Author Notes:
Yes, I know as inconsistent as ever. All I can say to that is I'm sorry. Hope you all can forgive me.
Anyways, this chapter is a little character development and story building. No actual fights in this one as its more of a transition chapter. I also dabbled a bit on leaving canon and exploring other paths of pushing this story forward.
Also on the note about Shirakumo. I didn't even know about that character. But maybe when Aizawa sees his nimbus cloud, he can make comparisons and think Mori part of Shirakumo's family or something.
And as a side note, I'm gonna try to make this more of a realistic high school. These kids are going to drink, party, date, etc. So give me pairings you'd like to see and funny drunk stuff you'd like to see become real.
Anyways, I hope you enjoy.
Thanks,
HailToTheSnail
Chapter 6 - The God of Hero Academia
Mori watched the streets as buildings and people passed through the window. They were heading to Uwabami's party and he was nothing short of excited. But…
He pulled at his slim navy three-piece suit uncomfortably. When he'd said to his mother that he'd be delighted to meet her hero friends, he didn't mean in the most uncomfortable way possible. He felt so restricted with it.
He felt a light slap on his hand as he made to loosen his tie. "Stop playing with your suit," Rumi said in irritation. "You do know how long it took me to help you with that, right?"
Mori pointedly lowered his arms in respect for the help she'd provided. "Yes, Rumi," he said begrudgingly. "It's just, it's just very restrictive."
Rumi nodded. "Believe me, I know. It took me months to get used to wearing a dress," she picked at the straps of her own. "And even then I find them annoying."
Mori saw that although Rumi looked uncomfortable, she looked amazing. She wore a slim white cowl neck dress that hugged her frame perfectly. It exposed her arms and shoulders while following the length of her leg down to her ankles. She also wore a pair of expensive diamond earrings and silver stilettos.
Mori groaned. "I thought this was supposed to be a party," he muttered.
"It is," Rumi agreed. "But you've got to remember the kind of life Uwibami lives. She's a top model across the world. Of course, she's going to have parties this extravagant."
Mori begrudgingly accepted the explanation and went back to trying to make himself a little more comfortable. It didn't help much.
"Cheer up. We're almost there," Rumi said, bumping into his side. She then gave him a stern look. "You remember what I said though, right?"
Mori nodded and straightened himself.
Rumi smiled. "Good," The car came to a slow stop. "Let's go."
The car stopped and they had a moment to look out at the exceptional five-star hotel that was hosting the party tonight. That was all they had though.
SNAP! CLICK! SNAP!
Mori blinked away the light. Oh, right. Paparazzi. He'd forgotten about them since they'd left him and his mother alone a while ago. The fact that they were family had gotten old fast with the general populace and they'd left them alone in search of more interesting drama. Which was fine with him. He wasn't someone that went out of his way seeking stardom.
He felt a tug on his arm and looked over at Rumi, she was smiling scarily. He wilted under her gaze. "Remember what I said about appearances," she repeated.
He nodded again. The one thing that Rumi wanted him to do was put on airs for the media. Top heroes had proper expectations and a reputation to hold after all. And like her son, he was to be a part of that. He didn't particularly care again. It was an inconvenience at most and he took it in stride for his mother's career's sake.
He stepped out of the car with a polite smile and waved at the cameras. He then offered his mother his arm, which she accepted graciously, and they walked inside. The cameras flashing over and over, blinding them until they stepped into the hotel and the security kept the the media at bay. They were waved over by a male attendant at the front desk. "Good evening, may I get your names?" he asked, holding a clipboard. There were a great number of names written down on it.
"Rumi Usagiyama and Mori Usagiyama," his mother replied.
The attendant nodded, though he probably already knew who she was. Only doing this for formality's sake. "Alright, you're good to go. Elevators are behind me. Take it up to the top floor," he said, gesturing to the elevator beyond where he stood. It opened. "Enjoy your night."
Rumi thanked the attendant and they went inside. His mother pushing the button for the top floor. They quickly started flying through the floors, the ground below quickly growing in distance in the windowed transportation.
When the doors opened, Mori couldn't help but notice how eerily quiet the room had gotten, or had already been. Probably the former though, as more than three-quarters of the room's occupants were staring at them rather intently. This was going to be bothersome. He already knew it.
Sure enough, a large crowd of important people gathered around them, all wishing to either introduce themselves to such a well known pro hero or attempt to pursue her. Hell, some were even trying to push their daughters onto him. It really was bothersome.
"Just bear with it, please," Rumi said quietly so that only he could hear. She wore a polite smile that just screamed 'help me'.
He begrudgingly accepted her plea for support and put on a polite smile. Something that he'd gotten quite good at recently. He started to draw some of the crowd of rich business giants his way.
After he finished talking to another father who introduced his daughter to him, which he was now convinced was some sort of coming of age ritual of some sort within high society, a pair of arms pulled him into a hug from behind. He froze at the intimate gesture. His mother was still within his sights. Who the hell was hugging him?
Before he could so much as guess, the person cooed, "Aww, Nemi wasn't kidding. You really are precious."
At the nickname, Mori immediately correlated it to the only other person who had called him anything of the sort. Miss Kayama. He absolutely refused to call her auntie.
When the person let go of him, he turned around, having a good guess to who it was.
The person standing before him was beautiful. That much was apparent to Mori. She had long blonde hair with three highly realistic... oh wait, those were real. Well, three very real snakes protruding from the top of her head, each colored purple, teal, and yellow.
Her eyes were a gold much like Mori when he was in his god state and she wore a simple scale designed maroon dress with matching shoes. As well as a choker and golden snake bracelets on her wrists and ankles.
The woman winked once she saw that he was staring at her body. "You can look but no touching," she teased.
Mori took it in stride. Not getting embarrassed in the slightest. "Miss Uwabami," he asked, knowing exactly who she was.
She smiled innocently as if she hadn't just been hugging him without his consent. She also seemed rather amused by the fact that he hadn't blushed and stuttered when she teased him. "And you must be, Mori," she replied in kind. "I've heard a lot about you from Ru. She doesn't stop gushing about you in our group chat."
Mori felt his cheeks heat up. "She talks about me like that?" He asked curiously.
"Oh, all the time," the model replied. "She flaunts you around like your the joy of her life, which you are. It almost makes me want to have a kid. Or at least adopt one."
