AN: ok so I took longer on this one but Plot Bunnies are a serious thing! I just started writing points to go over later and next thing I know-BAM!-I got a chapter when I should have been working on this! Please enjoy and R&R.
Beria's POV
Walking into the classroom the students were all loud and excitedly recounting the festival and more. Bragging (Bakugo), giving blow-by-blow recounts (too many), and just in general still hyped up from their first sports festival." Alright class! Settle down now!" I call out. As they obediently returned to their assigned seats, quieting after I made myself known, Tenya was the last one standing from where he had been attempting to get them to settle earlier. With an embarrassed flush and slumped shoulders, he falls into his seat.
"Ok so I'm sure that Aizawa-sensei has already mentioned hero names, yeah?"
I only get excited babble for the rhetorical question. With a raised brow I call them back to order. "Yes, yes, I'm sure you're all excited for this momentous step in your careers. The reason I mention this is for our next section we will be going over! How and Why did Code Names come to be? Along with how your hero identity will translate into other languages if you ever need to travel." With this announcement we begin class. Part way through a hand is raised. "Yes Momo-san?", "Sensei, Beria is your hero name, right?", ah apparently someone realized I use my hero designation more than my civilian, and had the balls to question instead of come up with 'theories'.
"Yes, Beria is actually the name of a Celtic goddess." I say with a chuckle.
"Back when I started saving stranded travelers and such I was actually mistaken for the goddess. It had to do with my white coloring, I traveled in blizzards, and I was in the various mountains. That the ones who spread tales of me were Scottish is by chance. I had heard others I had rescued mistake me for their own local legends. Including Yuuki-Onna." I give that last tid bit with a wry twist to my lips. Ha! That made them flush with embarrassment for their countryman.
"But Beria-sensei, why do not use your civilian name?" Momo is being persistent. Hmm, I'll just point out the obvious.
"Because Momo-san, one I am old and was born to an even then traditional tribe, my name is too tricky for most to twist their tongue around. Two, I am obviously the hero Beria and that is how I am always called. Three, even though the 'modern' government of that time gave me a solid civilian name and papers being called Alicia is only for official moments. I have been Beria too long to easily answer to another name. Is that all now?"
"Yes Beria-sensei." is quietly muttered. I think I may have said something too much, nah, she will learn.
As we continued on with class there were no more questions, or at least no more personal questions for me. We went over the various heroes in the more recent history and their relationship with their identities, and even touched on psychological effects that have and may have popped up due to various outside influences. Though like most of my classes, mostly about history I had lived during, I ended up ranting. Again.
Though could you really blame me? I grew up learning what was even then 'ancient' history and fictional 'super powered' heroes such as Persius son of Poseidon and the Flash! I grew up with the definition of 'hero' to be 'someone who selflessly helps others' and then I look at today's modern 'heroes' and at the modern definition that is actually taught. They have twisted ancient myths and legendary heroes into something either unrecognizable or just write them off as these people and cultures being a barbaric nature. Those comic book heroes? Buried. Thats right. Any information or story to go against societies current thought process was buried under some dusty, moldy old box. I however am going to present every little bit of that forgotten past to this generation. Hopefully they will be able to revive these ideals, a quote that I once read that goes something like, 'the people should not fear the government, the government should fear the people.' I feel that this fits very nicely.
Look at me. Even on the broad strokes I cannot help but get up on my soapbox.
Although, when I began my lecture slash rant, I could not help notice a dark expression pass over Tenya's face. As I watch over the free discussion portion of class I lean back and go over what might be the cause when it hits me. Tenya's big brother was a recent victim of Stain. Stain whom actually rants about how there are few worthies of being called hero, a rant that is similar to my own, just without the blood and death. I mean I can honestly get behind what he's saying but his actions are too over the top. What he preaches is easily overlooked and swept under a nice big rug as he is labeled an insane villain and his words are ignored while people focus on what he has done. The saying 'actions speak louder than words' is true, and his actions have been mistranslated and yell far louder than anything he has said. With all of this in mind I decide to speak with Tenya to hear in his own words just how he doing. Past experience says he is more likely than not about to do something very stupid.
