My Hero Academia - Under Pressure - Season 2 - Chapter 15 - Drafting Names

"The two days after the Sports Festival was honestly a kind of bliss for many of us. While it's true that we had time to ourselves within UA and our dorms, it just wasn't the same as being with family. Furthermore, it seemed like one big thing after another with our training and learning how to be Pro-Heroes. The Deck's kidnapping of me didn't help either, as it put many of us on edge. We worked hard for the Sports Festival so we could show our stuff, and we did. But when we got to relax and just step away from it all...it was nice."

Tonen took the train back to UA, a calm expression on his face went along with a smile he had as he recalled having fun with his family.

"But as time always does, it continued on, and soon enough we all returned back to the dorms and to UA High. Which was fine because we had a big task ahead of us. For me though, there was something else I had to do first."

As Tonen entered the Class 1-B dorm early in the morning, he was surprised by how empty it was. The others had not returned yet, or at least, not many of them. Things changed though when a door opened and Kuroda walked out.

She didn't see him at first, as she was reading something, but then she looked up and said, "Hey Tonen!"

The two met up and gave a brief hug to one another, Tonen was happy to see her in somewhat good spirits, "Hey K-Rep, how was your time off?"

"Refreshing, actually. My whole family was there to celebrate with me... Yeah..."

He watched as her eyes drifted away, but she eventually snapped to.

"Oh, sorry, how about you?"

"My parents and my uncle hung out with me for a day, and then the second day I just relaxed at home. It was good being back."

"No place like home, right?" Kuroda said with a laugh that died off really quickly and she again drifted away.

Tonen knew what to ask, "Are you ok, Kuroda?"

"Huh? I'm...uh...I'm fine."

"Come on, you don't need to lie to me. I wanted to talk to you about what happened with Goya after the tournament but we all got wrapped up in going home. Please...tell me the truth, you know I won't judge you."

Kuroda gazed at him with sad eyes and then motioned him to join her at the nearby table, "This thing I'm reading? It's from Principal Ayatsune, she offered me help if I was still a bit traumatized from what Goya did. I'm tempted to take it."

"If you need it, then do it," he said comfortingly.

"I know. I'm just...conflicted on what I should be feeling. I know that we know there is always someone stronger out there. Someone with a better Quirk, someone out there that can counter what we do. But the way Goya just rendered me...useless, helpless...I'm not used to that. I'm like Eri, we're confident in what we can do...but I couldn't do anything but watch as he...as he..."

Her mind flashed back to the tournament, watching helplessly as Goya slammed her into the arena floor multiple times.

Tonen reached out and grabbed her hand in support, "It's ok...I felt that too for a bit, as did Hana. I got lucky in how I broke out, else I would've been in a similar spot."

"Yeah, exactly did you break out again? I told the others it was willpower, but it seemed more than that with you."

"It's a bit of a long story, but basically he helped me remember my true origins and that gave me the willpower...and the anger...to break free. In truth though, I honestly don't know if I can do that on the regular, it may have been a one-off."

Kuroda nodded in acknowledgment, "It was pretty cool though, I was glad I got to see it."

"Taking a beating and coming back from it so quickly...that makes you pretty cool in my book...K-Rep."

He smirked and stuck out his tongue at the quick change he did with her name, she gave a playful slap at him, "Ha ha, Tonen."

"Are you going to be ok?"

"Yeah...it's...going to take a while. His slams really hurt, and I couldn't even scream when he did them as he held my mouth shut. That's...a lot to take in. But yeah, I'll get through it, probably take up Ayatsune's offer to help with that."

"Good. There's no shame in asking for help. Especially if it's from someone you trust."

Kuroda managed to get back her smile, "Thanks...big brother."

He smiled back, "Anytime...big sister. Oh, actually, on that note, I wanted to ask you a personal question about me."

"Oh? Go ahead."

"During my fight with Goya...did uh...you all...you know...talk about my shirtless look during the match?"

Kuroda had to fight hard to hold back a laugh, "No, we did not talk about your shirtless appearance as the match went on."

"Good, that was embarrassing for-"

"But AFTER the match? Oh yeah, we totally talked about it."

Tonen hung his head in frustration, "Great. Do I have to worry about anyone fawning over me?"

"Maybe one or two, Big Sis don't kiss and tell."

"Ha ha."

"I'm not one of them for the record, but I will say...nice abs."

"Thanks. Benefits of my pre-UA training. My Quirk honestly puts a lot of pressure on my body from within. It can hurt...a lot. So I worked out with my uncle and got well enough in shape that it takes a big buildup to make my body hurt. Given all we do at UA that honestly hasn't happened recently."

"Glad to hear it, I've had my own 'body issues' with my Quirk," reminisced Kuroda. "I thought for the longest time if I touched my body wrong I'd go Midas on it, but thankfully that isn't the case."