Before Mori could find an answer for that, a figure sprinted past Mori and crashed into Uwabami, surprising the unprepared woman. "Uwi!" Rumi shouted.
"Ru?" Uwabami hissed in bewilderment, trying to pry her off. "This isn't proper. There are cameras here."
Now that she mentioned it. Wasn't this exactly the kind of thing that Rumi didn't want him doing? Double standards much.
"I don't care," Rumi quickly shut her friend and his thoughts down.
What's gotten into you?"
"I missed you," she cried, holding the snake hero tighter. "I'm sorry for not keeping in contact. I was just so busy with the hero firm that I forgot about you guys and, and…"
Uwabami's features softened slowly upon hearing that and she returned the hug Rumi gave her. "I missed you too, bun," she admitted. They stayed like that for a peaceful minute or two before the snake hero pushed the rabbit hero to arms distance to look her in the eyes seriously. "But as an apology, you better model for me in a photoshoot for my next clothesline. I'll forgive you after that. Deal?"
Rumi groaned. "Why do you need me to model?" she asked. It sounded rhetorical as if she'd asked the same question a hundred times over.
The snake hero replied in kind. "Because you're gorgeous, bun," she admitted crassly. "Have you seen your body, Ru? Your breasts and butt are to die for."
The rabbit hero rolled her eyes, probably used to hearing this. "Fine, I'll do it," she agreed, narrowing her eyes. "But I better be paid for this. The usual."
It was Uwabami's turn to roll her eyes. "Naturally, bun," she replied, patting her cheek.
Rumi pulled back, glancing over the rest of the party. Like she was searching for someone. "Hey, Uwi. I've been looking about for both you and Ryu. I found you, but I haven't seen Ryu yet. Is she here?" his mother asked curiously.
Uwibami frowned and shook her head. "No. She was supposed to be here but some villain decided to rob a nearby convenience store," the snake hero explained off-handedly. "She's stuck doing the writeup and can't make it now. Talk about a shitty villain. Couldn't they have picked a better date to rob that store?"
Rumi chuckled weakly at the joke but deflated after hearing that. "Oh… That's too bad, I would have liked to see and apologize to her too," she admitted.
Uwibami pulled her in for a hug again. "Don't worry, bun. You can apologize to her when at the photoshoot," she said with certainty. "Ryu's already promised me that she'd be one of my models for that," she pulled back from Rumi and looked over at me. "Anyways, we shouldn't ignore Mori anymore. He's the reason you guys are here after all. Isn't he?"
At that, Rumi visibly brightened. "Yeah, you should have seen how excited he was to meet you," she teased. His cheeks flushed. Was this what it meant to have a mother? Oh, how he loathed her right now.
While Mori was drowning in embarrassment from the fun that his mother and Uwabami were poking at him, he remembered something the snake hero had asked on the phone. "Miss Uwabami?" The Monkey King asked, drawing their attention. "You said that you had something that you needed from me over the phone. What was it?"
A faint smile graced the snake hero's features. "I almost forgot about that in our teasing," she said sincerely. How cruel. "I did have something to ask you," she looked serious now.
"I wanted to know if you would also be willing to model for me in my next clothing line," Uwabami asked. She continued to explain before he could ask questions. "You see, my business has recently decided to go international and we've established across the planet. And because of that, I wanted to create a new clothing line for going international," she added with pride for her work evident in her voice.
"That's great, Uwi!" Rumi exclaimed, almost beaming. It was unnerving seeing his mother this excited about something. "You were always telling us back in school how you wanted to be famous across the planet. Now you've got your wish."
Uwabami smiled at her friend's words. "Thanks, Ru," she said before focusing back on Mori. "Anyways, there was a slight problem that we ran into recently involving our current customer base. You see, before my company became as large as it is today, our customer base was targeted around the rich upper class."
She frowned slightly. "The problem is that now, our company has changed a lot since we've started expanding," she explained. "We've started clothing lines that were much cheaper and more affordable and that gave us a whole new audience that now make up the vast majority of our profits. Young adults."
"Which is why you want me to model, why?" Mori asked, not seeing why he was needed.
Uwabami continued. "Well you see, we need someone that could draw in that audience and we thought that an aspiring hero would be the perfect solution," she smiled at him and Rumi. "Which is why when Ru told me about you, I just knew you'd be perfect for this role and had to see if you'd do this little favor for me. Ru's already given her consent, it's just up to you to decide now."
Mori looked over at his mother who nodded to confirm it and he mulled the idea over in his head. He wanted to help Uwabami. He really did. She was a professional hero that he idolized very much for her ability to balance her multiple jobs so splendidly. Plus she was also one of his mother's best friends. How could he say no? "Let's say I agree, what would I have to do?" He asked.
"Well, as I said, you'd only need to do one photoshoot and then you can be done, or if you decide you enjoy this line of work, I can hire you part-time," Uwabami offered. "Of course, I don't expect you to do this photoshoot for free either. You'll be paid five hundred US dollars for each shoot you do."
Wow… and he was already going to say yes. Guess this was just further incentive.
"Plus," she added drawing his attention again. She smirked. "Ryuko has already agreed to model for me. I know she didn't show up today. On the off chance someone wanted to meet her, I'm sure they could meet her then."
It worked. Damn, but it worked. She played her cards well. "Well played," he said, smiling to show that he held no grudge for her underhanded tactics. "I guess I'm in."
"Splendid," Uwabami said, putting her hands together. "I'll let my board know as soon as tomorrow morning and we'll get this shoot done sometime in the next week. Sound alright?"
Mori nodded and watched as his mother started to talk with Uwabami about stuff that had little to do with him, leaving him to find something to do. He didn't really feel like standing by his mother's side the entire night. So he needed something to keep his attention for the rest of the night. He promptly raided the buffet spread.
While he was enjoying himself, gorging on a few crab legs, a hand grabbed at his wrist. He groaned quietly, keeping it to himself, and turned around to excuse himself from whatever father or daughter tried to grab his attention this time. He blinked when he saw who it was. "Yaoyorozu?" he asked, looking at his classmate. She seemed just as bewildered as he was to see her here at this party.
"Mori? I thought it was you. What are you doing here?" she asked.
Mori took this moment to take in Yaoyorozu's appearance. If he didn't recognize her hairstyle, he was quite sure he wouldn't have recognized her. She was dressed up in a fancy modest silver dress with silver gloves and heels.
