If it wasn't so important, Himiko would probably have stabbed Izuku for waking her up so early. But after meeting Nagant yesterday, she needed to talk to Nezu.

With Izuku's help, she was able to get out of the house an hour before she would normally wake up. As she made her way to the train station alone, she was thankful that most people were still sane enough to be sleeping.

It gave her the peace she needed to collect her thoughts. After talking with her brother, she looked up what she could about Nagant's career as a hero. Seeing the young, successful hero, who was popular even with a quirk that wasn't traditionally heroic. Or at least, not traditionally top ten material. It wasn't bright, it wasn't flashy, and if anything, she would describe it as lethal.

But when Himiko saw the images of her, they made her sad. The images of a young woman, ready to take on the world and change things for the better. They were so different from the piercing, cynical gaze that she had encountered yesterday. The gaze of a woman who had seen too much, who had done too much.

The gaze of someone who lost hope.

She wanted to do something to help her. But first, she had to take care of herself. After the USJ incident, Nezu had promised to protect everyone at the school, to the fullest extent possible. It was time to see if that applied to protecting them from the HPSC.

Other than being depressingly early, her trip was uneventful, and Himiko made it to UA without interruption. Once she arrived, she made a beeline toward Nezu's office. She slowed down as she approached it, only to see it swing open.

"Miss Midoriya. I wasn't expecting you!" Nezu called from behind his desk. "If anything, I was expecting your brother to call on me this morning. Is there something you'd like to talk about?"

"Y-yes, there actually is, I think," Himiko said as she entered the room, sitting down in one of his chairs. "Is it safe to talk here?"

Nezu paused for a moment. He then pushed a button underneath his desk and Himiko heard the door close and an odd tone filled the air. "Now it is. What seems to be the problem?"

Himiko bit her lip, suddenly feeling very nervous. "I- Well. We're getting offers today. And this may sound strange, asking early and not waiting until class this afternoon, but did I receive an offer from Hawks?"

"Is there a reason you are asking?"

Himiko swallowed. "There is."

Nezu hopped out of his chair and walked around his desk. "I must admit, I am concerned by your hesitancy. Please, tell me what happened?"

Himiko looked down at the table in front of her. "I met with - someone. Let's call her a fan of mine. She warned me that Hawks might try to offer me an internship, and if I accepted it, it would ruin my life."

"My, that is a deep accusation. After all, Hawks is the number three hero. I would imagine an internship with him would have just the opposite effect, fitting for someone for a student who managed to win the sports festival."

Himiko sighed, refusing to make eye contact with the principal. "Well, beyond the obvious part where I don't understand why he would have interest in me, I heard he has deep ties to the HPSC."

The air felt heavy as she waited for a response. Himiko was taking a large risk by making that accusation. Even though Nezu had done so much for her family, had done so much for her personally, he was still someone whose interests were deeply connected to hero society.

"That is a bold accusation to make. You say a fan of yours told you this?"

"Y-yes."

"I see. Well, this fan of yours must be extremely well-connected, since we only recently learned of those ties ourselves."

Himiko jumped in surprise. "Y-you did?!"

"Indeed. What else did this fan tell you?"

Feeling emboldened, Himiko continued. "That the HPSC would love to turn me into one of their tools, doing their dirty work in exchange for boosting my profile and wiping my past clean. Including killing villains. And killing heroes."

"How does this make you feel?"

Himiko let her mask slip, anger spreading across her face. "You should know exactly how I feel! You're one of the three people at the school who knows what happened to me two years ago. I hate it! I-I I am trying hard to prove that I can be a hero too! Only to find out that the group that is supposed to oversee heroes wants nothing more than to use me like- like a villain!? It makes me sick."

She didn't even realize she had begun crying until Nezu had set the box of tissues in front of her.

"When my fan told me about this yesterday, I thought it had to be a sick joke, right? That she wasn't really a fan, but just another cruel person punishing me for who I am."

"Your reaction tells me everything I need to know." Nezu returned to his desk and sat back down, pulling up something on his computer.

"While I have concerns about this supposed fan, I would hate to see one of my students used in such a way as well. While we are forced to rely on the HPSC more than I would care to, I refuse to let one of the students at my school be turned into one of their pawns."

