Ch 2: Where you'll rest, together with your friends.
Chapter Summary: Aizawa educates everyone on why Hero cemeteries exist.
"I thought it was an urban legend," Midoriya whispered in awe.
"What?" Kaminari piped up nervously. "I mean graveyard- as a class trip. Ok, got that... but Why?"
"There's this rumor floating around really deep hero theory forums, that all the large publicized funerals and spectacle public graves for heroes are all just a front and none of them are actually buried where they say they are. There's even groups that go out claiming to have quirks that let them 'feel energies' and stuff like that, proclaiming said sites empty. A few years back there was even this big scandal where the public grave site of Bumble: The Busy Hero was dug up and found empty, but the media covered that up saying that the family had requested his ashes for the family altar instead…" Midoriya trailed off under the scrutiny of the odd looks from his classmates. "I thought it was just a conspiracy theory," he added, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.
"It is not," Aizawa cut in sharply, and Midoriya had the decency enough to look ashamed for his distasteful rambling. "This," he gestured, "is a hero cemetery. More specifically this is the hero cemetery run and maintained by UA. Ever person buried here attended and graduated from UA's heroics program. This is where I will be buried and you will be buried should you graduate, regardless of whether or not you make it in the pro hero industry. Does anyone know why this would be the case?"
"It's the easiest way to keep track of everyone," Todoroki stated simply. "Hero's often work for many agencies over their careers and while it would seem simple enough to have them buried with the agency they died under it leaves too many variable open for debate. What if they had just transferred? What if the agencies negligence was to blame for their death? The lawsuits would be disastrous. It's simpler to tie ever hero to the school they graduate from, that way in the wake of the tragedy no one has to deal with custody fights over their remains."
"That makes sense," Tsuyu added thoughtfully, pressing a finger to her chin. "But that doesn't explain why the bodies aren't returned to their families. It seems a little presumptuous to take that right away from them."
Aizawa was about to respond when Todoroki cut in again. "The families wouldn't be able to protect them."
"Protect them from what?" Bakugou barked insidiously, "Their already fucking dead."
While the class turned to glare at Bakugou's unrepentant face, Midoriya gasped. "DNA," he whispered.
"Exactly," Aizawa said, looking like he had aged 10 years since entering. "Soon after quirks first appeared they were identified in and connected to the genetic makeup of a person. It was theorized then and known now that a person's quirk is tied directly to their DNA. Therefore, it stands to reason that acquiring someone's DNA could lead to possessing their quirk as well."
Some students started to open their mouths to protest that this was impossible (Midoriya being notably silent) but Aizawa held up a hand. "Based off of this conclusion it would stand to reason that it is possible for a quirk to allow a someone to take or borrow another's quirk by only being in contact with their DNA. While alive a Pro-Hero protects their quirk, however, once they die that is no longer the case. Imagine a villain that simply needs a bit of research and a shovel to gain access to the strongest quirks that have ever existed. Needless, to say it would be catastrophic.
"Furthermore, there have been reported cases of quirks that allow various forms of half resurrection or energy consumption also taking advantage of deceased Pros. To prevent this the international community passed various laws requiring all heroes be cremated and each country to develop ways of securing their remains. Japan's solutions is the highschool graduate based, hero cemeteries. It is one of the most efficient systems in the world and one of Japan's hero industry's best kept secrets."
"For..umm getting buried here," Yaoyorozu started, biting her lip hesitation. "Is there a choice?"
Aizawa sighed. "No, it is one of the ironclad rules of the hero industry for both efficiency and national security. I understand why this would be difficult to accept for those of you with family plots but exceptions are not, nor will they be made for you especially given that you are all Japanese citizens. Even Japanese hero's who spend most of their time abroad are required by international law to be buried with their respective classes. Only international students have the option to choose whether or not they would like to be buried in Japan or their home country.
"This is one of the reasons hero families are often tied to a specific school," he continued, glancing meaningfully over at Iida. "It is the only way for families to be buried close to each other."
The class fell silent, mulling over this new information. It was a lot to take in.
"Come on," Aizawa called over his shoulder, once again leading the way to the temple, "There's more to see."
The memorials they passed were old and worn, dating back to the beginning of UA, but they were still clean, well cared for and easily readable.
At the top of each monument the graduating year and a class photo were centered. Below these carved into the large gray stone slabs were the real and hero names of everyone in the class. Each set of names were accompanied by two pictures. One of the person in their hero uniform and the other of them in daily life.
Some showed them in action, quirks flaring. Others showed them smiling with friends or family.
Most of the corresponding dates felt too close together.