He shrugged. "I came to meet Uwabami and Ryuko," he admitted. "My mother said that she'd introduce me to them since they were best friends in high school and Uwabami invited us here so that I could meet them," he scrunched his brows. "What are you doing here?"
"Well you see, my parents are rather large business giants in the building material industry due to the nature of our family's Quirk," she replied proudly. "Though recently they've been showing interest in the entertainment industry which is why my family was invited by a business colleague to this party."
Mori stared at her flatly. "And the reason you're here?" he asked again, emphasizing the "you're" bit.
It took her a moment, it really did, for her to understand what he was getting at and realized, with a blush, that she'd gone into a long winding explanation that had nothing to do with her. Rather than apologies, she gave a proper answer to his question. Something that he personally appreciated. "My parents didn't normally let me go to these kinds of social gatherings due to my age. They said that I could have been taken advantage of because of my Quirk," she admitted, holding not an ounce of malice in her voice. "But now that I'm attending U.A., they seem to think it's alright."
Mori nodded and took the time to get to know his classmate, Yaoyorozu. They didn't interact much with each other during school, mostly because she had her own friend group, and he was curious to learn more about her Quirk. Maybe, just maybe she could replicate things like the Holy Grail.
"Yaoyorozu," Mori started, grabbing her attention. "I was-"
"Please, just call me, Momo," she interrupted politely; though with an edge of aggression. "It's a bit unfair if I get to call you by your first name and you by my last. If you want me to call you Mori, you, in return, have to call me Momo."
The Monkey King was surprised by the kind gesture but nodded. "Right," he conceded. "Momo, I was wondering how your Quirk worked. I'll admit I was curious when I first saw it and I wanted to know if there were any limitations to your ability or anything of the sort."
He waited for her to answer and when he saw her biting his lip. "Is something the matter?" he asked. A thought came to mind. "I'm not going to use this information against you. If that's what you're worried about," he assured.
Yaoyorozu seemed embarrassed. "Sorry, I didn't mean it that way," she admitted. She took a deep breath and let it out. "I'm just a little guarded after yesterday's combat training. I'll admit that I might have underestimated you. You were a lot more capable than I gave you credit for and that was definitely my undoing."
"Okay," Mori started, unsure of what she was going on about. "Apology accepted?"
Yaoyorozu seemed relieved. "Anyways, as for your question, there are limitations to my abilities. I have to know the object that I'm trying to create inside and out. From the material to the composition to the structure. Otherwise, the product I'm trying to replicate wouldn't function as intended to," she said honestly. "So by no means is it the perfect Quirk that so many people seem to believe it is. It takes a lot of practice to use in an actual combat or rescue," she said, rather defensively.
Mori hummed at the former piece of information. Don't get him wrong, he was impressed with the amount of effort that Yaoyorozu put into being a hero. It was just that that's not what mattered to him at the moment.
"Thanks, Momo," he said appreciatively. "I was just curious how it worked after you showed some of the objects you could craft with your ability during the combat training," he lied.
So it couldn't replicate the Holy Grail…
He was disappointed but didn't let that show on his face. He didn't want to ruin Yaoyorozu's good mood with his own somber one. He smiled instead and asked her lighter questions about herself and she in return did the same.
They continued to just make small talk and enjoy the party until he felt yet another arm on his person. He turned around to tell whoever it was to buzz off.. politely of course. His jaw dropped when he saw who it was. "Endeavor?" he asked, looking up at the number two pro hero. He quickly composed himself and held out his arm. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
Endeavor didn't make any move to shake it. He continued to stare down at Mori, which would've been intimidating if he hadn't been a God or faced off against other Gods. "You're the hotshot in my son's class," he said gruffly.
Hotshot? What had he done to earn that title? "I don't know what you mean, sir?" Mori asked, pulling his arm back. He was a little unsure of what to think of Todoroki's father.
"Oh, I think you do," Endeavor rumbled. His stare turned on Yaoyorozu and Mori stepped in front of her protectively. The fire hero grunted in amusement. "Cute," he added, before intimidating Yaoyorozu. "I need to talk with Mirko's kid. So take a hike."
Yaoyorozu gave Mori a worried look but he nodded. She hesitantly walked off and he turned back to Endeavor, who motioned for the Monkey King to follow him. "So," he started slowly, drawing the former's attention. "What does the number two pro hero want with me?" he asked, as he kept pace.
Endeavor smiled, as odd as it looked on him. "Straight down to business. I like that," he admitted, finally looking at the Monkey King with some sort of respect. "I have a favor to ask."
They stopped near a window overlooking the city and Mori looked out. It was really beautiful. "How can I help you?" he asked.
Endeavor didn't waste any time. "My son," he started, drawing Mori's attention.
"What about him?" Mori asked cautiously. From what he'd seen of his classmate's reactions to any mention of his father, he could only assume the worst.
The pro hero looked out the window pensively. "I want you to spar with my son," he asked the hero aspirant.
Mori waited for the rest of the request. Something that'd make him hate the man as much as Todoroki seemed to hate him. It didn't come. "That all?" he asked in surprise.
Endeavor nodded his head. "That is all," he admitted.
Mori was shocked but recovered quickly. He slowly smiled up at the older man. "You know, you're not so bad. For a second there, I thought you wanted to blackmail me into throwing a fight to your son for his pride," he let out a few small peals of laughter and beamed at the pro hero. "Glad to see that that's not the case."
The Monkey King's smile grew larger. "You don't have to worry about anything, Mr. Endeavor. I'll spar with your son and we'll become great friends. You can trust me on that," he said, excited at the chance to train with a friend. Especially since he now had their parents blessing to do it.
His happy thoughts stopped when Endeavor continued. "That won't be necessary, kid. He doesn't need friends. All I need is for you to do as I asked," the pro hero said with certainty. "Better yet, I need him to think of you as a goal. Which is why I want you to thrash my son in your spars. Show him how much more powerful you are."
Mori was shocked. "Pardon? You want me to do what now? Why?"
Endeavor chuckled dangerously. "Don't play dumb with me, boy. I know how strong you are. You single-handedly took down one of those giant mechs from over a kilometer away and scored at the top of your Quirk Assessment Test," he replied, showing that he had deep connections with some of the faculty at U.A.. Those records were confidential. "I'm sure you can kick my son around a ring for a bit. No?"