Himiko was reminded of the look Nezu had when she first met him, where he promised to destroy the Togas for her, and took comfort from the fact that they were on the same side.

"T-thanks. It seems like I'm going to owe you again."

"Oh, think nothing of it. If you achieve your goal of making blood-based quirks more acceptable, you will have done more for me than I could possibly ask for. Although I wish you would be more open about who your source is."

Himiko swallowed. Time for the second big leap of faith. "Her name is Kaina Tsutsumi."

Nezu paused and looked at her. "Now that is a name I haven't heard in a while. I thought she would have been in Tartarus by now."

Himiko shook her head. "I don't know what she is doing with her free time, but she wants the same thing you do. She wants me to be a hero worthy of the title."

"Of that, we agree, at least. I must warn you though. While we will try our best to protect you, if you are caught consorting with known villains, you could suffer consequences for your actions. And while I will do my best to protect my students, there are limits to what even I can do."

"If it makes you feel better, she feels the same way. She doesn't want to be directly involved with me."

It was mostly true. Himiko decided that she didn't need to mention the emergency number stored inside her desk at home.

"I am glad to hear she has some sense about her. Although, from the look on your face, I suspect you don't plan on keeping the arrangement as it currently is."

"I want to help her," Himiko admitted.

"Oh? And how do you plan on doing that?"

"I don't know."

"I am sure I don't need to remind you, but you are entering dangerous territory. You will need a more concrete plan than that."

Himiko gave Nezu a fierce stare. "I know! But - I'm supposed to be a hero in training, right? What kind of hero would I be if I backed down from something because it's dangerous?"

Nezu returned her stare, and silence hung in the air for a few moments before he continued. "I see. While your attitude is commendable, I suggest you spend time thinking about what you intend to do before you act."

Himiko broke her gaze, looking down. "I will keep that in mind."

Himiko couldn't help but feel disappointed. She wasn't sure what she was hoping for, but maybe it was too much to hope for some advice on how to help Nagant. Perhaps she shouldn't be surprised. After all, UA was preparing them for a dangerous career where they would have to rely on themselves. And she may have inadvertently signed herself up for another test.

Without another word, Nezu resumed typing on his computer. A few seconds later, she heard a beep, and Nezu turned toward her.

"I took the liberty of updating your internship offers and notifying both Yamada and Kan. While we try to screen offers to protect our students, it appears we have missed one offender, I am very sorry about that."

"T-thank you."

"If you have any other concerns about offers you see, feel free to bring them to me. We can vet your offers to make sure they are appropriate for you. Although, after seeing what your top offer is, if you choose it, I assure you that you will be in good hands."

Now Himiko was curious. "You won't tell me who it is?"

"Of course not!" Nezu happily replied. "I must save some surprise for your class, after all!"

After lunch, the students of class 2-B were eagerly awaiting their internship offers.

"Why are you nervous, Himiko?" Habiki asked from across the aisle. "You're probably going to be flooded with offers!"

"That's the problem!" Himiko groaned. "It was easy when it was just a hundred offers, and they were mostly underground heroes."

"Maybe you should've let me win then." Ryo fired back from across the room.

"What, and not have my first victory against you?"

Ryo simply shrugged. "I wouldn't mind if you let me keep my perfect record."

Before Himiko could respond the door opened, and Yamada-sensei walked into the room. So instead she simply stuck her tongue out at Ryo, before everyone turned their attention to the front of the class.

"Good news listeners! Everyone has received internship offers this year!"

Yamada dropped his stack of tablets on his desk before fishing out a remote. "You all had a strong showing in the second round, and many of you even went on to the third round, with three of your fellow listeners placing in the top 4! This was enough to attract plenty of attention for everyone."

Yamada pressed a button on the remote, and the board lit up, showing everyone's offers.

Himiko Midoriya - 2532

Kenji Ryo - 2284

Emily Song - 1745

…

Himiko couldn't help but snicker, as she looked over at Emily. She can already imagine her friend getting upset at the difference in offers between them, even if Emily brought it on herself. Looking at her other friends, she saw the relief on Atsuko's face, and Habiki and Tomoe both seemed satisfied with their counts, even if they were smaller.