"Doesn't work on living beings?"

"It can...just takes a lot more focus, an accidental touch won't do it...thank goodness."

"Indeed."

The two just looked at each other for a bit, they each cracked a smile as they felt good just talking with a friend. Kuroda was the first to get up from the table, "Thanks for the chat, Tonen, I feel a little better."

Tonen stood up as well, "Anytime. Seriously."

"Good to know. I need to go make a call, and we better start getting ready for class. Angel Wings said today was going to be a big day, we better be ready for it."

"Can't wait."

Kuroda went to her room to go and make her call to Principal Ayatsune. Tonen stayed behind and made himself a light snack to give himself extra energy for the day.

As time slowly passed, more and more of Class 1-B showed up at the dorm, and they all greeted one another and caught up on the past few days before they headed to class.

They continued to talk at their desks until eventually Angel Wings showed up with her usual happy smile on her face, "Good morning, class!"

"Good morning, Angel Wings," the class answered back.

"I'm not going to lie, I missed you over your small break. But again, after your stellar performances in the Sports Festival, you deserved your time off. The catch though is that now you must take not one but two major steps towards your Pro-Hero goals."

The class went into a murmuring frenzy as to what this might mean, Angel Wings allowed them to do this for a bit before raising a hand to calm them down.

"The first one you probably guessed, because as I and others told you before the Festival began, this was your chance to show off your skills for the Pro-Heroes. And I have the results of your efforts. You see, your class, as well as the other classes in your first year group, were all available to be potentially drafted by a Pro-Hero Agency. If they were impressed by you, they would send us an official invitation to offer you an internship, and potentially something more later on if you impress them."

The class was in awe of this system, as it meant that the Pro-Heroes would truly show how impressed they were by someone should they offer a request.

Angel Wings wagged a finger though with a more serious expression to match, "You need to think of this like a job, because not unlike other internships in the world, if you fail to live up to your potential, they can be rescinded. This means you'll have a little bit of trouble going forward when more intensive studies with heroes are required. The three Sports Festivals you partake in at UA will give you a chance to show off your progression, but so will these internships and other study programs. So be mindful of that when you accept a notice."

Kuroda raised her hand, "Angel Wings?"

"Yes, Kuroda?"

"What if we get multiple offers?"

"Ah, an excellent question. Many of you did get multiple offers from Pro-Heroes, so it's YOUR job to go and see what hero works for you in terms of what you personally hope to be in the future."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Wasuke, very curious. "Wouldn't any true Pro-Hero be able to guide us in a way that is meaningful?"

Angel Wings chuckled as his poetic way of putting things, "In a way, yes. But allow me to use myself as an example. In my first Sports Festival I did well enough to get some Pro-Heroes attention. Many of the heroes that offered me an internship though were...warrior-focused, if you will. Meaning they preferred to fight villains above all else. I knew my wings would be better to rescue people and so I chose a hero that frequently did rescue work. I learned a lot from them and reaffirmed my belief in being a Rescue Hero. If I had chosen someone else...my path might have gone a different way."

"In other words," interjected Eri with a very serious expression, "chose your potential mentor, wisely."

"Precisely. Granted, you will have other chances to work with other heroes...but...a bad first impression will get heroes talking, and that might affect you. It also could be that you pick the wrong mentor and you'll worry about picking the wrong one the next time. So again...chose wisely. Thankfully for you, this is not a rush decision. You'll have until the end of tomorrow to decide, and then we'll handle all the paperwork. You'll spend a week with your Pro-Heroes and then come back here to continue your studies. Understand?"

The class nodded or spoke out in approval, which pleased Angel Wings, "Good, this is an exciting time for you, and I hope you make the most of it. Now, as for how many requests you all got, we look at this draft board..."

She pulled out a small clicker and pointed it at the board before giving it a click. One by one the names of the class appeared in a certain order, and then with another click, white bars started to grow from the names from left to right. When they ended, a number appeared next to them.

To Tonen's surprise, his name was not only at the top, but he had a massive amount of requests for internships. He figured he might get a hundred, but his was over two thousand.

"Holy crap," Tonen muttered to himself.

"Nice job, TK!" praised Azujima from behind him with a pat on his shoulder.

"Thanks, Azu."

As he turned to the board, he saw the slow decline of offers from him to the bottom of the list. Oshibu, Kuroda, Chuya, Sanda and Goya followed him with very significant amounts of requests. Hana, Eri, Anno, Ebirima, and Ueno had solid numbers in the hundreds. The rest of the class, those who didn't advance to the final round, found themselves looking at only dozens of requests, if that.