Mori frowned. "Why would you want me to do that in the first place?" he asked. "Isn't he your son?"
Endeavor smiled again. It looked off this time. "Because I want him to realize how powerless he is right now. How weak he is right now. How with my training he could become stronger than he is now. That he could surpass All Might like he's destined to."
"So what? You want me to make him feel weak?" The Monkey King asked uncertainly.
"That's exactly it," Endeavor said excitedly. "I want him to realize that he needs me to grow stronger. That he can't keep on rejecting me forever."
"Why would you want that? It's like you want him to live for your own goals."
The words the pro hero said next made Mori stop. "Was that not implied?" he asked.
Mori waited a moment to make sure what he heard was what he heard. When he was sure of it, his expression grew cold. "I don't think I heard you correctly, Mr. Endeavor. Did I just hear you say that you want your son to live for your ideals?" he asked. A deadly edge to the voiced question.
Endeavor was oblivious to the cold seeping into his words and smiled, glad to get what he wanted. "I'm glad you finally understand. I gave birth to him, therefore he should return the kindness by helping me achieve my goals. Now if you'll do as I asked, that'd be great. I'll even put in a good word for you with the Hero Association. How does that sound?" he suggested, holding out his hand to cement the deal.
SLAP!
Endeavor's expression changed slowly as he realized what had happened. He pulled back his hand; the back of it turning slightly red from the contact. "Kid, I suggest you reconsider and accept my deal. I won't give you a second chance," he added.
Mori closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I can see why Todoroki hates you," he said honestly. "You're nothing but a coward that uses your own child as a means to achieve your goal of toppling All Might."
Endeavor growled as the flames around his head raged, eating away at the oxygen between the two, making it hard to breathe. "Watch your tongue. You don't want to make an enemy out of me, kid. I can make your life hell," he threatened.
Mori opened his eyes in return, displaying his fiery eyes and golden pupils. "And you should walk away. You don't want to piss me off any further than you already have," he countered, glaring back at the older man with as much energy as he could muster.
Any guests near them soon noticed the growing heat wafting off of the pro hero, Endeavor, and wisely moved away from the hero and the hero aspirant. Leaving them a nice open room to fight it out if they needed to. And it really did look like it would come down to that. Thankfully it didn't though.
A hand rested on Mori's shoulder and he visibly relaxed. "Endeavor, what do you think you're doing with my son?" Rumi asked from behind him. Her voice laced with a hint of aggression.
The pro hero glared at her. To her credit, she didn't back down. "Teaching the kid some manners," he replied with a grunt. "Apparently, you didn't."
Rumi eyes narrowed at the obvious insult but was mature enough to not retaliate. "No, he just has enough common sense to call you out on your bullshit," she replied, stepping in front of me.
He didn't speak. Instead, his actions showed his emotions when his flames raged and he started towards the rabbit hero. He stopped when another person got in his way. This one was a little more important due to the avenue.
"Endeavor, are you causing trouble to my other guests?" Uwabami asked, rather frighteningly.
Endeavor paused, thinking over the consequences of starting a fight here between two heroes. After a moment, he backed down with a grunt. "No, I was just on my way," he lied easily, walking past his two fellow heroes.
He paused when he stood next to the Monkey King. "Don't regret your choice here," he muttered.
Moro didn't even glance at him. "I won't."
With that, Endeavor continued on his way. Clicking the button for the elevator and waiting for it to arrive. The doors opened and he entered, glaring at the two female pro heroes and the male hero aspirant as it closed.
Rumi exhaled once he was gone and smiled weakly at her friend. "Thanks Uwi, I'm glad that didn't get any more heated than it needed to be," she admitted in relief.
Uwibami returned the smile. "No problem, he was causing trouble at my event. It's only natural I stop it," she replied, before looking across the room. She sighed. "Anyways, I have to get back to my guests. Are you guys gonna stay any longer?"
Rumi shook her head. "I think Mori and I have had enough of parties and fancy clothes," her smile grew. "Do us a favor next time. Could we just get dinner at a restaurant? I'll even compromise. A fancy restaurant."
Uwibami chuckled in amusement. "Alright, we'll do it your way next time," she agreed. She embraced her friend in a hug. "Get home safe, Ru," she wished. "And don't be a stranger anymore."
Rumi rolled her eyes. "I won't. You'll be seeing a lot more of me now," she promised.
Uwabami nodded before turning her attention on Mori. She pulled him into a hug. "And it was nice meeting you too, Mori." She said honestly. "I'll see you and your mother next week."
He smiled. "You bet," he agreed.
Uwabami walked off soon after to talk with some rich snobs and pompous assholes.
"That was exhausting," Rumi said aloud.
Mori nodded at that exclamation. "How do you deal with that at every social function?" He asked seriously. He was also rather exhausted.
Rumi grinned. "By talking absolute bullshit," she admitted, nudging him in the side. They laughed and after a moment, the rabbit hero suggested. "Let's get the hell out of here. I don't think I can stand one more person trying to charm me with their wealth," she added with a shake of her head.
He couldn't agree more. If there was one thing he now knew, it was that rich people's parties were nothing but flaunting wealth and finding partners. Or at least, that was his experience. And his experience sucked.
"What's it like learning under the number one hero in all of Japan?"
"Is All Might a good teacher?"
"Does he always smile, or is that a hoax?"
Mori paused as he was bombarded by question after question from a bunch of news reporters. He looked passed them at U.A. and wondered how he'd get there. He could just fly over them with his nimbus cloud? Or maybe pole vault off of Yeoui?
The Monkey King looked back down at the news reporters who all still held mics in their hands. Seemed they expected a quote from him or something. He smiled politely. "It's incredible that I have this opportunity to learn under All Might. He's an exceptional teacher that strives to shape us into the best heroes we can be. And I won't waste this opportunity by no means," he replied honestly. He then smiled. "Now if you'd let me by, I've got class to attend. I'm sure U.A. wouldn't appreciate this hold-up."
At the mention of incurring U.A.'s wrath, news reporters stepped out of Mori's way, satisfied with the quote they got from the aspiring hero.
He walked past them and went for the school entrance. He paused when he saw another classmate of his getting swarmed with media personnel. He sighed and intervened.
"What kind of teaching methods did the number one hero introduce?"
"Do you have close ties with your teacher?"
"Does he plan on finding a successor here in U.A. for his role as the Symbol of Peace?"
