CHAPTER 15

I Can Be Your Hero

UA High School,
Musutafu, Tokyo Prefecture,
March 10

It was home stretch for Yosetsu, Hiryu, Kosei, and Sen. Love Live Finals was in a week and they had to combine effort to get themselves out of detention. They gathered in Kosei's room, burying themselves in books and notes and printouts. Sen volunteered to type, since he could type the fastest. Yosetsu and Hiryu sat around the kotatsu and fed Sen things to type. Kosei, on the other hand, lied down in his tatami and played with his phone for the better part of the night, with only occasionally contributed to the joint effort.

But as the day rolled into the night, their attention spans suffered from exhaustion.

"Who's got Midoriya?" Hiryu tossed some pieces of paper around. "He's the face of UA Hero Program. His opinion should weigh the most."

"I had him, but I don't know about the face of UA Hero Program," Yosetsu flipped his notepad around. "Funny, though, Uraraka thought it was Todoroki."

"Yeah, he hated that," Sen tuned in. "He was the face of UA Hero Program because his father is the No.1 Pro Hero in the country. Todoroki didn't want to walk in the shadow of his father, and wanted to be recognized on his own merit."

"So he enrolled at UA to escape his father?" Yosetsu mused.

"No. He enrolled at UA because he idolized All Might. Just like 80-percent of students."

"No, not 80-percent," Hiryu checked his notes. "More like 40 percent. Eighty percent if we count Midoriya 5 times."

That remark brought chuckles from the rest of the boys.

"Yeah Midoriya is getting it bad," Yosetsu snickered. "Have you seen his room? It's full of All Might memorabilia. Posters, bubble heads, action figures, all sort of stuffs. I bet he thinks of All Might when he's banging Uraraka…"

"… or uses the bobble head as 'the toy'," Kosei suddenly chimed in.

Yosetsu and Hiryu broke into laughter. Sen just smiled, and Kosei, unamused of his own joke, went back to his phone to text.

"How about Uraraka?" Sen asked non-chalantly.

"Uraraka wants the money. She said her family was poor and the salary of a Pro Hero could help her parents."

"How much is the salary of a Pro Hero?" Hiryu cocked his brow.

"I don't know, All Might and Endeavor may make a ton of money. The higher the rank, the more they make." Yosetsu consulted his phone to browse data. "I'd say it's not much different than police officers. But I don't know."

"I have great respect for Uraraka," Sen started typing. "Her motivation and ambition are different than most students. She's doing this for her family, not following the steps of All Might or being a responsible citizen like the majority of the response."

"We keep that in mind for now," Hiryu flipped his notepad about. "What do Kaminari and Ashido have to say about this matter? Are they still together?"

"As far as I know," Yosetsu went through his notes, but his mind drifted toward more interesting subjects. "Didn't Kaminari go out with Jiro long time ago?"

"When? I've never heard about it," Hiryu cringed. "Kami-Jiro? Who would've thought…"

"Jiro is too austere for Kaminari," Sen tuned in. "I don't think it's a promising shipping."

"What are you, a fanfiction writer now?" Yosetsu tossed a pillow at Sen.

"No physical necessary," Sen stoically put the pillow away. "Come on, let's get back to our assignment. Kaminari – Ashido… Tsuburaba, this is your part. Tsuburaba!"

Kosei languidly turned around. "Kaminari thinks the Pro Hero students are the cool bunch. He is also inspired by All Might, but not to protect the weak and combat the villains. He wants to get attention like All Might. As for Ashido, she has nobler cause. She wants to protect the weak from bullies. She hates bullies. Ironic, since she's is in the same class as Bakugo, the biggest bully in 1st Grade."

"Tsuburaba, what are you doing over there?" Yosetsu grumbled. "Are you doing this project or not?"

"I'm doing it, but right now I'm talking to my girlfriend."

Yosetsu, Hiryu and Sen threw incredulous looks at Kosei. "Tsuyu Asui?"

"That's right, my friends! At long last, Tsuyu Asui and I are officially a couple!" Kosei rose from the bed. "My girlfriend is the awesomest among our girflriends and boyfriends! She's one of the top students in Class 1-A…"

"Oh yeah, she kicked your ass in the Joint Training!" Yosetsu chimed jovially.

"Maybe she dated Tsuburaba because she wanted a boyfriend she could beat up, in case he cheated on her," Sen, who usually avoided pointless banter like this, couldn't resist taking jab at his best friend.

"In that case every UA girl wants Tsuburaba to be her boyfriend," Hiryu added, beaming mischievously. "You need to start stacking condoms in here, Tsuburaba. If she finds out you're not prepared, she will beat you up."

"Shut up! Shut up! You're just jealous because I have the best girlfriend!" Kosei groused, but couldn't hide the conceited smile in his face.

