Chapter 4 - The Nurturing Hero: Doctor Phoenix
A few days before U.A.'s first semester of the new year had officially begun, a lone Ueshita was at her office desk going over the results of the U.A. entrance exam. On her laptop screen, the results of the top ten examinees were displayed; the results were as followed:
1. Katsuki Bakugo - 77 Villain Points, 0 Rescue Points
2. Eijiro Kirishima - 39 Villain Points, 35 Rescue Points
3. Ochaco Uraraka - 28 Villain Points, 45 Rescue Points
4. Hayashi Kenzaki - 37 Villain Points, 33 Rescue Points
5. Fujisaki Kaetsu - 26 Villain Points, 43 Rescue Points
6. Ibara Shiozaki - 36 Villain Points, 32 Rescue Points
7. Itsuka Kendo - 25 Villain Points, 40 Rescue Points
8. Tenya Ida - 52 Villain Points, 9 Rescue Points
9. Izuku Midoriya - 0 Villain Points, 60 Rescue Points
10. Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu - 49 Villain Points, 10 Rescue Points
"Hmm, interesting," she whispered under her breath.
"Checking which students you'd be taking for your class, Ms Ueshita?" A tired Aizawa questioned, appearing from behind her.
She gave a devilish smirk to herself, "Y'know, it's not polite to sneak up on a woman. Especially when she is preoccupied with something at the moment."
"I hardly see you as a woman at all, Ms Ueshita," he remarked, narrowing his eyes into a stern glare.
"Ah, so that's it. You see me as some horrible monster, don't you?" She chuckled.
"I see you as someone who should not be a teacher at this school. Considering your past," he regarded coolly, slightly raising his voice.
She turned around in her seat to face him, the side of her supple cheek resting on the palm of her hand as she displayed a rather bored expression.
"Questioning Principal Nezu's decision to hire me already, are we?"
He let out an exasperated sigh, "I'm not questioning his decision. I'm merely offering my opinion, as well as stating the facts-"
She raised her index finger, nonchalantly interrupting him, before going on to say, "One: your opinion of me does not matter in the slightest, within the grand scheme of things. Two: the main fact is that Principal Nezu is well aware of the skills I possess as a teacher, and is the sole reason why he put himself through many political hurdles to reinstate me at this school. And lastly: there is one thing about myself that I should make known to you, Shota Aizawa..." Her eyes darkened as she stared him down coldly, "... I deathly make sure that mistakes I've made do not repeat themselves."
Silence fell upon the room.
...
"Anyway," Ueshita started, "Is there a particular reason you're here, or... was that it?"
Aizawa released another sigh, "I'm just here to make sure you're aware of your current situation. Principal Nezu may trust you, but I and many others of the faculty do not. So let's just say, whilst you teach at this school, I'll be the one keeping a close eye on you."
His long hair floated up as his eyes flashed red, secretly telling her that she's powerless under his gaze. However, she continued to look back at him with a bored expression. With that, he deactivated his quirk and began to take his leave. Ueshita watched him as he walked down the hallway, before resuming with her work. Her eyes resting on video footage of a girl who deactivated the zero pointer robot in battle centre C.
It was the start of the new year at U.A. Academy, a year where a new generation of students would begin their journey to become heroes. Mutsuki had arrived early, the school gate not even opened yet. She felt the cool, spring breeze brush against her cheek, taking it all in.
"I'm here, Dad. Mom... this is it. This is where I start... My hero academia."
Two Hours Later
The school had finally opened, with a slew of students already arriving, eager to start another year. Or, in Mutsuki's case, her first.
Mutsuki, while entering, had met up with her best friend, Soya, who was very surprised to see her arrive early on the first day.
"Is it really that surprising that I'd get here early this time around? I mean, c'mon, it's not like it's boring, old, normal school. This is hero school we're talking about! Who'd wanna arrive late on the first day for that?!" Mutsuki said with earnest.
"You've got a point there. What's surprising, actually, is how I even managed to pass the exam along with you. It's obvious that you're so much more amazing than I am."
"Hey! Don't think it wasn't difficult for me either, pal! I only just managed to pass and that was because of a lucky guess I made, that's all," she tried to explain, smiling it off.
Soya still couldn't help but feel inferior to her.
After a bit of a pause, Mutsuki continued to speak, changing the subject, "Anyway, it's lucky we even got in at all. They only recently just announced that they'd be implementing a third hero course class at this school. Something that's been banned from hero schools for years."
"Yeah, I wonder why that is?"