Mori grabbed Midoriya's collar. "Let's go," he said, pulling him away from the crowds of news reporters, grumbling at my intervention. He'd seemed overwhelmed.
"Thanks, Mori," Midoriya said, as they walked past the school's gates. "I wouldn't know what to do without you there."
Mori smiled. "Someone would have come to save you," he said, knowing it to be true. "If not me, then the teachers would have."
True enough, Mr. Aizawa stepped outside and kept the news reporters back as the rest of the students, all first years of the hero program, scurried inside. Though one of the news reporters got by him and was even bold enough to try and follow one of the students inside for more quotes. Big mistake on that guy's part.
SLAM! SLAM! SLAM!
Steel plates shot up from the ground when the news reporter tried to enter the grounds. The walls near the gate also had steel plates shoot up from them, barring entrance to any unwelcome guests. It didn't surprise Mori as it did his classmates at the moment. He'd seen this happen to an eager fan of All Might's just a few days ago.
While the rest of his class gawked at U.A.'s security system, Mori took that time to head to class. They only had a couple of minutes to get there. If they wanted to run to make it on time, they could run. He would leave now and walk to class. Thank you very much.
When the Monkey King reached 1-A, he found that he wasn't the first one there. In fact, two students were already there and sitting, waiting for class to start. They were the honor students, Todoroki; his new bestie, and Yaoyorozu; the rich and smart one he'd gotten to know at Uwabami's party.
Yaoyorozu smiled at him respectfully and Todoroki gave him a curt nod, which in Mori's opinion was an impressive improvement in friendship from their prior lunch. At least he acknowledged his presence to some degree this time around.
The bell rang soon after, with a few students running in after the bell. It didn't really matter though as Mr. Aizawa didn't get there until a couple minutes later due to the reporters at the front gate.
Once everyone had settled down, Mr. Aizawa started the class. "Decent work on yesterday's combat training you guys. I saw the video feeds and went over each of your team's results. There are only two individuals that I have a problem with," he looked at the first of the two. "Bakugo. You're talented. So don't sulk like a child about your loss, okay?"
Bakugo looked away. "Yeah, whatever," he conceded.
"And Midoriya," he continued, drawing the timid teen's attention. "I see that the only way you won the match was by messing up your arm again. Work harder. And don't give me the excuse that you don't have control over your Quirk. That line's already getting old. You can't keep breaking your body while training here."
He sighed and relented a bit. "But your Quirk will be really useful if you can get a handle on it. So show a little urgency, you understand?"
Midoriya brightened with a look of determination. "Right."
"Let's get down to the real business," Mr. Aizawa said, writing it out on the board. "Our first task will decide your future. You all need to pick a class representative."
Kirishima immediately sprang up in his seat. "Pick me guys!" he shouted. "I want to be the class rep!"
"I'll take it," Kaminari insisted.
Even Jiro raised her arm. "Yeah, you're going to need me."
One by one everyone stood up in the room, save for both Mori and Todoroki.
Mori didn't want it because it just seemed like a lot more work for little reward. Though he could see why everyone wanted to be the class representative. It was a way to get recognized by agencies and be trusted to lead other heroes. Didn't matter, he already had his mother's hero agency to work at after graduation.
"Silence everyone, please!" Iida said, shutting everyone up. "The class representative's duty is to lead others. That's not something just anyone can do. You must first have the trust of every student in the classroom. Therefore, the most logical way to fill the school rep's position is democratically. We will hold an election to choose our leader."
Mori smiled at the smart idea. And also who he'd now vote for in the election.
"Is this really the best idea?" Kaminari asked.
"We've only known each other for a few days," Asui countered. "How do we know who we can trust?"
"Besides, everyone will just vote for themselves," Kaminari pointed out.
Iida nodded, acknowledging their points. "Most people will. And that means that whoever does receive multiple votes must truly be the most suitable person for the job," he admitted. "It's the best way. Right, sir?" he asked Mr. Aizawa.
They caught the teacher zipping himself into his yellow sleeping bag. "Do what you want," he groaned as he fell over. "Just decide before my naps over."
Iida bowed to their teacher. "Thank you for your trust," he said politely.
The ever rule-abiding student turned back to the class. "Alright, everyone tear out a piece of paper from your notebook and write down the name of whoever you're nominating," he explained, doing so to show an example. "Then fold it up before handing it to the person in front of you until they reach the front of the class. I'll tally up the results."
Everyone agreed and ripped out a piece of paper from their notebook, pulling out a pencil or pen and writing down who they thought was most suited to be the class representative.
Mori could already tell that the vast majority of the class were going to vote for themselves on this election, which meant that his vote for someone else actually mattered somewhat. And after seeing Iida's capability to quell their class' volume, he wrote down his classmate's name with full confidence.
He passed it forward to Uraraka for her to pass down the line and waited patiently for Iida to tally up the results. He wrote them down on the chalkboard.
To Mori's surprise, his name came up first with four votes and Midoriya's came up second with three. The only other person to get more than one vote was Yaoyorozu at two. "What?" the Monkey King exclaimed.
Nonetheless, he was elected by the class. "How did I get four votes!" Mori asked in surprise. "I didn't even vote for myself! I voted for Iida!"
Bakugo slammed his desk and stood up, looking over the class. "Okay, idiots! Who voted for him?" he asked angrily, pointing at the Monkey King. His glare promised death to whoever did. Wisely, everyone remained quiet.
Well, almost everyone. Sero grinned. "Did you honestly expect anyone to vote for you? You're a walking volcano, dude."
Bakugo growled at that. "What was that, Soy Sauce Face? Want to repeat yourself?"
As their class descended into pointless arguments and weak reassurance, Mori tried to wrap his head around being the Class Representative. He didn't want the position. Hell, all he wanted was to practice his martial arts.
Unfortunately, no one understood or seemed to care for what he wanted. As Mr. Aizawa got up from his small nap and unzipped himself from his sleeping bag. "Alright, since you, students, have voted. The class rep will be Mori and our deputy will be Midoriya," he drawled. "Good luck to both of you."
The cafeteria was bustling with activity as everyone rushed for the place for lunch.
Luckily, Mr. Aizawa had taken that into account and let their class out five minutes early. Something which even the least smart of the class could tell was a gesture of kindness by the hard ass. So they all sat down, munching on the delicious food on their plates while the rest of the student body stared on with envy.
