Chapter 12

"You'll be coming up with your hero names."

Ah shit. I completely forgot about that. I hadn't thought of a hero name for myself! I was under the impression that I'd never need a name since I wasn't aiming to be a famous hero but I completely forgot about this particular class. As I racked my brains wondering what I could make do with during my short tenure at the school, Aizawa projected Pro Draft Pick numbers for the class.

I was quite unsurprised to see Bakugo and Todoroki at the top; they had performed the most flashily and with certain confidence in their moves that the others lacked. What surprised me more was seeing Yaomomo, Tokoyami and myself as the next three with almost equal breakup. We all had close to five hundred each–which was surprising given the fact that all of us didn't exactly perform in a way that brought attention to us. Well, I didn't; not sure about the other two.

"…you'll have a chance to work alongside the pros," Aizawa ended, with me having ignored most of his words. I didn't remember them but I doubted they were relevant enough for me to remember to begin with.

Not long after Midnight entered, her voice strongly cutting off Aizawa. "The name you pick now may be what the world end ups calling you!" She announced, her entire body language quite professional despite her rather suggestive outfit. An outfit that didn't leave a lot to imagination. I could only fathom the depths of her confidence given how normally she acted in that hero outfit of hers.

"King Explosion Murder!"

I burst out laughing at Bakugo despite having expected it. It was so ridiculously funny when seeing in person than on a screen. Others looked at me in surprise before joining me with muted chuckles, evidently prepared for an outburst from Bakugo.

Bakugo didn't disappoint.

"You got a good name then, ya airy bastard?!"

"For you? Yes," I replied honestly but still with a smile on my face. It served to infuriate the walking-talking TNT further. "You could choose this:" I quickly wrote the name that would become his future alias, "The TNT hero: DIE-namite."

Seeing the DIE in the name definitely hit the funny bone of many of my classmates with Kaminari and Mineta openly snickering. Bakugo, of course, would have responded in kind if not for Midnight's presence. He ended up clenching his fists tight enough that he cracked the pad which he had in one of his hands.

I only chuckled humorously before taking the chance to present my own name. "This will be me," I said, revealing the name I had chosen, "The Cooling Hero: AirCon!"

"I knew it!" Kaminari exclaimed, making me jump. He instantly turned towards Mina who was pouting. "Out with it, Ashido."

She glared at Kaminari for a moment before handing over a couple of bills to him. She then stuck out her tongue at me. "You suck, Haru! You could have chosen a better name!"

"You guys were betting on my choice of name?" I asked incredulously. Was I becoming that predictable?

"We were discussing when you were with Nezu-sensei," Kaminari explained. "The discussion heated up and we ended up betting that you would choose either AirCon or something else. It was a landslide win."

"And how many bet on AirCon?"

"Everyone except for Mina, Mineta and Kirishima."

Yes, I was becoming predictable.

Well, only for now, I could say with some certainty. Things were going to change pretty soon. Because I was not going to be able to predict anything from now on.

I was extremely surprised to see a research institute—appropriately called, The Shield Quirk Research Unit—having picked me. I did not know non-hero institutes were also allowed to pick students. Students from hero course, that is.

I also couldn't help but feel fate at work here. Shield Quirk Research? If that wasn't a hint, I wasn't sure what was. There was no way I would be in the same timeline as Izuku, and an obviously David Shield institute chooses me, and that I'd be friends with the exact same batch of 1-A, and Nezu and Co. would believe me so easily, and so on. It was way too much to be a coincidence.

But who gives a shit?!

I had no real reason to think that much over this. I easily chose TSQRU. It was my aim from the beginning ever since I was born into this world. And no matter how much I liked this world and these people, I didn't love them so much that I'd kill my personal growth for them. My name wasn't Midoriya Izuku and I wasn't the MC.

Grinning to myself at the awesome one week I was going to have, I glanced around. Some people still looked like they were figuring it out; others looked like they had already chosen; and still others seemed to have given up altogether. I noticed a distinct lack of Izuku.

"Looking for someone?" Shoji asked from ahead of me.

"Just wondering where Izuku disappeared," I replied, glancing in the direction of his seat.

"All Might was looking for him," the ever-energetic Mina replied as she whizzed by.

I needed to know no more. Given the context, this was going to be his introduction to Gran Torino and a much-needed boost to his motivation to be a hero. Gran Torino was one mean old man after all.

For the time being, I decided to focus on what I could do with the opportunity that had dropped itself in my lap. I approached Momo. "Hey Momo, you know about this institute? The Shield name is famous enough…"

When Momo looked at the name, she gasped aloud, attracting others' attention.

"What happened?" Mina asked as she approached us. Behind her, her friend circle followed, curious as well.

"Haru got picked by the SRI!" She exclaimed, disbelief and awe evident in her voice. "They rarely, if ever, pick anyone from the hero class."

"Perhaps, they found out I wanted to research quirks in the future?" I said jokingly, even as my brain churned the information Momo shared. After all, I wasn't expecting it to be such a big deal. "Also, SRI?"

"Shield Research Institute," Momo replied. "It's an abbreviation since saying TSQRU is quite the mouthful."

Hmm, so that was a thing too, huh? Another stray thought made its way into my mind. "Say Momo," I said tentatively, "you wouldn't happen to have a contact in SRI, would you? So I could ask about the pick?"

"Father might," Momo replied without hesitation. "I will ask him for you."

"Please."