"Probably to cut costs. They do have to pull out a lot of money to make obstacles and training regiments for hero students. But who knows really," she replied, as the two of them made their way through the hall.
Mutsuki proceeded to pull out her school invitation slip, "Class 1-C. Man, I still can't believe that not only did we get into the hero course together, but that we're also in the same class! I mean, how lucky for us is that?!"
"Yeah, lucky us," he muttered, looking off to the side.
It was then that the two made it to a large door, with '1-C' written on it in big, bold text.
"I wonder what our teacher's gonna be like? Even better, our classmates!" Mutsuki said excitedly, before opening the door...
...
What they saw was utter chaos.
A chubby kid that was seated in the second seat of the second row was currently eating up a storm, his stomach literally bulging out to twice his size. Another boy, with dark silver hair, was attempting to flirt with three female classmates; who all looked at him with confusion. A third boy was hiding in the corner, with shadows concealing his body. Whilst a pink mouse boy was producing sparks of light from the cards he drew from his pocket as two other students looked on with amazement. However, the most chaotic thing that was happening were the two students currently fighting each other at the front of the classroom, with one throwing small tornadoes and the other blocking it with what seemed liked gorilla arms.
"Heh! That's pathetic! I bet the only reason you got in was because they pitied you, crop duster!" The guy with the gorilla arms exclaimed, a toothy grin plastered on his rugged and slightly scarred face.
"What's that?! I couldn't hear you over all the bullshit you're saying right now, you stupid monkey!" The tornado girl replied angrily, hurling another tornado towards him; to which, he blocked with ease.
"I get first dibs on fighting the winner!" A guy from the back row seats shouted out.
'What the hell is going on?!' Both Mutsuki and Soya thought in unison, looking on with absolute shock.
Suddenly, the boy with dark silver hair, who had recently just gotten slapped, approached the two of them; specifically, Mutsuki.
"My, my, I have never in my life seen someone quite as immaculate as you, my dear," he began, kneeling down and gently holding her hand with his in an almost princely way.
Mutsuki could only look at him with bewilderment, as words failed to come out of her mouth. She turned towards Soya, silently asking for help. However, he was busy trying to stifle his laughter. She glared at him.
It was then that the silver-haired boy proceeded to plant a kiss on her hand, which made her flustered, her cheeks turning a bright shade of pink.
"My name is Kinji Takaishi, and it would be my absolute pleasure to take you out on a dat-"
Before he could finish, a thin, green, needle-like object stuck itself into his neck. Almost instantly, he fell back onto the ground, paralysed, before foam began to rush from his mouth. Both Mutsuki and Soya looked down at him, both confused and worried.
"Whoops, I wonder what happened to him?" A girl not far from them said with a dead-panned expression.
The two could immediately tell it was her that did it, since there were pale-green spikes dotted all over her body. They proceeded to look at her with unconvinced expressions.
It was then that Mutsuki noticed the green-haired boy from the entrance exam, sitting in the seat in front of her, his head bowed down. Her eyes immediately lit up.
"Hey, you're the guy that saved me during the entrance exam! Thanks for that again, by the way, and sorry I didn't catch your name. My name's Junko Mutsuki. I would've introduced myself back after the entrance exam, but by the time I woke up, most of everyone had already left. Anyway, it's so nice to meet you again and I hope we become good classmates!" She told him joyously, sticking out her hand to him.
However, he didn't respond or even shake her hand.
When she realised this happened, she spoke to him again, "Uh... C'mon, don't leave me hanging!"
No response.
She stared at him, confused, before bending down and waving her hand at him, "Hello?"
"He can't talk to right now. He's asleep," a girl seated at the desk to him told her, a book currently in her hands.
Mutsuki looked at her before turning back to the boy. She put her ear next to his head, and sure enough, he was snoring.
"Wow," she uttered, backing away from him, surprised.
"How can he sleep with all of this going on around him?" Soya asked, gesturing to the entire class.
"Hehe, I know right. This place is nothing like middle school," the girl who was reading a book answered back with a smile.
"Yeah, no kidding," Mutsuki replied, scratching the back of her head.
"I'm Mitake Kikyo," the girl introduced, before her arm miraculously stretched itself towards Mutsuki.
She looked at her hand before shaking it, "Junko Mutsuki. But, you probably already know that."
Kikyo smiled, moving her hand towards Soya. He did the same, introducing himself to her.
"I hope we can all get along. After all, we will be spending the next three years training alongside each other. So let's do our best! Plus Ultra-style, yeah?" Kikyo flashed a bright smile.