Mori couldn't find it in himself to be happy even with the delicious food. He just played with it on his plate while sulking to himself about his predicament.
"Are you just going to cry to yourself the entire time?" Todoroki asked curiously. He didn't even bother to ask the Monkey King to move. "Being the class rep is a privilege."
Mori tsked. "Not one that I want. It doesn't benefit me in any way. I already have a job lined up after I graduate which is all this position is useful for. Looking good on a resume," he said with a grumble.
Todoroki had no reply to that and continued to eat his pizza. Though he wore an amused smile.
Mori paused and perked up suddenly. "By the way, what's got you in such a good mood?" he asked.
"What makes you think that?" the scarred student asked in return.
"Well, normally you'd be asking me to leave the table. Not too subtly either," the Monkey King admitted with a shrug. "It's just an observation."
Todoroki looked down at his pizza before letting out a comfortable sigh. "I wanted to say thanks," he said out of the blue. And he meant it too.
Mori, on the other hand, was thrown off by the random appreciation. "Pardon?"
The recommended boy frowned, not wanting to repeat himself. He did it anyway. "I said thank you," he echoed.
The former God shook his head. "No, yeah. I heard that part," he assured. "I mean why?" he added curiously. He was sure he hadn't done anything to gain Todoroki's favor. Unless you counted trying to become friends with him. But the boy seemed to think that that was more of an annoyance than anything else.
He didn't look particularly pleased that he had to explain himself further. "About what happened last night," he said impatiently as if it explained everything. Which it did.
"Do you mean with your father?" Mori asked.
Todoroki nodded. "Last night he came home fuming. You seem to have really pissed him off from how he was swearing revenge on you," he said with a smirk.
Mori frowned at that off-putting news. He'd really thought Endeavor was bluffing. He'd thought the pro hero would be more mature than that. Guess he was wrong.
"My father… he's obsessed with surpassing All Might," Todoroki admitted, surprising the Monkey King. Not with the obvious information but with how many words the scarred student was saying. He was counting double digits. Double fucking digits. "Ever since he'd risen to the second-best pro hero, he'd never been able to secure the top. Because no matter how much he tried, his feats paled in comparison to All Might's."
He sighed. "I don't hate him for his ambition," he continued. He started to glare at the pizza on his plate and the air around them felt a little chillier. "I hate him for the lengths he'd go to achieve that ambition."
From the way Todoroki spoke of it, Mori could only assume the worst. He didn't say anything though, waiting for his classmate to tell him the reason. He didn't want to risk the little trust that the scarred boy was putting in him now.
The boy closed his eyes. He seemed a little calmer. "Have you ever heard of Quirk Marriages?" he asked curiously.
Mori shook his head. Even though he'd been here for a few months, he still didn't know everything about this world. Especially about the darker aspects of it.
Todoroki nodded in understanding and explained. "It's a type of marriage that involves marrying for the sake of creating a stronger Quirk in their children," he said with distaste. "No passion. No affection. Just duty."
He frowned. "Three times; three years; three kids. That's how many times he tried for it," he growled, looking down at his two hands. "And he finally got what he wanted. He gave birth to me. His messiah."
He clenched his fists. "I can't accept him no matter how much I try," he said, his anger rising again. "Not after what he did to my mother and for abandoning his duties as a father. It's unforgivable."
Mori could see why Todoroki was bitter with his father. Having one of his parents only ever care for him because he was a means to an end felt kind of cheap. And what happened to his siblings? Were they just cast aside?
The Monkey King saw the dejected look on his cafeteria partner's face and wanted to reassure the usually calm and reserved guy. This was the furthest their friendship had extended and he wasn't going to let it go to waste. He was-
RING! RING! RING! RING! RING!
The school alarm system triggered. The speaker system came online. "Warning. Level three security breach," it blared. "All students please evacuate the building in an orderly fashion." It began to repeat the message over and over and by the third time, it seemed to have sunk into the students' heads. They all panicked, running to the cafeteria exit; pushing and shoving to try and leave through the single door.
Mori wasn't sure what was going on but knew it was serious. He needed to know more. He grabbed ahold of an older student running by. "What's going on? What does a level three security breach mean?" he asked.
The upperclassman, instead of answering, tried to shake off the Monkey King and evacuate as the repeated message insisted over the speaker system. He soon realized though that he wasn't getting out of the brown-haired boy's iron grip. He gave up and answered. "It means that someone's managed to get past the school's barriers," they explained. "This is the first time this has happened in my three years here. So let go and let me get the hell out of here!"
Mori frowned at the student's cowardice, but complied, having the information he needed. The upperclassman rushed towards the exit, already teeming with panicked students.
"Bunch of idiots," Todoroki mentioned, seeming to have gotten over his dejection in favor of the immediate crisis happening before them. "Do they not realize they're endangering themselves further by causing a commotion? The villains are bound to get drawn here by the noise, and if they broke into U.A., there's only one reason why. They're here for us students."
The Monkey King couldn't agree more. They needed to quiet everyone unless they wanted to be up against real villains. Did their peers not understand how severe the situation was? He expected a little more from the third year. They could die here for their incompetence.
Before he could really think of any ideas, his focus raced in on a school uniform near the ground in the middle of the sea of students. "I'll be back," he mentioned quickly to Todoroki before pushing into the crowd and towards the piece of cloth he could see between everyone's legs. Someone was in trouble and he was going to help.
When he reached the girl, she'd curled herself into a ball to protect herself from people stepping on her. He stepped in front of her, parting the students and giving the girl a chance to get on her feet and out of harm's way. He offered his hand. "Hagakure, wasn't it? Are you okay?" he asked, helping her to her feet.
"Yeah, I am. Thanks. I almost got trampled there," she said in appreciation. She was a little spooked. "I don't know what would have happened if you didn't help me."
Mori smiled. "Don't worry about it. Just wait for everyone else to leave so this doesn't happen again. It was hard enough for me to spot you the first time. I don't know if I could do it again," he admitted honestly.
Getting a nod of understanding, the Monkey King looked around in search of anyone else in need. Instead, his eyes landed on something outside the window. There were reporters outside. And was that Mr. Aizawa and Mr. Yamada? What were they all doing outside the front door of the main building?