Tonen scanned them all and his eyes went wide when he saw that both Azujima and Iha didn't have any requests at all. He quickly turned to his friend, who wasn't vexed by this at all, "It's ok, I kind of figured this would happen."

He turned to Iha next, she gave a weary smile and said, "I'm fine."

He wasn't the only one to notice this though, Kuroda again raised her hands, "With respect to the Pro-Heroes, Angel Wings, how could no one reasonably give a request to Azujima or Iha? They both have great Quirks!"

"They couldn't show them though," came a voice.

To their surprise, it was Goya who said it. He was twirling his metal spheres per usual.

"Pick your next words carefully," warned Tonen with a deadly glare.

"I have no need for insults, only truth. It's fair to say that Azujima's senses and Iha's Quirk manipulation power is impressive on its own. But in the Sports Festival...it's not very visual, is it? Especially not in the chaos of a tag-team fight when at best they were supporting their partners instead of helping take down opponents. Right, Angel Wings?"

He turned to his teacher and smirked in his arrogant way, knowing it would get under her craw, she resisted the urge to yell at him and instead took a breath before looking at Azujima and Iha, "It's true. Sadly, the Sports Festival doesn't always give us a chance to showcase who we are and what we can do, not unlike the entrance exams where some of you only got points because of teaming up with others to take down the robots."

Tonen saw Iha shift in place as she knew she was one of those people.

"To be clear, this is NOT an insult on your abilities, and you still get to do the internships."

"What?" asked Iha confused.

"But no one drafted us," added Azujima.

"Yes, but as I said, that's not your fault per se. You will be given a list of agencies who are always looking for help and you can request one of them to take you in. It's not going to be a top-tier agency, but it'll help you on your journey, ok?"

Both Azujima and Iha nodded in understanding, but Tonen wasn't happy at all. He knew they deserved to work with someone special who wouldn't look down on them. He wondered how he could do that when Angel Wings clapped her hands to get their attention.

"Now, the rest of you have just been sent an email about your requests. Take your time, look over them, see what they offer, how they go about their business, and then let me know by the end of tomorrow who you want to go with. As I said, we the staff need to fill out the paperwork and make sure your future mentors are prepared for when you arrive at the beginning of next week. Everyone understand?" she asked at the end.

"Yes, Angel Wings," they replied.

"Very good. That was the first of the two big things you'll be doing today. The second part...is that since you'll be working with Pro-Heroes in the field...you'll be picking your hero names today!"

Instantly the class erupted in cheers, they had clearly been waiting for this to happen and couldn't help but show their enthusiasm towards it.

Angel Wings was very amused by their reaction, "And they say you can't be happy like a kid when you're older. Glad they're wrong. Now, to help you understand the true importance of your hero names, please welcome one of your teachers...Duplicate."

She motioned to the door and on cue it flung open and Duplicate jumped into the room and struck a pose, "Hello...students! How was that entrance? Give me a rating?"

"7/10," called out Tonen with a smirk, "needs a front or back flip for effect."

"Oh, he's got a point, oh well. Alright, so, let's talk hero names!"

He quickly went to the board and wrote up the names of the teachers at the school that they had met.

"At first, you might think your hero name is just that, a name. But it's honestly more important than that. It speaks to who you are in terms of your Quirk, your personality, what kind of hero you want to be, and so on. Some even put little prefixes before their title to give their name a little more spice."

"For example," interjected Angel Wings, "your combat teacher Armed Guard's full title is the 'Defense Hero: Armed Guard', but most only refer to him as Armed Guard because it's easier to say. But some see the full title and get a better idea about what he's all about."

"Precisely!" praised Duplicate with a pose to his fellow staffer. "Furthermore, sometimes you can make your own name that just feels right. Or, like me, you can go with what your power is and just let the natural name for it be yours."

He picked up a piece of chalk and activated his Quirk and instantly another one formed from the original.

"Zaba Shamon, aka Duplicate. Teacher and Pro-Hero. Quirk: Duplication. Obviously. He can make a perfect replica of things, but it must be inanimate, and can only make certain amount of copies depending on factors like size, density, etc. He could make a million copies of chalk for example, but if he tried to do tables...it'd be a lot less."

"So as you can see, the name is more than just a name. So I'm going to replicate some mini-boards for you to write on, and we'll try and find what your true names are!"

Angel Wings made a cautionary noise to get their attention, "That being said, it's up to us whether the name is both appropriate, and something that truly feels like it's best for you. To be clear, it's not that we don't trust your creativity, but we just want to make sure you put best foot, and name, forward."

"Exactly! So, get to pondering, get to thinking, and let's get to naming!"

A few minutes went by in a hurry as many of the students tried to think of their Pro-Hero names. Some were done instantly as they already thought they had a great title, others struggled as they tried to come up with something truly special for them.

