Chapter 60: Hero Names
"Before Midnight starts to help you with your hero names, some adjustments must be made." Aizawa announced to the classroom as they slowly sat down in their seats, "Firstly, Shouto. You can't go to Endeavour because Nedzu just announced that he won't be allowing students to go to family members this time around due to issues of impartiality."
Shouto looked slightly confused, "What do you mean 'just'? I hadn't heard of such a rule before."
"Nedzu announced it during lunch. You can take it up with him since he asked to meet with you after settling on hero names." Aizawa said.
"Why does he want to meet with me?" Shouto asked.
Aizawa shrugged, "It was too troublesome to ask. That reminds me; Kaminari, you also have a meeting with Nedzu after school ends." He informed.
"Me?" Kaminari looked just as dumbfounded as the rest of the class.
"I wonder if it's because Nedzu thinks he is All Might's son." Shouto thought to himself.
Meanwhile, Watanabe gulped as he scratched his head, thinking as to why Nedzu would want Kaminari as well. Not that he thought Kaminari was dumb but the sudden meeting was a bit suspicious.
"There was also a slight hiccup with Iida but we have discussed that privately," Aizawa commented with some edge to his voice, "Don't make me regret trusting you."
Iida seemed to be nervous for a moment but quickly regained his composure and nodded.
"Now that that's out of the way. Midnight here will assist you in choosing suitable hero names." Aizawa said as he clambered into his sleeping bag for a well-earned nap.
"Alright, then brats!" Midnight said excitedly, "Here are some boards for you to showcase your hero name. You should take into account that these names are more than likely to stick throughout your hero career or they may even fizzle out due to one stupid incident that tarnishes your name. Either way, choose wisely."
The students slowly got to work. Many of them were struggling to find a suitable name but most had names they wanted since childhood such as Ojiro, Momo, and so on. A few had stupid names like Ashido that got them rebuked. A few were boring such as Shouto and Iida's name who simply went with their own name.
"Chargebolt." Kaminari was the latest to present his name, a wide grin plastered across his face.
Midnight gave an encouraging nod and Kaminari went back to his seat, "For an electric guy, Chargebolt seems like a dud." Jiro commented to him.
"What do you mean!?" Kaminari demanded, "It sounds cool."
"I mean it's not bad… just could have been better," Jiro replied.
Kaminari turned to his friends who were sheepishly looking away. Kaminari groaned and buried his head in dismay.
"Hurry it up! There are only three of you left!" Midnight pointed at Bakugou, Izuku, and Watanabe, "I've got places to be so which one of you is up next?"
Bakugou rose with a heavy sigh and walked to the front of the class where he revealed his name, 'Kacchan.'
"Kacchan?" Nearly all of the class asked in unison, "What does that even mean?" Kirishima asked.
"Just an old name I had," Bakugou replied quietly as he stared at Izuku for acknowledgment.
Izuku looked a bit shocked at seeing Bakugou openly want to use Kacchan as his hero name, "I thought you hated the name?" he asked.
"Well, turns out I disliked a lot of things I shouldn't have. It seems cooler now." Bakugou said, trying to use the name as a way to make amends with Izuku.
Izuku grinned at his response, "I like it. It suits you."
Bakugou cracked a rare smile at that and looked to Midnight who nodded in approval.
"Now then, your turn," Midnight pointed at Izuku who instantly leaped to his feet in excitement. Aizawa shuffled in his sleeping bag to get a better look at the encounter. Ever since he heard the secret from Nedzu, he knew Izuku's hero name would be:
"Storm!" Izuku loudly proclaimed.
The class sat quietly for a bit, "You mean like the Storm from the forums?" Tsuyu asked.
"Yeah, why not? I'm a huge fan!" Izuku lied.
"Yeah, you can't do that." Midnight said straightforwardly.
"Why not?" Izuku almost whined, "It's not like their name is trademarked or anything!"
"That is true but it is simply too reckless to use Storm as your name! There are loads of fanboys out there who could attack you simply for using that name and there are even more people who hate him. It's not worth the risk."
"Oh, come on! It's not even a villainous name or anything! I promise I won't get hurt." Izuku pleaded.
"Nope. It's too risky." Midnight remained adamant.
"But shouldn't we as heroes be allowed to have the independence to choose our name? I'm sure my name passes guidelines too." Izuku countered.
"Yes, but that's only when you become a pro. You aren't a pro yet; just a student. You will have to use a name only cleared by the school and I'm not clearing it!"
Izuku sulked but that seemed to be the end of the argument much to Aizawa's pleasure. He didn't need the hero commission actively trying to murder Izuku for just having a name, even though he was the real Storm.