It took him a shameful minute, but eventually, the pieces clicked and everything made a whole lot more sense. There was no danger. It was just the reporters that'd tripped the alarms. He had to let everyone know so that they'd stop pushing-
"Listen up! Everything is okay!" Mori looked up to the exit. There, above the door frame, stood Iida. He had grabbed everyone's attention. "It's just the media outside! There's absolutely nothing to worry about! Everything's fine!"
The engineman continued. "We're U.A. students! We have to remain calm and prove that we're the best of the best!" he said, making sure that everyone understood what he meant by that. Stop fucking panicking!
Or at least that's what Mori imagined he meant by it. Nonetheless he was impressed with his classmate's capability to calm down the student population. This is why he thought Iida would make a great class representative. And maybe he still could…
Mr. Aizawa stood at the front of the class, shuffling some papers. "Now, there were a few things, I'll admit I forgot, which we didn't get to this morning" he admitted. "I'd like for the class rep and deputy to pick out the other class officers."
With his piece said, he slowly zipped himself back into his sleeping bag and gave the floor to the two students called out. They walked up to the front of the class.
Mori looked downright pitiful as he stood upfront with a look of absolute resignation and Midoriya stood stock still, frozen due to his anxiety. Yeah… quite the class reps they had.
Mori wasn't sure if it was Midoriya or himself that snapped to first, but they both soon realized that there were a bunch of students waiting on the both of them.
The Monkey King coughed into his fist after a moment. "Right, so we have to decide who the other class officers will be," he announced slowly. "And I think we should use Iida's method from earlier," he added, acknowledging the brilliant idea for what it was.
"There are three other positions we're trying to fill," the brown-haired boy continued. "Those of which include the Treasurer; who will handle the budget of our class funds, the Event Coordinator; who will coordinate fun events for our class to bond outside of school, and the Historian; who will record everything the class does every day."
Mori jabbed Midoriya in the side to continue. He'd give the boy a chance to talk. "O-Officers," he stuttered uselessly. He didn't continue.
Never mind. The Monkey King clapped his hands together to grab everyone's attention again. "Of course, Midoriya and I are exempt from these elections. So would everyone rip three pieces of paper out of their notebooks and write down one of our classmates for each position. Then pass it to the person in front of you until it reaches the front."
Everyone did as asked and ripped out a piece of paper before writing down three names. They then passed them up. In all, it took only a few minutes.
While that went on, the two standing up wrote out their classmates names in a table on the chalkboard with three sections; one for each position. They started to tally up the results.
When they were done, they stepped back to announce the results. Well, Mori did at least. "Okay, our three-class officers are Shoji for Treasurer, Ashido as the Events Coordinator, and Yaoyorozu filling in as the Historian. Any questions?"
Shoji raised his arm. It morphed into a mouth. "Could I give my position as Treasurer away?" he asked. "I don't think I'm right for the job."
Mori shook his head. "Sorry, but-"
"Yeah, you can," Mr. Aizawa called out over the Monkey King. He shifted in his sleeping bag. "Just give your position to someone, so we can get this over with already."
Shoji nodded. "Alright, I choose Bakugo as Treasurer," he said, surprising the class. He explained why. "He got one of the top scores in the written portion of the entrance exam. Only topped by Yaoyorozu and Midoriya. He's the obvious choice here."
"Damn right I am," the explosive teen reminded.
"Not for an attitude like that," Kaminari muttered quietly enough for it to go unnoticed.
"Alright, fine. Bakugo will be Treasurer," Mr. Aizawa decided. "Which means that now that the class officers have been chosen, we can begin with the afternoon classes."
Mori looked between the three speakers, trying to understand the new information provided. Shoji just gave away his position? What the hell? He just gave it away!
"Sir," Mori said, drawing their teacher's attention again. "I'd also like to give up my position as Class Representative," he admitted. "I think I'm not the most suited for the job and that others in our class can do it better than I can."
Mr. Aizawa groaned but listened nonetheless. "And who is that?"
The Monkey pointed at Iida. "I think Iida is the best candidate," he admitted humbly. "If it weren't for his actions during lunch, there could have been serious injuries to students during the evacuation. Since he managed to quiet down the student body with his words alone, he would make a far better Class Representative."
"If that's what you believe is best. Iida will be the Class Representative," the rugged-looking teacher said, not seeming to care in the slightest.
Iida stood up promptly. "If Mori is nominating me for this job, then I humbly accept and will carry out the duties of class rep to the best of my abilities," he said evenly.
Though to the Monkey King, it was obvious that his classmate was barely able to contain his excitement. Hell, he was barely able to contain his own excitement. He didn't have to deal with Class Representative duties! More training time!
Mr. Aizawa stood up. "Anyways, now that we've actually concluded the class officer assignments. We can really begin with afternoon classes-" he started.
"Sir!" Midoriya shouted spontaneously, cutting off their teacher. "B-Before we continue, I'd also like to give up my position. I-I believe I'd be better suited to the role of Historian, i-if Yaoyorozu would like to become the Deputy."
Their teacher looked up at the ceiling. "What don't you kids understand? This is a waste of time. I don't care about whose class officers. Just choose people already," he admitted.
Midoriya, for what it was worth, took that as a sign that his teacher agreed; with only the slightest flinch of hesitation. "Thank you, sir," he turned to Yaoyorozu. "Does this sound fine with you?" he asked cautiously.
Seeing as she was being saddled with more responsibilities, Yaoyorozu looked absolutely delighted with the proposition. "Of course, Midoriya," she agreed. "I'd be honored."
With that out of the way, Mr. Aizawa stepped out of his sleeping bag. "Anyone else?" he asked, glaring at the rest of the students. Not one made a peep. "Good, then we can really begin lessons for the afternoon."
Mori and Midoriya quickly wrote down the names and positions of those people on the chalkboard before returning to their seats.
In the end, Iida became the Class President on Mori's recommendation. Yaoyorozu; the Vice-President after Midoriya decided he wasn't suited for it. Bakugo was given the Treasurer position by Shoji. Ashido was fun and made Event Coordinator. And Midoriya, with all his writing, was chosen as the Historian.
Mori smiled, glad that he no longer had to do the class rep duties. Those would have been such a hassle and something he wasn't suited for. Iida was better for that. Now, he could enjoy the hero school life. Everything was perfect.