"Now then, you know the deal! You have until Friday to choose your offer and submit the paperwork!"

Yamada began handing out the tablets with their offers, as well as the internship forms, and Himiko felt her nerves returning as she was handed her tablet. She knew Nezu told her not to worry about her top offer, but after the close call with the Hawks offer, she couldn't help it. With a deep breath, she turned on the tablet and pulled up the list of offers.

Her eyes went wide when she saw the top entry.

Ryukyu Hero Agency - Castiron, Japan

"I got an offer from a top-ten hero?!" She yelled out.

This caused Yamada to smile. "Why so surprised, little listener? You did win for your year, and as a second-year the pros are going to start seriously considering you for work-study and sidekick positions."

Himiko felt her stomach twisting. "That - doesn't actually help."

"I know you want to go underground, but seriously!" Emily was shouting from across the room. "You can take any offer you want with your quirk now!"

Himiko couldn't help but grin at her friend's enthusiasm. She was right! Even though she felt bad that this was the second year in a row she wasn't going with underground heroes, Ryukyu was in the top ten. And she had a transformation quirk, just like her. Even though she only had her dragon form, she had spent years refining it, learning how to maximize it to its fullest potential.

She could learn a lot from the hero.

After Yamada finished passing out tablets, he returned to his desk and kicked his feet up. "Now then, you have the rest of the class to look over your offers. Feel free to discuss your choices with the other listeners in the room! If you have any questions I will also gladly help."

Himiko looked at her friends. She saw Atsuko simply sitting at her desk, staring in shock at the screen. Wondering what happened, she made her way over to her friend's desk, sitting down next to her.

"What happened Suko?"

Atsuko looked at her, and she looked embarrassed. "I-I somehow also got an offer from a top-ten hero."

"Really? That's great!" Himiko exclaimed.

"Who?" Emily demanded, sitting down next to Himiko. "And how did you get someone ranked higher than both of us!"

Atsuko spun the tablet around, revealing the offer from Crust.

"Oh! That actually makes a lot of sense!" Emily explained. "Your quirk works similar to his. The two major differences are he can detach his barriers, while yours obviously are connected to you, and his barriers have a physical form, while yours are more or less invisible since they are made out of air."

"I just- can't believe it."

"It seems that we all have good news," Tomoe said as she walked over to their group next. "Sir Nighteye has made me an offer. Although I may have cheated by having Mirio mention my name to him."

"That's why you weren't worried!" Himiko finally put the pieces together. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"I tried! But I didn't want to go into too many details in case he didn't give me an offer." Tomoe admitted.

Atsuko looked relieved. "I'm glad I didn't ruin your chances."

"Even if Nighteye didn't give me an offer, there are several other agencies here that are interesting. His agency is just the most interesting offer."

"And what about you two?" Himiko turned towards Emily and Habiki.

"The highest-ranking hero I got was Majestic," Emily said, scrolling through her tablet. "If anything, he could help me be more maneuverable."

"You need it." Himiko snickered. "Your combat style is the most static out of all of us."

"Hey!"

"I think Kesagiri may be my best option?" Habiki said as he looked at his tablet. "He can boost his speed based on how much he gets hit, so his quirk works similar to mine?"

"That does sound useful for you!" Atsuko encouraged him.

"A few others if I want to learn about other aspects of being a hero." Habiki continued to scroll through his offers. "Not nearly as many options as some of you though."

"Still not sorry," Himiko said.

As Himiko looked over the offer, she couldn't help but smile. The more she thought about it, the more Ryukyu seemed like the perfect opportunity for her. And, if Nezu was to be believed, she was a safe choice as well. Pulling out the internship form, she began filling it out.

As Aizawa entered the room, the students were surprised to see that he was out of bandages. He dropped a stack of tablets on his desk.

"As I'm sure you're all aware." Aizawa started, looking pointedly at Izuku. "After the sports festival, it is time for you all to choose a place for your internship. Normally we have a more balanced amount of offers, but this year has some lopsided results."

Raising a remote, Aizawa pushed a button and the screen behind him lit up, displaying the results.