The two of them smiled back.
'She's like the only normal person here, and she's super nice,' they both thought in unison.
"Hey, guys! Watcha thinking about?!" A familiar, chipper voice brought the two back from their thoughts.
"Fuji-chan! You're in this class too?!" Mutsuki's grin was beaming wide; she had secretly hoped that Kaetsu would be in the same class with her. After all, she did help her bring down the giant faux villain in the entrance exam and she's starting to get quited used to her personality.
"Yup! And so's Otonashi!"
Mutsuki's head darted out the room, searching the hallway, before eventually asking, "Where is he?"
"Right here," he announced, appearing from a cloud of black smoke, right next to Soya.
"AAH!" He screamed, jumping back from him.
Kaetsu burst out laughing, "He just screamed like a girl! AHAHA!"
"P-please don't do that!" Soya exclaimed, trying to calm himself.
"Woah. Hehe, you need to chill, my guy," Otonashi chuckled.
Soya's heart was beating fast, his hand currently clutching his chest. Mutsuki began rubbing his back reassuringly.
Kaetsu then noticed the still paralysed guy on the ground, her face twisting into a cat-like expression, "Woah! It's the first day of school and already you guys killed someone!"
"Cool," Otonashi smirked.
Mutsuki looked at the silver-haired guy before answering, "First off, he's not dead. Second, we didn't do that to him."
Kaetsu proceeded to pull Mutsuki and Soya close to her, wearing a cat-like grin,"Don't worry, guys. Your secret's safe with me."
"Can you idiots move? You're blocking the doorway," another familiar voice drew their attention towards the door.
It was the glasses-wearing guy from the entrance exam, and he was glaring at the lot of them.
"Oh no! Not you!" Mutsuki and Kaetsu shouted in unison.
"What do you mean, not me?! I should be saying that to you two, you insignificant nitwits! Now hurry up and move out of my way before I report you to the nearest faculty member!" He barked furiously.
"Why don't you try to act a bit nicer, you entitled brat!" Mutsuki growled back, with Kaetsu supporting her with a resounding, "Yeah!"
"Who's this guy?" Otonashi asked, gesturing a thumb his way.
"He's the guy I was telling you about, Tabi-chan! The guy who was rude to us at the exam!" Kaetsu explained, her cheeks puffed out in anger.
"HA! Is that how you told the story? How quaint. I believe you left out the part where you two so rudely bumped into me before the exam started. Let alone, that I played a pivotal part in defeating that giant robot," he replied with a smug expression.
"I already said I was sorry! Furthermore, I told you we were grateful for your help!" Mutsuki chimed in.
"Apparently, not grateful enough, since you're still disrespecting me. Despite the fact that I halted the machine's movements that day, and that I scored fourth place, out of the 54 students that got into the hero couse! Heh, you're lucky to even be in the same class as me, filthy peasants."
The two girls were seething with unbridled rage towards him, with Soya having to try and calm them down the best he could.
Meanwhile, Otonashi looked back for a second, before turning back with a smug smirk and saying, "C'mon, guys. Let's just let his majesty come through the door. His poor soul might get crushed if we don't bow to his every whim."
"But-" Kaetsu tried to argue, but Otonashi just gave her a wink, which usually meant he had something planned.
Deciding to let him in, the two grumbled before reluctantly stepping out of the way.
The boy then proceeded to readjust his uniform, "Finally, I get some well-deserved respect around her-OOF!"
The boy was pushed back out the door by the guy who was previously fighting the tornado girl. They both were slumped against the nearby wall, with the glasses wearing guy currently being crushed under the weight of the much bigger, and much more muscular guy on top of him.
"Ha! How's that for a crop duster! Whatever that is!" The tornado girl called out to them.
Once the boy with glasses came too, he desperately tried to push the dazed guy off of him as he grunted out, "Get... off of me... you big oaf."
Mutsuki and Kaetsu were busy laughing, whilst Otonashi carried a smug look on his face.
"You three! Don't just stand there! Help me out!" He called out to them.
They looked at each other before they replied in unison, "Nah!" And continued laughing.
"Why you little-"
"What is the meaning of this?"
Mutsuki stopped her laughter, nudging a still giggling Kaetsu to do the same. Everyone's attention was now focused on the person that had just appeared. She was tall, pale, and awfully slender. She had wispy, dark grey, neck-length hair, with long pointed tips. Her eyes were obscured by the yellow visor she was wearing. As for her hero costume, she was wearing a white lab coat with orange accents, that was adorned with many sharp feathers lining it, along with a pair of white, leather, high-heel boots.