After a bit, Duplicate made a rather large buzzer sound, "Time's up! Also, how was my Projection impersonation."

"4/10," called out Tonen again, "needs more reverb."

"Fine! I'll work on it. So, who wants to go first?"

Kuroda raised her hand, "As class rep, I feel it's best to set a good example for the others. If I may?"

"By all means," answered Angel Wings with a smile and a motion to come forward.

Kuroda confidently walked up and held up her sign, "I'd like to be the Alteration Hero: Change It."

"Sounds...basic," noted Ryu.

"Why go that direction, Kuroda?" asked Ryo.

"Well, I feel it as both a hero name and a kind of catch phrase. Need something altered in a hurry, Change it!" she said with a small yell and a snap for effect. "Need something converted to be tougher or lighter? Change it! Need to get through something easily? Change it!"

"Need someone to fix Goya's bad attitude?" joked Tonen.

"Oh you wish I could change it."

This banter got all the class laughing, except Goya. Even the teachers got in on it before waving them down. Duplicate was the first to compliment Kuroda, "I like it. Change It is simple, catchy, and can be a phrase people use to remember you. I'm good with it."

"As am I," added Angel Wings. "Good job Kuroda, who's next?"

To their surprise, Ueno raised his hand, all the while his head was wobbling. Angel Wings got him to come up and he held up his board, "Redirect. Feels simple enough...won't make me dizzy thinking about it."

"Sometimes simple is good, Ueno. I think it suits you well. Next?"

Hana came up next and held up her board: "Environment Hero: Terrain."

"I thought you'd be Shifty!" stated Fenella from her chair in a very teasing way.

"Only to you and Tonen, Fenella."

"It's a good name," said Tonen in support. "Very appropriate for your Quirk."

"Thank you Tonen."

"You're welcome...but I'm still only calling you Shifty."

This got another bout of laughter from the class, and Angel Wings calmed them down before bringing up the next member of the class. Who was Sanda.

"Well, as you all know..." he started out nervously. "Quake is taken. Although I've never met the hero and I can't really find them in the hero database so is it really wrong to use that name if no one can claim it and-"

"SANDA!" roared the class to get him to stop.

"Right, sorry! Anyway, I decided to pick the next best thing, Richter."

"Ah!" said Duplicate with a sound of understanding, "Like a Richter Scale, something you'd definitely trip with your powers. Love it, approved! Who's next?"

Without waiting to be called up, the Twins raced forward and put up their boards while also doing a pose, Ryu stating, "I'm Mecha!"

Ryo followed up with, "And I'm Mechanis!

Then they did another pose and unified they shouted, "The Tech Heroes!"

The class snickered at their combination poses and announcement, but they knew it fit them well.

Angel Wings nodded after she held back her own snicker, "Very good you two, glad even in names you're in sync."

"Always!"

"Indeed, alright, whose next?"

Wasuke raised his hand and got called up, "I wanted a name that would suit what I do, and want to do, and there is only one name that fits that."

He held up his board up high.

"I am the Shield of Justice!"

"Uh...you sure about that?" questioned Duplicate, not exactly convinced. "Granted, you have a shield, but does it really exude justice? Or you know...be able to protect people in a justice-style way?"

Perturbed, Wasuke put down his board, unified his shield arms and then grew it to a size they had never seen it before, causing Duplicate to recoil.

"Ok, ok! I'm convinced, just don't hit me with that thing!"

"Heaven forbid, that would be...in...justice..."

"Do all your kids have jokes?" asked Duplicate to Angel Wings.

She shrugged and smiled, "I don't mind, next?"

Doza came up next and held up his board, "Mine should be pretty easy to guess, I'm Resonance."

"Again, nothing wrong with simple. It speaks to what you can do, Doza, well done. Next?"

Eri approached and held up her board next, "Mimic Hero: The Copy. Or Copy for short."

"Is Copycat taken?" wondered Tonen aloud.

"Apparently yes, by a villain."

"Ouch."

"I don't mind, you can still call me that though Tonen."

"I'll consider it."

The two shared a playful look to one another before Eri was approved then went and sat down. Anno was the next to volunteer and he slowly changed before them as held up his board with extreme posing.

"I. Am. KING SHARK!" he announced with a booming voice.

Kuroda did her best not to smirk to much as she said, "Sorry Sharky, Pretty sure that's taken."

"Really? Ok, I got backups. I. AM...MASTER SHARK!"

"Are you though?" asked Ebirima.

"Am I what?"

"Can you control sharks like a master of them would?"

"Well...no..."

"Time for take three, Anno!" Wasuke said with a bit of boasting.

"Fine...I. AM. Sharknad-"

"NO!" roared the class. So loudly in fact that Anno was pushed back by their combined sound.