"Tenya-san! Could I speak with you after classes please?" I called out to the boy just after the bell rang to signal the end of that period.
"Of course, sensei!" Is the polite reply, even an enthusiastic and obedient one. Which just means I seem to be the only suspicious one on the faculty. Which is weird. I thought for sure Aizawa was the most overly suspicious, mother-hen in this city?
It's after school and I sit across from Tenya Lida in the teachers' lounge. I've taken up one of the seats in front of my desks, there is only Midnight, Eraser Head, and Hound in the room. Though they have kept their distance and occupy themselves to give an illusion of privacy at my request.
When Tenya takes his seat I immediately speak up, "You're not in any trouble Tenya-san," a sigh meets that opening statement, "but, I want to hear your reasons for choosing the Hero Agency internship that you did."
I note his wide eyes before he speaks, "It is a respectable agency, my family has ties there as well. It will be a good step forward and my family agrees." It is all said in a rush. What would usually be brushed off as nervousness or even eagerness I saw something almost flicker in his expression. I do not know exactly what it was but, it worried me and firmed my suspicions.
"Your family, that's right, you come from a generational hero family, don't you?" As if I don't already know. "I heard what happened to this generations Ingenium. A great hero, very dedicated and kind. I heard recently he had a bad run-in with a villain. Thank the spirits he is alive but, that's all I heard. How's his injuries?"
A twitch, "Yes. My big brother. He is-was a great hero. The doctors say he will never walk again. Hi-his hero career- it is over." As his head lowers, I see a dark expression cloud his eyes along with tears.
Offering him a box of tissues I glance at my co-workers to see if they saw what I did. I get a couple of nods and meet Azawai's eyes. "Stain, right?" His face contorts. "The hero killer. It's a nod to his skills that he got away with his life, unlike so many others, even if his career is cut short." As I speak Tenya's brows furrow before his face smooths out, "I am slightly worried however, that your chosen agency is close to where Stain was last spotted though." The other teachers were openly watching now, Hound slowly approaching and Aizawa moved to block the doorway. Tenya's expression once hearing my last comment looked up, he whipped his head around looking for escape. He noticed he was surrounded and his actions gave away any thoughts to bluff his way out. I hated cornering him like this but, at least now he will get the grief counselling he obviously needs and he will be safe.
Later after Tenya was bundled off to Hounds' office for a proper talk I was approached by Tenya's Home Room teacher. Aizwawa seemed to be looking at my soul as he seemed to slouch his way towards my desk.
"How did you know?", was he looking for something?
"I remember taking in orphaned brats. They all reacted differently depending on how they they came to their new status, but, a common theme was to seek revenge." Thinking back to the brats I had raised, that are now dead, from a violent hate crime, an accident, revenge, and rarely old age. I couldn't help but sink back, just for a second, to recall their eyes. "Humanity has always been a bit violent. Our first reaction to being hurt is to lash out, and kids are closely tied to instinct. It was natural for me to just check. To make sure that Tenya-san was really ok." I said this as I look at a point over his shoulder before meeting his piercing gaze. "I don't think I could take losing one of the kids. Not so soon, not before they have heads of grey hair." the unsaid "Not again" is heard in the silence.
With a nod and what I am pretty sure is a slight smile, granted it's a sickly one on life support quirk of lips, he turns around right into Present Mic's side.
With my own smile I turn back to my own paperwork.
Shota Aizawa/Eraser Head's POV
I first thought nothing would come out this meeting except an upset student for Beria's more likely than not, insensitive poking. Honestly the woman is as old as she is and has all the emotional bluntness s some kind of mountain hermit- wait, she is a hermit. Still even I know better than to dig into this kind of family drama. I willingly admit that any emotional upheavals and outbursts are willingly put off to Mic. He's more than willing to let some random stranger cry on his shoulder, snot and all.
The very fact that she requested back up 'just in case' does show that the old hermit is aware of her short comings at least. I guess it's her experience shining through that she acknowledges and reaches out to us. As the conference begins everything seems on the up and up, but, as she reaches deeper, yowch, I cannot believe she actually went there with the boy's family. He's getting more tense; it looks as if she's backing him into a verbal corner.