"Finally! A teacher. Can you help get this guy off of me?" The boy with glasses ordered, still struggling under the person on top of him.
The woman's eyes gazed down to him. In that instant, he felt like an insect that was about to be plucked by a voracious bird.
"Why don't you do it yourself? You possess the skills necessary to get out from under there. After all, you did place fourth in the entrance exam, didn't you? Or is that all meaningless to you?" She answered him coldly.
"O-of course not! But I-"
She lifted her hand, silencing him, "Enough! All of you will change into your P.E uniforms and follow me."
She began to then walk back the way she came, with some of the other students slowly exiting the classroom.
"But ma'am! We need to go to orientation," Mutsuki corrected, pointing her finger in the other direction.
The teacher stopped in her tracks, before turning her head ever so slowly. "Did I stutter?" She said, her visor glinting in the light.
With that, she continued walking. Not long after, the students changed into their P.E uniforms and quickly followed after her.
Class 1-C was now outside of the school building, slowly being led off campus grounds.
"Hey, Teach! You haven't told us your name yet, or where we're going for that matter," One of the students called out.
"You'll know when you need to know," she replied back.
Something about her seemed off to Mutsuki, she couldn't quite place it. It's like this teacher was carrying some sort of villainous intent, which is strange to be had at a hero school.
The teacher began to lead the 20 students into the nearby woods. After a while, she finally stopped; the group of students doing the same.
"Finally! Now will you tell us why we're out here," one of the girl students called out.
There was a long pause before she finally spoke, "As most of you are aware, U.A. is a school that teaches the best and brightest of students how to become heroes. A place where the likes of Best Jeanist, Endeavour, All Might, and many other heroes became what they are today. They were forged in flames and came out stronger than they were before. I look at all of you and all I see... is wasted effort."
They all looked on in shock at that statement, with some even gasping.
The teacher quickly continued, "It is clear to see that all of you are nothing more than the byproduct of the pampered society we currently live in. None of you know or are even made aware of the hardships heroes go through. No, to you, being a hero is something 'fun' and 'exciting'. Tell me... is risking life and limb everyday fun? Is seeing people potentially die exciting? Is facing off against ACTUAL criminals especially thrilling to you?"
"But miss, that doesn't mean we don't deserve to be here! I mean, we all passed the exam to get in in the first place!" One student argued.
"Ah yes, defeating machines programmed to not actually harm you. That truly is such a difficult trial," she replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm before she went back to her cold demeanour. "Let me make this abundantly clear. In my eyes, none of you have done anything to prove you have what it takes to become heroes. All you've done is flash your pretty quirks, like all the other useless drones before you. That is why I'll be conducting a little entrance exam of my own. One that will surely guarantee your worth. First things first though, I need to introduce myself..."
She grinned before proceeding to unbutton her lab coat, revealing more of her body. Underneath, she was wearing a black, sleeveless, leather crop top, and black, leather shorts. But what unnerved the students more were the countless scars all over her bare skin.
"... My name is Chisuke Ueshita. I am also known as the Nurturing Hero: Doctor Phoenix, and throughout my years as a pro, not a single villain has ever landed a hit on me. Not one."
"B-but then... how d-did you get all those s-scars?" A nervous girl asked, her body trembling.
Ueshita smirked, "Simple. Self-experimentation. Over the course of my life, I've done what I can to turn this body into a functional and effective tool. For instance, I have manually rearranged the organs I have so that blood flow is much faster. I've also injected various supplements of my own design into my bones and muscle fibres to make them much more denser. And, I've even reduced how much my body deteriorates. You probably see me as someone in their thirties, when in actuality, I am sixty years old, ha!"
All the students didn't know whether to be amazed or horrified by the information their teacher was giving about herself.
"Don't get me wrong, I do have a quirk that's quite useful in its own right. But unfortunately, it does nothing to help me physically, so, the decision to do all this was rather obvious. Anyway, now that introductions are in order, time to explain what you students will be doing to pass MY entrance exam..." she plucked one of the feathers from her costume, which turned out to be a needle in disguise, and then jabbed herself, in the arm, with it. She then proceeded to pull it out, drawing some blood, and then aimed the blood-covered needle towards her students, "...You all must fight me together, at once. You may use your quirks and any form of combat you so desire, do not hold anything back. For all of you to pass however, at least one of you has to land a single hit on me within twenty minutes. If you are all unsuccessful in that allotted time, then... you'll all be expelled from the hero program."