And that was that. Given how Momo was, I could safely say I was going to be talking with someone way high up the ladder than what was the norm. I would have to prepare some nice questions so that that person would remember me; it will be super helpful in the future when I would want to climb up the ladder or start a separate firm, depending on how things would pan out.

On another note, I just realized that the Hosu City Incident with Stain and the top three of the class wouldn't happen this time around. First, because the top three were different, and second, Stain was in prison. He would probably stay there; his quirk was pretty weak in terms of physical strength.

The problem would League of Villains. Originally, they would be there at Hosu with Stain. But Stain was out and their USJ attack ended up in failure. So, they would either be more careful or strike at a more opportune moment. Also, Iida wouldn't be at Hosu… well, he could be since his brother would be there.

My brain hurt from considering so many possibilities—it was a matter of life and death after all, even if the people concerned were unaware of the danger. Knowing the future was not fun; it was a huge burden since every single action changed it.

"Something on your mind?"

I glanced at Ojiro who had asked me the question.

"Yeah… can't share though. A major pain in the ass, it is."

I decided to talk with Nezu first. His brain definitely was better than mine when conjuring up and considering possibilities and probabilities.

"Something serious again?" Nezu asked, his eyes shrewd as he beckoned me inside his office.

"Sort of," I replied as I sat down in front of him. "Things will change drastically from now on. Still, I figured I should come along and remind you what the next incident is supposed to be."

"Hosu City, yes?"

"Yes." I explained to him my thoughts regarding the changes involved. "…and now, I'm not sure what exactly is going to happen."

"It's a good thing you came to me then!" Nezu said as patiently as always. "We've got just the right person."

I waited for the name. But both of us stayed silent. At length, I spoke, "And he is?"

"That's confidential," the ever-infuriating rat replied.

I glared at him. "At this point, I'm pretty sure I should be in the know."

"Some things are meant to stay confidential for everyone."

"Oh goddamnit. Fine. I'll probably figure it out anyway later on."

"You will."

"What happened?"

"Just Nezu being an infuriating little shit."

"Haru!"

I stared at Momo and Shoji, both of whom were looking at me shocked. "What?"

"How could you call Nezu-sensei that?"

"You'd too if you were in my shoes."

"Oh, come on, he can't be that bad."

I looked both of them in the eye, before an involuntary chuckle escaped me. "If only you knew."

If only.

I could only sigh to myself as I let go of the unreasonable anger. Being angry was not going to help me in anyway. What I should be concerned about was how All For One would react. After the failure of USJ attack, someone like him, who had been preparing to attack for decades, would be more wary and careful about his next attack; he wouldn't let Tomura go all out or destroy his Nomus without getting something out of it.

"…Haru!"

I blinked in surprise before looking up at Momo. "What?"

She seemed to be blushing. "Uh… you have been staring at my chest for quite some time. Is there something wrong?"

For a moment, I was reflexively about to apologize. But then my brain caught up and decided there was nothing to lose. A coy smile made its way on my face. "I appreciate beauty when it's staring me in the face, y'know?"

God, I cringed hard internally at the corny ass line. What the fuck, brain?!

Shoji could only shake his head I disbelief. Momo simply gave me a weird glance before looking away, her blush fading.

"Okay fine, I had spaced out," I admitted without protest. I wanted to be known as a romantic, not as a weirdo. "I was just thinking about what I'd do in my internship. Didn't realize I was staring. I'm sorry."

"Oh, it's fine." She seemed visibly relieved after my admission of truth. "It was just a bit awkward."

"Just a bit?" I asked humorously, a smile on my face. "So, you'd have been fine at some point."

Her blush returned as she pouted at me. "That's not what I meant and you know that!"

I laughed. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I suppose it'd have been fine if we had been dating."

"Perhaps."

There was a bit of silence between the three of us as we all sat lost in thought. At length, Shoji broke the silence. "So, which agencies have you chosen, Yaoyorozu? Haru, I know, is going with SRI."

"Let me guess for both of you!" I exclaimed before Momo could get a word in.

The two exchanged glances before nodding. "Alright."

I made an exaggerated display of humming and hawing. I already knew who would they be, of course, but I wanted to see if the reality has changed already or not. At length, I stated, "Gang Orca for Shoji, and Uwabami for Momo."

"No way. You're right!" Both exclaimed in surprise. "How did you figure it out?"

I shrugged. "I just felt like that'd be a good fit. No real thought behind that."

"You're lying," Shoji stated bluntly. "There was definitely some thinking involved that you aren't telling us."

"Can't tell you for real," I said. I mean, Nezu and Co. were an exceptional case, being teachers and all. I couldn't tell the truth to my classmates though. They'd never believe me. Simply because the idea was way too ridiculous.

Thankfully for me, Momo's phone dinged at that time. She checked it and tapped a few times. Then, my phone dinged.

"There you go," she said, putting away her phone. "Your contact in SRI."

"Already?" I asked in disbelief as I pulled my phone out.

"Don't underestimate our connections."

"I would never, but this is still ridiculous. I mean, it's been barely three hours." I checked the contact she had sent before gaping at her again. "And you sent me the fucking CEO's contact! Would he even listen to me?!"

"He will," she replied without hesitation. "Father has already talked with him. I'd say he's just waiting for your call."

"That's straight up unbelievable."

She gave me a knowing smile. "Why don't you try calling first?"

"Oh, you bet I will."

"Right now?"

"Right now!"

'Tis a busy life!

I am back with Slow and Steady updates, as always.

Sadly, life is a bitch and so the updates are gonna stay like that. But I'm at least not abandoning them.

Signing off!