"Okay, how about Maelstrom?" Izuku countered.
"Really? Still keeping Storm in it?" Midnight asked.
"No, Maelstrom is spelled with a S-T-R-O-M! Not S-T-O-R-M!"
Midnight twitched but sighed deeply, "I guess that is different enough that people will think it has something to do with you being a fan; so, I'll give you that. Goes well with your quirk too."
Izuku grinned at the approval and excitedly thanked Midnight.
"I suppose Chaos is off the table too then?" Watanabe asked.
Midnight's murderous glare was all it took for Watanabe to gulp and quickly change the name, "Entropy."
"Still keeping a synonym for chaos, huh?"
"Hey, it's more discrete than Maelstrom!" Watanabe argued.
"Fine, you can use the name." Midnight agreed, "But it doesn't really go with any aspect of your quirk." She pointed out.
"That's the good thing! The enemies won't know my quirk unlike Chargebolt's!"
"Well, that was unnecessary," Kaminari said sarcastically.
"All your hero names have been selected. So, the class is dismissed." Aizawa announced, rising from his sleeping bag, "Shouto, please report to Nedzu's office for your meeting."
Shouto nodded as he snapped out of the making of another theory that Izuku and Watanabe were indeed Storm and Chaos. He was not the only one with the theory as both Bakugou and Tsuyu were also pondering on the theory.
To Bakugou, it seemed slightly far-fetched, but since his redemption, he had paid more attention to Izuku's analysis and was impressed with how detailed it was. He did not doubt that Izuku could be Storm but wasn't sure about Watanabe.
Meanwhile, Tsuyu was 100% sure that the cousins were indeed Storm and Chaos. Not only was it coherent, but she also had a gut feeling about it. And her gut feelings were never wrong. She turned to talk to Uraraka and Momo, "Guys, you don't think Izuku and Watanabe are Storm and Chaos, do you? They seemed a bit too adamant about having it as their names."
"I think they were just messing about. You know how they are." Uraraka replied with a chuckle, thinking it was too much of a stretch.
Momo seemed to give it more thought, "I could see Izuku being Storm… but Watanabe seems a bit too random to be Chaos. Not that he isn't smart, he's just too, erratic to predict."
Tsuyu nodded and didn't pursue the conversation further but her mind was set; those two were Storm and Chaos.
"I wonder why the principal asked to meet me." Shouto pondered as he walked down the halls towards Nedzu's office, "He called Kaminari too… Is it because he thinks he's All Might's son? Perhaps he wants to meet the number 1 and 2's sons." Shouto thought about his theory for a while but shook his head, "No, I'm sure Izuku is All Might's son. Either way, what is it that he wants from me? Maybe Endeavour's forcing him to meet." Shouto furrowed his eyebrows. Was his father trying to grab power by having the UA principal meet with him? It didn't seem likely since Endeavour never really liked Nedzu but then again, Shouto was well aware of the extent Endeavour would go to trump All Might.
The thoughts kept running through his head as one conspiracy theory after another entered his head. All those thoughts, however, came to a standstill as he reached Nedzu's office.
A wave of anxiety hit him as he stood in front of the door. He didn't know why but he just had this unreasonable feeling that made him scared to meet Nedzu. Shouto brushed aside the feelings and slowly knocked on Nedzu's door.
A cheery, "Come in!" eased his anxiety a bit but he was still nervous as he opened the door, "You wanted to see me sir?" he asked in his normal monotonous voice.
Nedzu nodded and beckoned to a chair, "Yes, yes! Have a seat!"
Shouto sat down in silence as Nedzu hummed a tune whilst making tea. He poured himself a cup and another for Shouto.
Shouto looked at the tea that was handed to him with a shaky look. He wasn't a big fan of hot liquids ever since that incident with his mother, "I don't really want it."
"Have it anyway. It helps with your nerves." Nedzu calmly said sipping on his tea.
Shouto was surprised to know that Nedzu could see his nervousness but didn't expect much less from UA's principal.
The two drank in silence for a bit before Nedzu spoke, "So, is there anything you want to talk about? Any problems you might be facing?"
Shouto gave Nedzu a look of suspicion, "Did Endeavour ask you to meet with me because I'm the number 2's son or something?"
Nedzu chuckled, "Why? Because I asked if you are facing any problems?"
Shouto nodded in response.
Nedzu smiled, "Quite the opposite. By problems, I meant personal problems. You know, at your home, with your family."
Shouto's eyes widened slightly. There was no way Nedzu could know… right? Shouto shook his head slowly causing Nedzu to frown, "Sources tell me that there are a few problems."