"WHAT?!" The class exclaimed.
"You can't do that to us! At least, not on the first day!" Kaetsu pleaded.
"Yeah! I mean, we haven't even learnt anything and you're expecting us to go up against you! A teacher at this school!" Another student cried out.
"If you wanna be seen as children then that's fine by me. However, I'm not going to treat you as such here. This is a school meant to teach heroes, and heroes do not waver from any challenge presented to them! They all face unfathomable hurdles on a daily basis! If you wanna be seen as a hero, then you've got to earn that! Do I make myself clear?!"
They all couldn't comprehend the fact that they'd have to face their teacher, especially on the first day. However, some students were ready to accept that challenge, their faces warped into ones of both resignation and determination. Mutsuki, on the other hand, was on the fence about all this until...
"Ms Ueshita has a point..." a very intense-looking student with a short, orange mohawk and large, sharp, eyebrows said to the rest of them, his voice deep and controlled. "...We are not children anymore. We are students training to become heroes. If this is what we have to face in order for that to continue, then we have no choice but to accept."
Mutsuki felt a rush of newfound resolution, having just heard that. 'He's right! None of us haven't actually proven that we deserve to be here. But our teacher, Ms Ueshita, despite seeming a bit on the villainous side, is giving us that chance. Well, what kind of idiot would turn that down?'
"No way!" Takaishi suddenly shouted out, drawing everyone's attention to him. "I've made a sworn oath not to raise a hand to a woman! After all, what kind of man would I be if I harmed such a delicate and beautiful flow-"
...
In the middle of his speech, Ueshita threw the needle that she held in her hand at his finger, piercing it.
"Chivalry will get you nowhere with me, young Takaishi," Ueshita told him.
Suddenly, Takaishi doubled over onto the ground, groaning in pain. He began to gag as the girl with green needles all over her body knelt beside him, her face contorted into a panicked expression as she cried out, "Kinji! Are you alright?! What's happening?! What did you give him?!" Her eyes then landed on Ueshita.
Ueshita was grinning all the while, "I just gave him a sample of my own blood, the rest happened naturally."
Almost immediately, Takaishi vomited, before falling onto his side and letting out one last groan, now taken by unconsciousness. The girl, as well as the rest of the class, looked at him with horrified expressions.
Ueshita proceeded to pluck two more feathers from her costume, before speaking, "I told you that my quirk is useful in its own right. Infecting the body with disease is quite a fascinating ability, wouldn't you say, dear students?"
Chisuke Ueshita
Quirk: Virus
She possesses dormant pathogens within her own blood that she can forcefully activate when injected into another living being. She can transform these pathogens into any disease she wants, ones that can range from benign or malignant.
"You monster!" The girl with needles all over her body cried out, tears brimming her eyes as she glared at Ueshita.
"Yes, view me as the monster. After all, the exam has started and I have yet to see a single one of you try and strike me down," she told them coldly.
"Just wait!" Two students cried out.
Just then, the girl who could produce tornadoes immediately shot herself towards her, her hair blowing back. Joining her was the guy she fought in class, who proceeded to transform his arms and legs into that of a cheetah's, before running at top speed. They both had wide toothy grins as they lunged towards Ueshita, preparing to attack. However, she remained calm and collected, her lips twisted into a sadistic smile.
In an instant, both were slumped onto the ground, their skins pale and their eyes wide as their bodies convulsed horribly. Neither of them managed to land a hit. However, they did knock off her visor, exposing the upper part of her face. Ueshita proceeded to pluck out six more feathers, holding them between her fingers. She then gazed at the remaining students with a pair of cold, lifeless, black eyes.
"Three down... Seventeen more to go."
CHARACTER INFO
Name: Tabito Otonashi (音無旅人)
Birthday: September 27
Age: 15
Gender: Male
Height: 182 cm (6'0")
Hair Colour: Blue
Eye Colour: Lavender
Blood Type: A
Quirk: Vanish
Birthplace: Tokyo
Family: Tabasaki Otonashi/Mother, Unknown Father
Likes: Cool things, travelling, and smoked fish
Appearance: He has ebony dark skin and a lean muscular build. His hair is styled into short dreads that are slicked back, and he has a fade cut on both sides of his head. He likes to dress in clothes that he thinks is 'cool'. In saying that, his casual attire consists of a pair of blue-lens sunglasses, a white t-shirt, a black, leather jacket, a pair of black, leather jeans, and some sneakers.