When he sat down at his seat in utter satisfaction of how things ended, Mr. Aizawa looked down at his sheets. "Oh, and one more thing," he drawled, drawing everyone's attention. "The first year representative will be none other than our class', Mori Usagiyama. Due to his outstanding performance in the entrance exam, he'll be given this opportunity. Please give him a round of applause."
His eyes bulged out. What? Did he hear that right? Did Mr. Aizawa just say that he was the first-year representative? He looked around and everyone stared back. Yep, he did. This couldn't be real. He didn't want this.
His classmates didn't see it his way though. "Way to go, Mori," Kirishima gave him a thumbs up and a grin. "You'll do great."
"Like totes!" Ashido agreed. "Show em what Class 1-A's made of! Knock em out!"
"Represent," Kaminari said, high-fiving his purple classmate.
Mori just whimpered and collapsed on his desk. Fuck, he thought.
"So what kind of training will we be doing, Mr. Aizawa?" Kaminari asked, directing the question at their teacher as she peered over her seat on the bus.
"Rescue training," he replied gruffly. "This is an essential skill if you're going to be doing professional hero work. So take everything you learn here to heart. Is that understood, class?"
"Yes, sir," they all replied.
Mori's eyes twinkled at the thought of their next training. It was a rescue exercise which was probably hosted at the U.S.J.. A training facility that he'd read up on that focused on rescue operations in extreme conditions. One of the best rescue scenario facilities out there, and of course, under the watchful eye of U.A..
They were all clothed in their hero costumes once more and heading to the U.S.J. by bus considering the fair distance it stood from the main buildings. Which gave them plenty of time to chat and gossip.
"Did you guys hear? Yesterday night at a party hosted by Uwabami, Endeavor almost got into a fight with a student from U.A.," Ashido mentioned.
"Really? Who was it?" Hagakure asked in thought.
"They wouldn't say," Ashido added. "Some kind of restriction of anonymity by the hostess."
And thank Uwabami for that. He wouldn't know what to do with all that attention from his peers. He'd be pestered by them constantly for all the details. Hero gossip was the one thing everyone in his class unanimously agreed was a safe topic to talk about, who knows how they'd react. He'd rather not find out, thank you.
Thankfully for him, Asui came to his rescue. Putting the conversation in a different direction. "Midoriya, I actually have something to say about you," she said, drawing the attention to the timid green-haired boy.
"What about me?" Midoriya asked, flustered.
"That Quirk of yours," she mentioned. "Isn't it a lot like All Might's?"
"What? Really?" he replied. "You think so, huh? I never really thought about that. I guess it's kind of silly-" he continued to talk nonsense after that.
"Wait, hold on, Tsu," Kirishima added. "You're forgetting All Might doesn't hurt himself. That makes a huge difference when it comes down to their Quirks."
The class then went on to talk about each other's Quirks in more depth for the next few minutes. Though Mori's mind was still on Midoriya and what Asui said about him.
Mori wasn't an animal by any means, but growing up as a Hwagwa Monkey, he was able to distinguish people. It was like everyone had a different scent around them. And from what he remembered of the Quirk Assessment Test, when Midoriya used his Quirk it felt eerily similar to All Might's presence. Just like what Asui kind of guessed. It was a strange thought, one he shouldn't even bother with, but he couldn't let go of it.
"Hey, hey, class," Mr. Aizawa said, drawing their attention. "We're here. Stop messing around and get ready for training."
When the bus stopped, everyone got off. They stood in awe of the domed building before them. The U.S.J.. It was massive. Easily capable of sustaining a small town with its size.
Though that only drew their attention for a small amount of time. Because standing in front of them was a professional hero that was known for their puffy astronaut suit. It was a hero that Mori read up on for search and rescue. It was the professional hero, Thirteen.
"Hello, everyone," Thirteen said. "I've been waiting for you. Let's head inside."
While everyone gawked at the famous professional hero, they went inside the facility. They were even more amazed by the interior of the building. The place had extreme rescue simulations for everything. If there was a natural disaster that you could think of, it was probably in the building.
"Holy crap," Kirishima said, summing up what everyone thought perfectly. "It looks like some kind of amusement park."
Thirteen looked out at the training simulations and began pointing to each of them in turn. "A shipwreck, a landslide, a fire, a windstorm, etc," she said in grandiose gestures. "I created this training facility to help you deal with different types of disasters," she turned back to them. "Welcome to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint."
They all smiled at the prospect of the facility, even Todoroki let out a small smile.
Mr. Aizawa walked up to Thirteen. "Shouldn't All Might already be here? Let me guess, he booked an interview instead?" he said sarcastically.
Mori listened as Thirteen gave her answer. She tried to keep it quiet, but his enhanced hearing let him listen in on the answer she gave their homeroom teacher.
"Actually, it's something else," she mentioned, holding up three fingers. "Apparently, he did too much hero work on the way to school this morning and used up all of his strength. He's resting in the teacher's lounge."
Mori quirked a brow at that. What did that mean? Was All Might just exhausted from doing hero work this morning? Did he fight a super-strong villain and needed to recuperate? Why was Thirteen holding up three fingers?
He didn't get to go further with his thoughts as Mr. Aizawa gathered their attention. "Clock's ticking. We should get started. Listen to Thirteen, class," he announced.
"Excellent," Thirteen took over. "Today, you're going to learn how to use your Quirk to save people's lives. You won't be using your Quirks to attack enemies or each other. Only to help. After all, that's what being a hero's all about. Ensuring the safety of others. That's all I have to say. Who's ready to train?"
Everyone cheered at that notion. Excited to finally start training. It was new and challenging material to Mori and he wasn't going to waste a moment of it.
Yet through the excited chatter of all of his friends, Mori paused. There was something in the air that made him stop. Something wasn't right.
And like any self-fulfilling prophecy, it came true in the form of electricity and hydro dying. Oh, and also the shroud of darkness at the center of the plaza of the U.S.J.. But in honesty, that wasn't the end of it.
For dozens upon dozens of people came through that void, numbering at least fifty of varying sizes and shapes, and weapons and Quirks. There were too many to make out small details, but if one thing stood out to the Monkey King. It was that they all held the same expression. Absolute livid hate for someone and the desire to take revenge.
At that moment, Mori knew what they were.
Villains.
Again, I apologize if the chapter was slow. I'll make it up to you all next chapter. Please don't hate me.
Anyways, thanks for the read. I hope you can all drop a comment, like, and follow for me. See you in the next one!