"Alright, alright, that's enough distraction," Sen returned to the computer. "Rin, what else did you get?"

"Tweedle-dee Tweedle-dum, Tetsutetsu and Kirishima," Hiryu flipped his notes. "Kirishima is following Red Riot example. Kinda like Midoriya and All Might. He wanted to be the manliest of Pro Hero of them all, just like Red Riot before him. Tetsutetsu didn't put much thought in his cause. He just went with the flow. You know, 'everybody-does-it-so-why-don't-I' kinda flow. He did mention humanity, but I don't think he knew what he was talking about."

"Same with me," Sen tuned in. "The girls of Class 1-B shared the same sentiment. Everybody mentioned responsibility of owning a quirk. That they wanted to help people in need. Except Shiozaki. She wants to cleanse her 'sin'. And maybe Tokage. She was recommended, so her path is kinda determined."

"So was Momo Yaoyorozu, Juzo Honenoki, and Todoroki," Yosetsu stated. "We shouldn't take their opinion because they were kinda choiceless. Who didn't want to be Pro Hero if they were recommended to UA?"

"But still, they could have dropped it if they didn't like it," Hiryu said. "What do you think, Tsuburaba?"

"Yeah I agree with you," Kosei replied halfheartedly while still texting with Asui.

"Which one? Rin or Awase?" Sen started to get annoyed at Kosei's ignorance.

"Dammit Tsuburaba! Stop sexting!" Yosetsu pulled the sheet under Kosei. "I'm gonna take that phone away and throw it out of the window if you're not working with us!"

"This is my room, bakayaro!" Kosei kicked about.

"Tsuburaba, we're in this together," Hiryu groused. "Show some respect for your friends."

Kosei let out a long, audible groan, then lazily sat on the edge of the bed. "Alright, what's the question again?"

"Recommended students," Sen said. "Awase thinks their opinion don't matter because their paths have been determined. Rin thinks they still matter because they still have free will to drop out of the program if they didn't like it. I lean toward Awase. What do you think?"

"I kinda agree with Rin," Kosei mused. "Recommended doesn't mean obligated. If they accept the recommendation, their path is easier. That's the only difference. They are free to enrol or not to enrol at UA, regardless of recommendation."

"Make sense," Yosetsu nodded.

"I can't believe Tokage and Honenuki are recommended but Bakugo is not," Hiryu blurted. "Bakugo is one of the most talented students in UA."

"Maybe quirk is not the only consideration," Yosetsu suggested. "Yaoyorozu has great quirk but also brilliant mind. And maybe attitude is one of consideration, and Bakugo has despicable attitude."

"Yeah, he only cared about beating All Might as the best Pro Hero of all time," Hiryu continued. "He didn't care about other people. His motivation was 100-percent vanity and 0-percent responsibility."

"Only a mother could love," Sen joined in. "But I heard he is with Tokage now."

"Still?" Yosetsu cocked his brows. "I know they were close one time, but I don't know if they are still doing it."

"How could Tokage manage his abrasive personalities?" Hiryu wondered.

"You think that amusing? He was with Uraraka before Tokage. Somebody as sweet as Uraraka managed to tolerate somebody as asshole as Bakugo."

"Kirishima caught him once in the men's locker with a girl. He thought it was Uraraka."

"How come Bakugo suddenly has a harem of lovely ladies? This is not Pokemon, is it?" Kosei groused. "And here I struggled just to get one."

"Haven't you heard that 'nice girls like bad boys'?" Yosetsu grinned.

"Like you?" Hiryu snickered. "What is a sweet idol like Chika doing with a bad boy like you?"

"Hey, I am not a bad boy!" Yosetsu snarled.

"You have not enrolled in UA for a year and you already got 2 detentions," Sen stated.

"Both times, for saving her life!" Yosetsu gritted her teeth. "I love her, so dearly, and she knows it! Now can we go back to our assignment?"

"Alright, alright, lover boy," Hiryu stifled his chuckle. "So who other students that has different opinion from 'responsibility' and 'helping people in need'?"

"Hitoshi Shinsho," Sen said. "He wants to be a good citizen, and the only one that actually practiced what he preached. He was at the last Yon*Machi concert with Monoma. He helped restore order so the fans didn't trample each other to death. Monoma, on the other hand, went out to confront Inasa Yoarashi…"

"Yoarashi?!" Yosetsu, Hiryu, and Kosei immediately shot up. "That big Shiketsu guy?"

"Yes. Apparently he's a big fan of Aqours."

"Kusottare! Chika told me about this! I should've seen it coming!" Yosetsu buried his face on his palms. "What can we do about it?"

"Nothing, Dude! Nothing!" Kosei kicked Yosetsu's shoulder. "We're in detention, remember? We can't even go past the gate!"