Shouto clenched his fists tightly in anger as it became more apparent that his secret had been leaked, "Who is the source?"
"That doesn't matter right now." Nedzu said firmly, wanting to straighten out the case first, "What I want to know right now is why you have never told anyone about this?"
Shouto nearly laughed at the question, "Even if I told someone, what would could they do!?" He demanded, "No one dares to go against the number 2 hero! And the commission's useless when it comes to this stuff."
"You could have told me, or Aizawa. Even All Might would have helped. Surely the number 1 hero could help you?" Nedzu offered.
"I'm not taking that risk. The last time someone tried to help, it didn't end well." Shouto muttered darkly thinking of Touya and his mother.
Nedzu took note of the dark turn. He could understand that there was at least already one coverup involved with Endeavour. Nevertheless, he wouldn't open that can of worms, knowing how bad he was with emotions. He'd rather have Hound Dog and Recovery girl on hand for that particular conversation.
"But we can protect you. UA will soon be moving to a dorm system," Nedzu leaked, "And Endeavour won't have any way to get to you."
"Is that why you blocked my internship with Endeavour?"
"Yes," Nedzu replied.
Shouto huffed, "Even if I'm safe, my siblings will be the victims."
"We can always ensure Fuyumi is safe with Natsuo. If I'm right, Natsuo has some sort of bargaining chip to be away from Endeavour."
Shouto stayed silent, knowing there was some truth to Nedzu's words. But he didn't feel comfortable sharing such details with anyone. He still held a firm belief that things would become normal someday.
Nedzu could sense Shouto was on the brink of supporting the case and tried to push his buttons, "Look, just help us build a case. If we get enough evidence, we will push forward. Otherwise, we'll let it slide. It will be up to you." Nedzu compromised.
"Endeavour might get tipped off."
"Trust me, he won't." Nedzu assured, "I'm smart enough to cover our tracks, I can assure you that much. And besides, what kind of hero would you be if you can't even help your family? Don't you owe it to your family to take this chance?"
The words struck a chord in Shouto's mind. "Can I call myself a hero without even being able to help my family?" He asked himself. Shouto had never thought of that. He had always assumed that he'd keep his head down and be a top hero. Endeavor would eventually die and they'd all be free but something about that seemed idiotic now that he thought of it.
Touya had died due to his father's actions and his mother had gone insane trying to protect them. And here he was; sitting in the office of one of the most powerful people in Japan with an opportunity of a lifetime, yet he was considered a refusal.
Nedzu could see the gears turn in Shouto's head as he finally let out a deep sigh, "Fine. I'll help."
Nedzu couldn't help but give a cheery smile at his victory, "Excellent! Given that you are our sole source of information, for now, we'll be leaning heavily on you."
Shouto nodded with a doubtful face, "When do we get started?"
"Tomorrow. There are some things I need to prepare first."
"You called Kaminari in later too. Is it because you want him to help with the case?" Shouto asked, suspicion rising.
"The less you know the better. You wouldn't want to accidentally let slip in front of Endeavour, would you?"
Shouto nodded at the response, "Watanabe is the one who told you though, didn't he?"
Nedzu's face tightened at the question. He really wasn't the person to handle emotions. "Yes, how did you know?"
"Just had a feeling. Plus, he was the only one who wasn't at lunch today. And immediately after lunch, you announced that I can't go to Endeavour." Shouto explained himself.
Nedzu chuckled, "A bit far-fetched but yes, you are right."
There was a short silence as Shouto seemed to recollect his thoughts.
"Are you… angry at him?" Nedzu asked warily.
"I'm angry at him because he told you, my secret. He had no right to that!"
"Sometimes friends do things that you hate. But it's only because they want to help you. If Watanabe never told me about this, would you have done it? And would you have ever gotten the help you needed?"
Shouto gritted his teeth. He knew Nedzu was right but, "It's still not fair. He was still in the wrong!"
"Meddling in other's affairs is the essence of being a hero." Nedzu stated, "If all goes well with this case, you may end up thanking him."
"And if it doesn't?" Shouto asked angrily.
"It will," Nedzu assured.
Shouto huffed sarcastically at Nedzu's confidence, "If that's all, I'll be going."
Nedzu took a deep breath, sensing this might not wash over well with Watanabe but he didn't have any words of advice and simply nodded.
As Shouto left, Nedzu turned his attention to the business card a certain Midoriya had handed to him.
A/N: Sorry for such a long break. Admittedly I did have time to write but I honestly wasn't feeling upto it. Hopefully you'll be getting regularish updates from now on.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter and leave a comment!