"Dude, don't mention that thing here, it's not worth the pain," advised Tonen.

Anno hung his head in shame and reverted back to his regular form before writing one more name down, "Landshark?"

The class conferred with one another before giving him the thumbs up. Which gave Anno his life back, so he transformed once more.

"YES! I. AM. LANDSHARK!"

"We heard you, now sit down."

"Ok."

Anno happily reverted and went back to his seat. Angel Wings again had to hold back a laugh, "Next?"

Fenella got up and with a sly look held up her board, "Rune."

"Short, sweet, to the point!" praised Duplicate.

"Glad you approve. If you didn't it would've-"

"Rune-d your day," finished the class with a groan.

"I love ya lot, it's even funnier when you say it."

"What's funny is that you're the first to take my nickname of you as a hero name," pointed out Tonen.

"What can I say boyo, you have an effect on me," she said teasingly with a wink.

"Alright Fenella, sit down," guided Angel Wings, "next?"

Azujima held up his hand nervously and got called up, "Uh...I wanted to keep it simple too so I went with...Super Sense."

As he held up his board he waited to see how the others reacted.

Kuroda took the lead, "I like it, Azujima, it's perfect for you."

"Definitely," added Tonen.

Others piped in and praised the name, which gave him great relief as he went and sat down. Iha decided to go next after Azujima's success.

In her usual blunt way, she held up her board and read it aloud, "Duality."

This puzzled Angel Wings a bit, "You sure that fits you, Iha? It makes you sound a bit different than what you do."

"That works in her favor though," noted Tonen. "Think about it. Her Quirk is arguably one of the most powerful here as it can super charge a friend or de-power a foe. It's a duality of gifts, while also not instantly revealing what she can do to foes. That gives her an instant advantage in the field."

Iha pointed to Tonen, "What he said."

Angel Wings and Duplicate looked at each other and shrugged, "Ok."

Iha bowed to them both and sat back down, then gave a look to Tonen in appreciation, who answered back with a thumbs up.

Goya decided to go next. He actually levitated his way to the front of the class and lifted up his board and read proudly, "THE Psychic."

Silence filled up the classroom, many were unimpressed by his name, even though they could tell he thought it was the best out there.

"So...you copied, Copy?"" pointed out Tonen.

"No! You idiot. Her name is The Copy. I am THE Psychic. THE!"

"You just can't help but sound like a dick, can you?"

Goya made a move towards him but Angel Wings grabbed him by the arm and pulled him around, "Don't forget the thin ice you're on, Goya. If you like your name, fine, it's yours, now sit down."

Angry, but not willing to jeopardize his station, he returned to his seat...by walking to it. Angel Wings sighed but continued.

"Next?"

Ebirima decided to go up next, but it was clear she was nervous as she held up her sign, "I'd like to be Bubble Gum Gal."

"I like it!" admitted Duplicate after a pause, "It rolls off the tongue."

"Really?"

"Very much so, and no one has given themselves a gender-title on their name yet, so yours is a bit unique," put out Angel Wings with a comforting smile.

"I'm relieved. I didn't just want to be Bubble Gum."

"Totally understand, alright, next!"

Ikaim raised his hand and had to restrain a laugh as he prepared his name, "I apologize, Ebirima, I don't mean to burst your bubble...gum..."

He waited for them to laugh, but instead they all groaned, even Tonen.

"Oh come on! You guys can do puns but I can't?"

"Not when they're that bad, lad," criticized Fenella.

"Yours are terrible!"

"Yeah, but I at least own it! You thought yours was funny from the moment it popped into your mind."

"You all are so mean. Anyway, the reason I made that joke was because I want to be Mr. Ink."

This time the class laughed, but in an appreciative way.

"I get it," acknowledged Hana, "Like 'Mystery', but instead it's Mr. Ink. That's funny."

"Thank goodness I'm not a comedy hero."

Duplicate patted him on the back, "There's always your next lifetime, who's up now?"

Kanagita made her way up to the front, both Tonen and Kuroda could tell she was extremely nervous. They each made eye contact with her though and gave her a nod and thumbs up in encouragement.

She held up her board, "Um, I...want to be known as Brick Break."

"Ah, like the video game move!" realized the Twins.

"Powerful, and very suiting to your alter ego," said Wasuke with prideful intent.

Angel Wings gave Kanagita a small clap, "That was very good, Kanagita."

"Thank you," Kanagita replied, happiness temporarily taking away her nervousness.

"Next...?"

Tonen raised his hand and Angel Wings waved him forward. With a smile on his he held up his board, "Call me...Pressure Wave."

Most of the class was amazed by his name, others were curious though, like Anno, "I thought you'd go more for Air Blast, as that's your primary move."