The plan uncovered and the boiling emotions brewing under Tenya's mask were alarming. The fact I had gotten so compliant and did not realize he was blocking and stewing over this. It's a wake-up call. At the USJ I was practically useless. The kids were taken from me, injured, and I was seriously injured. It's that all over again. If it wasn't for Tenya getting through to get All Might as quickly as he had there would have been deaths instead of just broken bones. If Beria hadn't checked Lida, 'just in case', then I may very well have received a body bag after the summer internships, dead because I had not thought to ask him if he was ok! That new training plan cannot make it through fast enough.
Past
*Whump*Whump*Whump* The loud rhythmic noise beat the air as a helicopter flew under the cloud cover. Over a mountains range with snow covered peaks and rocky craigs and dead man drop cliffs. The only consistent plant to grow across the harsh landscape being evergreens and even they, in more than a few places, can be compared to too stubborn scraggly stunted cusses.
Finally, the machine passes over a hidden glen. At the center of a mountain, a hot spring fills the air with steam, to add to the mist, the heat melts the snow and ice creating a hidden oasis in the otherwise frozen bareness. A modest log cabin can be just made out a short distance away from the natural hot spring.
After make first one pass then another, the cold machinery finally comes down lower, the blades whipping a strong gust as it lowers itself to the ground a good distance away from both cabin and spring. Though very tight fit the pilot was able to make it with clearance. Once settled on firm ground but before the blades fully stopped their rotation a man jumped out and ran towards the figure making their slow and cautious way towards the strangers.
" Hello! Hello miss!" The man in what looked to be an expensive suite enthusiastically called out. "You miss. snow guide are very tricky to find did you know that?" Still happy and enthusiastic with a large grin I am beginning to think he is either an idiot or a patsy.
"Yes. I know I am. That is the whole point." I cannot help but say flatly while giving the strange, in more than one way, man my best 'why is this insect speaking' impression that I could.
"Ha ha! Yes of course of course! I completely understand!" He goes on obliviously.
"Ah! Where are my manners! I am Gabriel Evans, I represent MTC. -" I cannot but to raise an eyebrow at this, "hmm, yes I assume you have not heard of us before then?"
"No, I am afraid I am more than a bit out of touch with society at the moment." Manners, manners. Sigh, tiresome but a good measuring stick as any to use with these strangers I suppose.
"Of course, then. Well, I am sure you are more than aware of the mass hysteria what with mutants popping up and the subsequent rejection by the mass majority, yes?", a short terse nod and he continues, "Well MTC stands for Mutation Treatment and Cures. I represent a company whom offer a cure to anyone unfortunate enough to be affected by this affliction. We have heard of you, or at least someone matching your description, and having, with great difficulty, traced you back to these coordinates I was sent to make you an offer." He finishes off his speach with a hand flourish and that grating smile I was coming to loath in short order.
This whole thing stinks to high heaven. "What exactly did you track me down for." I was not amused nor was I flattered, and I made sure that he knew it.
"Ah, yes, well we were hoping that we might be able to employ your services." He is showing some nervousness. Good.
With a raised brow "My services?", curious. They are obviously a group who take away or suppress other blessed's gifts, you need to be of a certain mindset to willingly, let alone happily as this man seems, do something so unnatural and cannot come about without some kind of serious side effects. That this Mr. Evans is standing before me, an obviously 'unfortunate' affected and requesting my help, with what I assume is my 'power' there is little to no sense.
"Indeed! You have been tracked to various snowy areas during or after snowstorms, on the same day on different continents! Your ability to transport yourself and your pack would make transportation a breeze as we spread our assistance and resources. The number of lives saved and resources usually spent just to get to affected areas would save an unprecedented amount!" He wants to make me a, what? Delivery girl? Pack mule? Either way my answer is "No. Now go away."
Mr. Evans smile becomes strained, "Now miss. You haven't even heard out our offer. You will be recompensed for your help."
"Not interested. Now get." I cross my arms and pull myself straight to show my resolve. Hopefully he takes the hint and beats it.