"We're doing it the right way this time," Hiryu straightened his posture. "Monoma and I are going to bring this up to Kan-sensei. Monoma witnessed the incident, and he will testify that Inasa Yoarashi is behind the failed concerts of Yon*Machi. Kan-sensei will determine what to do with Yoarashi."

"I will go with Rin, and maybe bring Shinsho along," Sen followed suit. "Despite their reputation, Monoma and Shinsho have very strong moral standard. They will do whatever they can to make things right."

"I never thought Monoma and Shinsho ended up as a couple," Kosei sniggered. "I know they were close during Joint Training, but I didn't expect them to reenact Brokeback Mountain."

Yosetsu and Hiryu giggled like teenagers learning about sex the first time, while Sen buried his face on the computer. "I asked Monoma who's pitching and who's catching. He wouldn't answer," Hiryu grinned wolfishly.

"How about you, Kaibara?" Yosetsu turned to Sen, who looked unamused. "Between you and Tsukiyomi, who's pitching and who's catching?"

"How is this important to what we are doing?" Sen replied apathetically, but he cracked his knuckles, as if preparing his quirk to attack his friends who were making fun of him.

"Just curious how it works for guys," Hiryu said while giggling. "You both have the same 'tools'."

"Hey, hey, hey, leave him alone!" Kosei came to help Sen. "This is not anatomy essay. This is about being Pro Heroes, and I have a good one." He consulted his notes for the first time. "I Habuko Mongoose, from Isamu Academy. She said she was inspired by her best friend, the one and only Tsuyu Asui. So All Might is not the only source of inspiration around here. Tsuyu Asui is right up there with him, which proves my claim that I have the best giflrfiend among us!"

"How did you get Habuko Mongoose's contact?" Yosetsu cringed.

"Diligence," Kosei puffed his chest. "If you put your mind into it, you can do anything you want."

"I give you that, Tsuburaba. You're one tough, determined dude when it comes to mating," Sen quipped. "Hopefully you can keep that attitude up to finish this assignment."

"We still have a long way to go," Sen let out an exasperated sigh. "We're just compiling results from our interviews. And the result is not encouraging." He punched in some codes into the computer. "Most students cited responsibility, duty, obligation to society and being a good, law-abiding citizen. There are some anomalies like helping poor family, bully problem, being cool, or trying to find safe haven, but not enough to make an impact to the trend."

"If it is what we get, then it is what we present," Hiryu suggested.

"Kan-sensei is not going to take it. This is cliché, like something that has been rehashed in movies and TV hundreds of times. We need something new, something deeper than just overused phrases."

"What are you saying? Fabricate data?" Kosei chimed.

"No, but we have to find something that's has never been used. We have to dig deeper than we thought we needed. Give him something he did not expect."

"We must be careful, though, if we pull something too radical, he might see us as drawing baseless conclusion just for the sake of finishing up," Yosetsu pulled his head band down to cover his eyes. "We still have to use these data."

"Agreed," Kosei went back to lying down and yawned heavily.

"I just want to finish this work," Hiryu followed up with a yawn of his own. "I haven't taken Akiho to a nice dinner in a month."

"I haven't seen Chika in a month," Yosetsu moaned.

Just then, Yosetsu's phone blasted with Omoi Yo Hitotsu Ni Nare.

"Do you just do that on purpose?" Hiryu snapped annoyedly.

"Hey, I'm sorry!" Yosetsu grabbed his phone and walked away toward the bathroom. "Hi Babe, I miss you so much! It's quite late though. Why are you still up?"

"I know it's late, but…" Chika's voice was heavy, "… can we facetime?"

"I would love to, Sweetie, but I'm working hard with Rin, Tsuburaba and Kaibara to finish this project. I don't want to miss your Love Live finals…"

"Can you spend some time for me? I really, really, really need to talk to you."

Yosetsu could hear from her voice that Chika was on her last thread of hope, and she hung it around his neck. She was not one to get down easily, so whatever it was bugging her must be out of this world. If he denied her, she would be devastated. She might not see him, and their relationship, the same way again. But at the same time he didn't want to leave his friends working by themselves. He was the one who had the biggest stake in the essay. He should be the one taking charge and working the hardest.

Yosetsu looked at his friends, not knowing exactly what to do.

"Go," Hiryu said. "We got this."

"I don't want to leave you behind…"

"Hey, Dum-dum," Kosei croaked. "She's one week removed from the biggest event in her life, and this is almost midnight. She will not call you if it is not emergency."

"Go, talk to her," Sen nodded assuringly. "We still have tomorrow. She might not have that luxury."

Yosetsu got up, bowed in gratitude, and rushed back to his own room. "Babe, I'll be in my room in 2 minutes…"