"True, I honestly thought that. But my Quirk is literally air pressure building within me. Plus, I can use that pressure to stop objects like I did in the sports festival, or send a wave of pressure to slam my foes. So you could say that regardless of whether it's me or the person I'm facing. We're always...Under Pressure..."

He started to sing a beat and clapped his hands to make it feel more like a song everyone could join in on. And that they did, save for Goya. Even the teachers sang along for a bit before waving them down.

"Very clever, Tonen," praised Angel Wings. "I think that name suits you well. Ok, next up is-"

Before she could finish, Oshibu raced up to the front. Tonen hadn't even sat down yet, "Really dude?"

"Gotta go fast, man," Oshibu said as he adjusted his shades.

"Right..."

Tonen shook his head before sitting back down. Oshibu was patient enough to wait for this to happen before raising up his board, "I'm the 'Speed Hero: Blitzer'."

"Oh yeah, that fits," admitted Kuroda with a nod.

"Yeah, you blitz out of sight and suddenly you're somewhere else," added Ikaim.

"It's very dizzying," noted Ueno as he wobbled.

"That's how I roll, or in this case, how I blitz," Oshibu said with a pose.

Duplicate got a bit agitated at this, "Enough with the puns! My gosh, is this what it's like when I'm going full-tilt at the faculty meetings?"

"Yes," Angel Wings answered bluntly. "Now you know how we feel."

"Ok, that hurts Tsuru. Regardless, are we done? I've lost track."

"No, we have one more, Chuya?"

The class turned to her and saw that she was fidgeting something fierce at her desk. She hesitantly got up and went to the front of the class. But when she raised up her board, it was blank.

"You couldn't think of a name?" wondered Angel Wings.

"I don't...I'm not...I struggle..." Chuya sputtered out, unable to admit her flaw.

"You're not the creative type, are you kid?" asked Duplicate with not the best tone.

"I plenty creative in battle and with my Quirk! I just...don't do this kind of creativity."

"That's ok," consoled Angel Wings. "Let's see if your classmates have any ideas."

"Oh Gods..." muttered Chuya, already embarrassed at the prospect.

Tonen raised his hand, "I got one."

"If you call me 'Aquagirl', Tonen, I will drown you, I don't care about consequences."

"Scary. But that's not my idea. I thought of one name that speaks to both your Quirk and your soldier heritage."

"...ok, I'll bite."

"Call yourself...Aquamarine."

Chuya was taken aback by the name. It was indeed a fusion of who she was and what she wanted to be. She took a moment to take that in and then nodded in acceptance, "I...I like that. That'll work for me."

"Then it's settled!" said Angel Wings happily. "Welcome to the hero world, Aquamarine."

The others joined in at the praise of the name, and it made Chuya feel really good, though she didn't want to admit it.

"And with that, all of you have your Pro-Hero names, congrats!"

The class cheered as they felt they were now at least heroes in name, if not in official capacity. But they knew that would come in time.

"Very cool, very cool," said Duplicate with a pose, "but remember...a name...is just a name...until you actually make it mean something special. Work hard in your upcoming internships so that your name is more than just a thing you call yourself."

"That's...very true, thank you, Zaba."

"Eh, no worries Tsuru, and with that...flip exit!"

He rushes forward and does a front flip to exit, hitting the screen door as a result and crashing to the ground.

"You're supposed to open the door...THEN do the flip," instructed Tonen with a shake of the head.

"I always forget something..."

Angel sighed at her co-worker as he slowly picked himself up and left, "With that...uh...display, I hereby dismiss you for a bit. It's almost lunchtime, so take that time, and the rest of today when possible, to look over your requests and pick who you want to be with for your internships. Remember, you need to turn them in by the end of the day tomorrow. So don't rush, but don't wait until last minute. Dismissed."

With her approval now given, the students dove into their phones and reviewed the agencies that wanted them. That is, all except for Azujima and Iha, who merely got up and made their way out of the classroom.

Tonen was angry at this, he knew his friends were worth of being with a Pro-Hero, but he didn't know how he could fix it. He wondered how his family would guide him if this had happened to him, and it was then that a light bulb went off.

He left the classroom and pulled out his phone, "Hey Uncle. Yeah, I'm fine, really. Look...I need a favor. Actually I need two..."

Some time passed and much of Class 1-B found themselves in the cafeteria eating alongside one another. Many of them had their lists of agencies nearby as they ate since they hadn't picked out where they would go for the most part.

Ebirima for example seemed to really struggle with her choice, "I really don't know, guys. I mean, I know Angel Wings told us to pick someone who can help us grow into the hero we want to be...but...there's a lot of good Pro-Heroes who can help me I think. Not sure which way to go..."

"Yeah, it's a challenge, lass," admitted Fenella as she gazed at her own list. "I have less than you and I'm struggling. Don't want to muck this all up, you know?"

