art of War - Chapter V
Shadow Hunter May Cry – Mission 2
Heavy Lies the Crown
The Price of Heroism
As always, feedback is welcome and appreciated.
Read, Enjoy and Review,
EoE