Shoto Todoroki - 3045

Katsuku Bakugo - 2295

Izuku Midoriya - 643

Momo Yaoyorozu - 622

…

Ochako Uraraka - 20

"Hey! How did IcyHot get more offers than me? I was the one who took first place!" Bakugo demanded from his seat.

"Maybe it was because he didn't need to get chained to the stage afterward?" Mina shot back.

"His dad is also the number 2 hero! I wouldn't be surprised if that influenced it." Mineta added.

This caused Bakugo to growl in frustration, his quirk already erased by Aizawa.

Izuku barely noticed Bakugo's outburst, as he tried to process the news. He didn't expect to get so many offers! He waited for Aizawa to hand him his tablet, and he began to look through the list. As he was looking, he realized one major flaw with the offers, and it was due to his cover story.

Most of these heroes assumed he had generic super strength or were just sending him a request because he made the top four. Maybe if he had an offer from Fat Gum or another hero with a storage quirk it would be a useful opportunity for him, but in his initial search, he didn't see any heroes that matched that description.

Before Izuku could dig any further, Aizawa called for attention. "Now, if you didn't receive any offers, don't worry. 40 agencies are available to everyone, and you will be able to choose one of them even if you do not have any other offers. We want to make sure every student has an internship."

The students could see Aizawa already pulling his sleeping bag out from his desk. "You have until the end of the week to decide on internships, but for the rest of the day, you have another assignment. Your hero names."

As if on cue, Midnight slammed the door open and walked in. "Yes! It is an important choice every young hero must make."

Midnight was carrying a large stack of whiteboards, which she proceeded to pass out to the students.

Aizawa continued. "Midnight is better at these sorts of things, so she will be your teacher for the next two days. She has final authority on your choice of hero name. Just remember, the name you choose today will likely stick with you your entire career. You will have exactly one other opportunity to change it when you receive your provisional license. So choose wisely."

After handing out the whiteboards, Midnight walked to the front of the room. "Precisely! If you aren't careful, you could end up with a name like Eraserhead, after all!"

The class knew better than to laugh at her joke, much to Midnight's disappointment and Aizawa's satisfaction. But rather than gloat, Aizawa finished crawling into his sleeping bag and began zipping it up.

"If you need anything, ask Midnight." Were his final words before he crawled under his desk.

Midnight sat down on top of the desk and looked at the class. "Well then, have any of you thought of a name already?"

Yuga and Tsuyu's hands immediately shot up, to the surprise of many. Izuku meanwhile, was staring intently at the whiteboard in front of him.

My hero name…

He thought back to his childhood and felt his face heating up as he thought about all of the names he came up with that were variants of All Might's name. While they made sense to him at the time, now he knew better. Especially after he had decided that he cannot be the next All Might, at least directly.

He wanted a name to inspire people.

He was half paying attention to his classmates while going over ideas in his head until he saw Ochako going up. She showed the class her hero name: Uravity. An obvious mashup of her last name and gravity.

As he watched her standing there, he couldn't help but think about her nickname for him, Deku.

I like the name Deku, it reminds me of Dekiru! And you seem to have that can-do attitude! She had told him, a bright smile on her face.

Izuku thought it over. The name Deku itself wasn't particularly heroic. But there was potential there. For all of those people with weak or quirks not seen as traditionally heroic, or for those people who are quirkless, what the name Deku could mean for them.

After all, if a hero named 'Useless' is the number one hero, doesn't that mean anyone could be a hero?

Izuku began smiling. It had a certain logic behind it. And, if he was being honest, there was a certain joy in taking the name Katsuki had given him, the name that was supposed to be an insult and reclaiming it for himself. What better way to show him that he had no power over Izuku than to turn his most common insults back on him?

Smiling, he began writing down the name on the board, before raising his hand.

Izuku confidently walked up to the front of the room and revealed his sign. He couldn't help but watch Katsuki's face. He saw the brief flash of anger that quickly turned into confusion, and Izuku smiled. His gaze shifted to Ochako and saw the surprise written all over her face. He'd have to thank her later, and explain how he decided on his name.

I am Deku, the hero for everyone! He proudly declared.

AN: Sorry Nejire, but you're joining Edgeshot and The Lurkers in this universe. Himidoriya's taking your place at Ryukyu's agency.