"I'm tempted to go for a hero that can match my shark strength in the field," noted Anno as he delved into his own draft list. "But perhaps I should try for someone who can teach me to do more than just be physical in nature..."

"Sharky's getting philosophical," teased Kuroda as she ate.

"Shark's have great intelligence! Also, I see you're not on your list, does that mean you've made your choice?"

"More or less. I have it down to two. I'm going to make a call and get some advice, then I'll make my choice. Like Angel Wings said, no need to rush. Has anyone actually made their selection already?"

Eri lazily held up a finger as she ate, "I have."

"Shocking no one, I'm sure. You always know what you want."

"More times than not."

Kanagita was curious and leaned in, "Who did you pick, Eri?"

"The Bending Hero: Contro."

"The contortionist?" said Wasuke aloud. "I know you like to push yourself, Eri, but is that the right direction to go?"

Eri's eyes glazed over as she thought about something, "In the Sports Festival I found out my Quirk is much more tied to my body than I realized. I need to do more with it. While I doubt I'll be able to mimic all that Contro can do, he has a very unique fighting style and perspective of what to do without long-range powers or weapons and that's something that appeals to me. So I chose him pretty easily."

Kuroda laughed lightly, "Like I said, you know what you want. Anyone else? How you, Oshibu? I'm sure you blazed through your list."

"Pretty much," he answered with a slight lowering of his glasses. "To be honest, I was hoping to team up with my sister, Ninagi. But...she's overseas with her agency so no dice there. However, after a quick call to her, she asked if the Momotar Agency was on my list, and it was."

Ikaim thought about that name, "Wait...isn't that one of the top agencies in Japan?"

"Yep! So it shouldn't be surprising that they went after the 3rd ranked person in our class, right?"

"What were they known for again?" asked Doza.

"Speed! What else?"

"More specifically," corrected Eri. "They're known for taking care of problems in a quick fashion. Their response time is above every other agency by a landslide. They only take in heroes who can move quickly, so they tend to have fliers and speedsters solely in their ranks."

"Of which I qualify, obviously," boasted Oshibu with another pose.

"We know, now shut up."

Much of the class laughed at Eri's put down. Kuroda was the first to recover as she looked around, "Hey, where are The Twins?"

"They wanted to talk to The Tinker," revealed Tonen as he scrolled through his own phone, "they value his advice a lot. If you think about it, he's already their Pro-Hero mentor. But obviously he can't be their internship because he's not in the field."

"Good point. What about you, Tonen? You make your pick?"

"No, not yet."

The way he said it got Anno's attention. He leaned over and took a look at some of the names on his list and his eyes went wide, "Dude! You got an invite from both Mythical and Interface?"

"Yeah."

"And...you haven't picked them...why?"

"Because I got over 2000 requests, why wouldn't look over all of them?" he responded nonchalantly.

"Come on, man. A shark like me can appreciate your respectful nature, but when the No.1 hero asks you to join his agency, you say yes instantly!"

"Unless there's nothing you can learn from the No.1 hero."

This comment caught everyone off-guard. Ebirima looked at him with uncertainty, "Do you not like Mythical?"

"He's a fine hero, but like Angel Wings said, you need to pick a mentor that will guide you in the kind of hero you want to be. I don't want to be like Mythical. And before you say anything Mako, I don't want to be like Interface either. I don't have the face for streaming."

The class laughed at this and Tonen felt he got most of them off of his case. To help ensure this though, he gazed at a surprising member of their lunch group, Chuya.

"Hey, soldier, how's your search going?"

Chuya was gazing intently at her list, which was very well stacked with requests due to her performance. But there was an anger in her eyes that Tonen couldn't help but notice as she went through them.

"Soldier?"

"What, what?" she asked as she snapped into place.

"Calm down, Chuya," Kuroda said sternly. "Tonen was asking if you had picked your Pro-Hero agency yet."

"Oh, no, I haven't."

"Was there someone you wanted in particular to join?"

"...yes, actually. I was hoping to be with Athena's agency."

"Well that's not going to happen."

Chuya slammed her fists on the table, "Why? Because I'm not worthy enough in your eyes?"

Kuroda rose up to make her intent clear, "You better calm down right now, girl. You're lucky we brought you back into the fold, I have no qualms with kicking you back out if you return to your old ways."

Tonen made a noise and Chuya looked at him. He gave a pleading look to her and motioned to take some deep breaths.

Reluctantly, she did so and calmed down, "I'm sorry."

"...it's fine. Now, as I was trying to say. You can't get in with Athena because she hasn't taken interns in years."

"Really?" wondered Fenella, "I never heard that."