"You are making a mistake miss. We are offering you a generous deal here. We could very easily have simply gotten rid of you; deer hunting is quite popular nowadays you know." The smile is still there but, stiff his eyes though crinkled are cold, hard as looks me in the eye. Gabriel Evans went from bumbling oaf to a serious danger within a short span of time. I was right then. Gabriel Evans and whoever he works for are to be avoided with extreme prejudice.
"Leave. Me. Alone." Regardless I did not back down. While I focused on the threat in front of me some of the pack were eyeing the pilot. A good thing too, as I noticed Evans move his hand, just as the pilot moved his hand, he was pinned down by four dogs. With his arm, that was pulling out a gun, held in between a set of sharp teeth.
"Go back to where you came from." I was not amused nor impressed. I want him away from my home.
Once the 'copter was back in the air I pulled. That same place inside of me that acts up when I travel I for the first time deliberately tugged on it. The wind kicked up. I focused on a veil, and the sun once bright and shining, is hidden. As the snow and hail fall the wind picks them up to throw around my hidden gully. I don't know how long I can keep this up, but while it is My haven will be inaccessible to any unwanted intruders.
Beria's POV
Summer is in full swing. The students are safely tucked away with their hero agency internships and the faculty are enjoying their teen free break. Only myself and a few others remain let alone regularly visit the school grounds. I and my pack are confined to our environment-controlled building and Nedzu is the only regular visitor to our temporary domain. My leg, which is what brought me here in the first place, is healed. The muscles have recovered their lost strength and I now have full range of motion. The only thing holding us here now is my deal with the mammalian hero himself. Once the year is done though I am out of here. I'll be sure to visit every once in a while, but, only during winter. The heat and humidity are killer! Honestly, I looked it up and there are people hospitalized every summer in this country! For someone like myself and my pack? Our thick fur would send us to the spirit plain before we even hit the ground in this heat, let alone the hospital.
It was during a play exercise that I was visited by All Might. Surprised I quickly forgot any politeness and asked him directly, "What in the world are you doing here All Might?" I am sure my baffled expression more than made up for my rudeness as the guy laughed in my face. "Seriously?" I have to dead pan. Here I am, an old hermit and rescue hero, being laughed at by a whipper snapper. Once he settled to the random snicker All Might finally spoke, "Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to laugh at you!" with a snort I decided to put the proper respect to his elders in him. "Say what you came for or I'm calling up Gran Torino to put you through training hell again. Since you are obviously slacking off and do not have respect for your elders, you brat." Ah! There it is! I cannot help but grin as I watch the fearful horror cross his face, followed by paranoia, "Yes we old timers do know each other. We are everywhere and we know everything you youngsters get up to, and yes I can read your mind." the surprised and fearful expression are too much! It was now my turn to cackle in his face!
"But now honestly, what are you doing here boyo?"
"Ah, well I just have not actually talked with you yet and well..."
"Out with it! Stop pussy-footing around and spit it out already." I barked at him. If he's like this now then I'm gonna have collaborate with Gran Torino to put both All Might and his successor through a thorough boot camp. If the boy is anywhere near as bad as this big galoot then it may be time that we old timers' team up on this generation.
With a shiver of DOOM going down his spine All Might finally spit out "You were around when All for One started, I was wondering if you could share some history if you would."
Huh. Wasn't expecting that. "Well, okay then. Storytime it is then."
As I get the firepit set up and warm easily digested snacks set out All Might finally deflated. As he coughed up, almost puked up, blood. Good Spirits! "Damnit brat!" I hurry over to support and calm the idiot child as he heaved into the snow. "You knew I was aware! You came to ask about that time! So why in the name of all sensibility did you hold that puffed up form if this would happen!?" I was not impressed.
"Umm...cough, cough..."
"Yeah, that is it. I'm calling up my old friend. You need to be watched over so you don't kill yourself like an idiot."
"That's not needed!" he yelps. Actually yelps. He might be getting up there in years but, he's apparently eternally young at heart. Sigh, I'm going to have to babysit the guy till his mentor can take over. I give him my best unimpressed look I can, he shuts his mouth with a click. Hmph, works every time.