As they got closer to the temple the dates started to become more recent, but still old enough that all those they were dedicated to should have passed. To his surprise, Midoriya did spot one name still colored in red, marking the person as still living. Fushiko: The Ageless Heroine.
He felt his gut twist slightly. They were still young, so he hadn't considered it before, but someone would always be the last to go. He didn't know which was worse, leaving your friends behind or having all them leave you first.
Aizawa stopped at the bottom of the short but wide flight of stairs that lead up to the temple, waiting for the class to gather there.
The temple, itself, was large and bright. It's red paint shimmering and golden accents glittering in the sun. The front was wide, providing ample space for people to pray in front of it. Positioned across its front were eight evenly spaced bells attached to the overhanging roof. Cords that draped down from the bells let people ring them to wake the spirits before they prayed.
At the base of the stairs a large and intricately carved stone incense bowl stood at chest height. A small flame flickered in its center for lighting the incense. Upon approaching it Aizawa slipped enough yen to pay for the class into the collection slit under the bowl. He took a piece of incense, lit it with the flame and secured it into the sand which filled the bowl.
"If anyone would like to light incense feel free to do so. If you would like to pray, Hizashi has more than enough 5 yen coins to go around." And with that Aizawa continued up the steps, leaving Hizashi and Nemuri to watch over the students.
Everyone hesitated for a second before Present Mic called out, "Come on, come on now don't be shy," he flashed them a reassuring smile. "Feel free to take your time but stick close, the lectures aren't done yet." His next smile was a little more strained, but everyone started moving nonetheless.
They took turns lighting incense first, with only a minor incident. Kirishima reminding Bakugou to use the flame, not his quirk.
Todoroki, who had been planning on using his quirk to avoid the line, decided to use provided flame instead simply to one up him, enjoying Bakugou's grumbles.
Then they each took a coin Present Mic had graciously provided, Who carries coins anyway? He must have gotten them from a bank considering how new and shiny they all looked, and went up to pray.
Aizawa had taken the bell the farthest to the left and was still standing in front of it hands pressed together in a silent prayer. In order to not disturb their teacher the students gravitated to the right.
He didn't show any signs of stirring until Midnight went over to the bell next to him. She bowed slightly, tossed her coin into the wooden grated box in front of them, then ringing the bell three times. She pressed her hand together in a short prayer before fishing with a slight bow.
Next to her Aizawa started to come back to the world. He moved his hands apart and did a short bow before glancing over at Nemuri. "Back with us," she teased gently.
He gave a slight humm in response and turned with her to walk back down the stairs. Hizashi smiled at him and squeezed his shoulder as they passed, moving up the stairs for his own prayer now that the other two teachers were back to watch over the congregation of softly chattering students.
Midoriya's group plus Yaoyorozu and Jiro seemed to be in the middle of discussing the pros and cons of the hero cemetery system. Iida was lamenting that he had not been aware of such an important part of hero society even though he was from a well established hero family. He concluded it was because none of his family had died within his lifetime, so there had simply not been a need. Midoriya commented that Todoroki had been aware of it and he conceded that he'd been to some sidekicks funerals before and left it at that.
Bakugou and Kirishima were sitting on the steps clearly trying to ignore and fringe ignorance of Kaminari's attempts to light incense with his electricity, much to Ashido and Sero's amusement. After sending a glare at Kaminari, which led to him being abandoned before sputtering an apology, quickly lighting it the right way and similarly running off, Aizawa was content to let them talk until Hizashi finished up.
A few minutes later Present Mic was down the stairs slightly misty eyed, which he attempted to cover up with bright smiles and a quick dab of his sleeves.
Aizawa turned to his class and with a slight clear of this throat got all of their attention. He tilted his head slightly in the direction of a path leading around to the left of the temple. "Stay close, the paths get a little convoluted from here on out."
Some of the students tilted their heads in confusion. The temple was obviously the center of the cemetery, so they don't see why they were pressing further into the complex.
It was Kirishima who piped up. "Is there any reason we're going further in?" he asked.
Aizawa cast a glance over his shoulder, as he had already started walking and said, "There's someone I want you to meet."
Notes:
Chapter 2! Wow, it's a lot harder to convince myself a chapter is done when it's not midnight!
More Japanese cultural stuff in this chapter, which took quite a bit of time. I decided the cemetery has a mix of both Shinto and Buddhist elements (like having a Shinto Torii gate but a Buddhist temple). The class memorials that are the graves themselves are my own invention but the red paint on the names to show when someone is still alive is real.
Anyway, thank you for reading and please leave a review to feed my soul. :)