"You were probably abroad at the time," Kuroda pointed out, "but there was a thing here we call the 'Okinawa Incident'. Athena was there, alongside another hero named Rip Roar. They barely survived it. Rip Roar got seriously injured and Athena...just wasn't the same after. Apparently she felt she didn't have time for interns and thus...stopped asking for them. So that...Chuya...is why you didn't get a request from her, no one did."

"Oh, I see," Chuya said downtrodden.

"I'm sure there's plenty of other Pro-Heroes who would live up to whatever expectations you put on them, solider," noted Tonen with a smile to her. "You got time, go and see if one speaks to you."

"Yes, you're right, I'll do some research."

As she looked away, Tonen looked at Kuroda, who went from a stone-faced look to a smile as she saw her "big brother" diffuse the situation like a pro.

Elsewhere, Azujima and Iha were alone outside on a bench, going over the potential agencies they could ask to be with.

"See one you like, Iha?" asked Azujima, trying his hardest to be upbeat.

"Meh," Iha answered in her usual way.

"Oh, ok."

"Good! You both are here."

They turned to see Angel Wings approaching them, some slips of paper in her hand.

"What's wrong, Angel Wings?"

"Nothing is wrong Azujima. In fact, everything is splendid. Because you two...got an offer."

She handed each of them a slip of paper and indeed it was an invitation to a Pro-Hero agency.

"Brazen Agency?" wondered Iha as she looked at it.

"Are you two not familiar with the Pro-Hero?"

Azujima shook his head, "I've heard of him in passing, but never really thought about him much."

Angel Wings smiled smally as she realized what a certain someone did and didn't do, "Well, I can personally attest to his character. As can Principal Ayatsune. Furthermore, he's the No.75 hero so he clearly can get the job done. So what do you two say? Will you accept his invitation? I honestly feel you should, you'll learn from him in more ways than one. If you let him teach you."

Azujima turned to Iha, who was still looking at the paper. Eventually she turned back to him and nodded. To which he turned to Angel Wings and nodded, "We're in."

"Wonderful! I'll send in the answer immediately. I hope you both have a fun time with him. Oh, and be sure to tell your classmates about it, I'm sure they'll be overjoyed you got a request."

The two ran off to go do just that and Angel Wings smiled brightly again at the joy of her students.

As they day waned on, many of the students remained focused on finding the right Pro-Hero mentor. This included Tonen, who had a lot of agencies to whittle down and research in order to find the one that he wanted.

Eventually though, he gazed upon one particular entry and after some research realized that they might just be who he was looking for. To celebrate the event, he pulled out a sketch pad and drew himself in hero garb with a very heroic pose. Then he drew his Pro-Hero name above it to make it look like a poster.

"Pressure Wave, at your service," he said happily as he gazed at the final result of his art. "This might just go well for me, huh?"

The next day was one of anticipation, as many of the remaining students turned in their responses to the agencies. Some, like Chuya, Ebirima, Sanda and Ueno, waited until the end of the day to make their official requests.

By the time the class was over, Angel Wings thanked them for turning them all in, "Wonderful, you've all chosen an agency. I'll go through these myself and have them all mailed out by tonight. The next few days will be light work and a bit of prep about what you can potentially expect from your Pro-Heroes. Then on the first day of your internships you'll come here to get your costumes and then go straight to the cities and areas your Pro-Heroes reside in. Understood?"

"Yes, Angel Wings," answered the class.

"Wonderful, you're dismissed."

The class left, and after that Angel Wings went through the stack of papers to see what her students had selected. Some of the picks didn't surprise her at all. Even laughing at times at how perfectly the selection was. A few did pique her curiosity, and then she found the one for Tonen, and she was very surprised.

"I see...a curious pick, Tonen. But then again, you are a bit of a curious kid. I hope you find what you're looking for."

Far away, in a very familiar room, Nochi Hitan, aka The Dealer, was looking at his own device. An attendant came into the room and handed him a letter.

"Sir," said the attendant with a bow, "we've received another request."

"Have we? Wonderful," he replied as he opened the letter. "Hmm...haven't had a request for this in a while. I recommend we do this in a very stealthy manner. Draw a card."

His deck was in the middle of his desk per usual. The Dealer waved a hand over it and the cards shuffled themselves. The attendant pulled a card over and it was the Jack of Spades.

"Oh...an interesting choice. She'll do nicely. Give her the details and tell her to start scouting immediately."

"Yes sir."

The attendant left and The Dealer was left alone. As he went back to his device, he had a clip of the Sports Festival on it. But not of the students, but of Principal Ayatsune. Of her welcoming the top heroes and talking to the crowd.

"You look so happy, Rinoda," he joshed, "but we all know that's a lie. Don't worry...I'll give you a reason to scowl soon enough...'

*credits*