Once he recovered enough, I set him up on a log, wrapped up in enough blankets that it was more cocoon. After he sipped the hot cocoa I began.
"Way back when, I hadn't paid any mind to the outside world. I had my mountain home, I had my pack, and I traveled unmolested and untraceable through the blizzards, or at least that's what I thought."
"I had been rescuing and even adopting the random people and kids I came across for a while by then. I didn't know it then but, those who saw me had spread word of how I helped them, even if I was a 'mutant' as we were called back then. One of the more polite names anyway. So, I was known through mostly heresy and rumors. Society had stopped and, in many cases, had actually regressed. So, imagine my surprise when one day a helicopter planted itself in my front yard." I roll my eyes in remembered annoyance.
"Out comes this poncy two-faced ass offering me this backhanded offer. The guy worked with All For One to 'spread' a cure for the victims of a mutation. It sounded all nice and neat, if not for the fact the asswipe said everything with a grin to me. An obvious 'victim', and he wanted me to assist them in reaching more people to offer their hokum 'cure'. I of course, threw the dumbass off my property and raised my defenses."
"Then what? All For One couldn't have liked that right?" Toshinori asked like a small kid. Looked like one too if not for his size. A grown man should not be able to pull that off without being creepy like he is. I feel for Torino training this one up. The number of headaches were likely a constant state of being.
"Well of course he didn't like being told 'hell no', but I think you should visit Recovery Girl now. We can pick up on this again later alright?"
Past
The wind howled. Around her mountain and through the surrounding valleys the snow storm blinded and could almost pick a person up. Snow thunder echoed, and avalanches crashed downwards, adding to the chaos and already blinding snow in the air. A raging ring of nature that would protect my home, even if it is found. With only teleportation as the one way to leave let alone reach so much as the foothills. Within the blinding veil time had no meaning. Light and dark it did not exist, only blinding snow and deafening winds. Huddling together before a fire just to avoid the cold sleep, leaving only to gather food from another mountain, the protections she brought up only seemed too much until she was ambushed on one of her foraging trips. Losing two dogs, the others disoriented and she is left limping back home with an electric burn crossing her back and her back left leg broken. Her constant exhaustion from holding the storm and her need to go further afield to gather food to avoid starvation were the cost for a safe haven. Some may say that she was overly paranoid, but to her, her protections were just enough.
Beria's POV
Summer passed faster after that first visit from All Might. After bonding with Recovery Girl over blockheads that need better self-preservation, we struck up a friendship between ourselves. Those last weeks of summer were spent telling stories to All Might, dragging him to my new friend in the infirmary, and sneaking small things to help him recover. All in all, it was nice and restful without the teenage brat's drama.
The first day of school after the break was hectic. There were explosions, shouts, curses, and declarations of love? Over all just another day, I guess.
Toshi-brat finally introduced me to his heir. My first impression? Those eyes should be illegal. When the kid had looked at me with those big jade-colored orbs, he called eyes, I was having flashbacks to baby bunnies and fawns. So, in conclusion, what happened next was absolutely not my fault.
"Shonen, I want to introduce you to Beria-oba", yes, he calls me old now. "Beria-oba, my successor Midoriya-Shonen." That is when those eyes were turned on me. I resisted, oh how I resisted! But I could not fight it. I squealed. I am ashamed to say that I actually made such a sound. After making that shameful sound, I reached over, grabbed the poor kid, and proceeded to strangle him in a too enthusiastic hug. Luckily Toshi- brat pointed out Midoriya's changing skin tone before he died. He was much wearier around me after that. It only made the comparison to cute furry animals more appropriate, creating a vicious cycle though.
While I have met and interacted with Midoriya it was in the professional teacher-student setting. This time I can gush over and spoil the poor mite without guilt though. The fact he obviously has a deep, even familial, bond with his predecessor, like most holders of One For All that I had spoken to, whom seems to have decided I fulfill the grandmother role, even if jokingly, means I am fully within my rights to show affection to the too cute boy. Besides he obviously needs it.