Jake/Mina

When I looked forward, it was kind of a relief to be in school normally after the chaos that was the sports festival. After my talk with Shinso, I slept like a rock for two days, and woke up on the first day back to a flurry of worried texts from Kirishima, a confused one from Shinso, and a few pages worth of memes from Kaminari. The UA girl group chat had been a little confused too, but otherwise things seemed in order.

Still, there was a concern. Iida had been on the podium to accept his medal this time, but that still didn't preclude his brother from Stain. I really, really hoped things would go better now. While Iida's revenge was the catalyst for Stain's capture, I wasn't sure rooting for that was the best idea. It resulted in a lot of emotional turmoil for all involved. Still, if none of them were there, Native would have been murdered.

The Hosu incident itself was also a big problem. I wasn't sure how many people were killed (anime isn't usually concerned with how many bystanders die in stuff like that), but it was a hefty amount. Still, not like I could do much. Unless I decided to intern with Manual, I wasn't going to be anywhere near Hosu.

Apparently my sleeping through our break came at a cost, as I didn't see the news. So it was quite a strange thing to be greeted with the news that Pro Hero Ingenium had been saved from The Hero Killer by two vigilantes. Most of the class was talking about it as I walked in. Uraraka especially seemed to be well informed as one of them was that vigilante that had crushed in during the USJ. Didn't make her slight blush any less weird though.

It wasn't bad news, really. It meant Iida wasn't going off half cocked in a quest for revenge. The most worthless of causes. I made sure to greet him as I came in, giving him a look of concern.

"Hey Iida! Heard about what happened with your brother. You alright?"

He looked over, seeming surprised at that, before nodding and giving a small smile.

"I am alright Ashido. Though it is…concerning that my brother was attacked, he did not suffer any major injuries."

I nodded, and looking him over, he seemed genuine too. Okay then. Guess he's probably going to do an internship with him then. Speaking of which…

I made sure I was in my seat by the time Aizawa walked in…looking as tired as ever. He gave us all a long suffering look before he spoke.

"Welcome back. Today's class is going to be on Hero Informatics."

I couldn't help but smirk a little as I saw the class seem to deflate a bit, before Aizawa clarified.

"You're going to be picking hero names."

The class erupted in cheers, I could see almost everyone seeming excited about that, even Todoroki seemed to be a little cheered at the positive energy, though he stayed in his seat. I had seen him talking to Izuku for a little bit when I entered, so it looks like the Dekusquad was already forming. To be fair, so was the Bakusquad, though at this point I think the only one Bakugou actually liked was Kirishima. He tolerated me, Kaminari, and Shinsou. Less so in Shinsou's case, since he really enjoyed making Bakugou mad.

Aizawa seemed to be annoyed at the noise, and with a single glare, everyone sat back down. I had stayed in my seat when everyone had leapt up, as had a couple others like Shinsou, Todoroki, and Bakugou, who seemed just as annoyed as Aizawa.

Why do you call him that?

'Call Him what?'

Just…Aizawa. He is our teacher, ya know?

'I dunno. Force of habit.'

Aizawa seemed to be glad for the end of the noise, and continued with his speech.

"This is related to the hero draft picks the last time we were together in class. Normally, first years wouldn't have to worry about the draft pick, but your class is different. In fact, by extending offers to you, pros are essentially investing in potential. Any offers could be rescinded if their interest dies down before graduation, however."

I nodded to myself. I'd heard this before, but it was good to have it refreshed. I hadn't always remembered the small details, so it was good to pay attention to things like this, along with the daily classes. I was still having some trouble with those, mostly math and english, but Shinsou was helping out, so things seemed to be gradually looking up.

Hagakure seemed to catch onto the meaning of Aizawa's word too.

"So you're saying we'll still have to prove ourselves even after we've been recruited."

He nodded to her.

"Correct. Now, here are the number of offers for those who got them."

He gestured toward the board, which displayed a couple names and the number of offers. It seemed like there were more than last time at least. Kaminari, despite losing in the first round, had a few offers, though not many. Probably due to him expending himself so quickly. Todoroki, Bakugou, and Iida all had a substantial amount, though the first two had by far the most.

Kaminari leaned back in his chair and groaned a bit.

"It's not fair. Why do they get thousands while most of us don't even get one?"

I looked over and raised an eyebrow.

"You did get offers though. Just a few more than Sero."

He shook his head and smiled at me.

"I was simply mourning for the rest of our class, Ashido."

As I suspected, no offers for me. Probably because I passed out. Same as why Midoriya didn't get any. Shinso too, meaning we'll both be stuck with the selected list.

I turned to gauge everyone's reactions. Todoroki didn't seem very happy as Yaoyorozu congratulated him. Then again, if I could never be sure whether people saw my talent or just my parent's, and add in the fact that said parent was an abusive prick, I guess I might not be enthused either.

Uraraka was practically crying at her twenty recommendations, shaking Iida all the while who seemed just as proud despite being shook around.

Poor Midoriya seemed pretty bummed, while Shinso simply patted his shoulder. Neither of them had gotten offers, though I was surprised that Shinso hadn't gotten at least one. He had handled Tsu pretty well.

Everyone else was a mix. Sero seemed happy he had gotten any offers at all, while Bakugou was yelling about how pros that got scared of him were weak. Kirishima was pumped as always, and Kaminari, despite his own lamentation, was smirking. Everyone was looking forward to this.

"Despite these results, you'll all be interning with pro heroes."

Midoriya seemed surprised, though I would think he of all people would know how this works.

"We're all interning?"

Aizawa nodded.

"Yes. You all experienced real combat with villains during the USJ attack, but it will still be helpful to see pros at work. Up close and personal, in the field. Firsthand.

"So for that we need hero names!" Sato said, fistpumping. I smiled at the guy's enthusiasm. I didn't know much about him, but he seemed like a good enough guy.

Uraraka seemed to have recovered well from her loss too, chipper as she was next to speak up.

"This is starting to get fun!"

Aizawa seemed unperturbed as he continued, though he rolled his eyes a little at the word fun.

"These names will likely be temporary. But take them seriously or…"

"You'll have hell to pay later!"

Midnight finished Aizawa's trail off as she walked in. I saw the smirk on his face before it returned to normal. He totally planned that.

Midnight caught everyone's eyes as she walked in. Even I had to admit, she was good looking. Did that make me gay? I guess it could. Just another question to ponder.

Maybe we're Bi?

'I guess.'

The R-rated hero continued her eye-catching stroll to the front, continuing to talk.

"What you pick today could be your codename for better be careful, or you'll be stuck with something utterly indecent."

Aizawa nodded, seeming completely used to Midnight's mannerisms.

"She has a point. Midnight is going to have final approval over your names. It's not my forte."

I smiled. He was right about that.

Story?

'Aizawa was classmates with Present Mic, and he didn't care about a codename, so Mic came up with Eraserhead.'

Ohhhh. That makes waaay too much sense.

"The name you give yourself is important. It helps reinforce your image and shows what kind of hero you wanna be in the future. It tells people exactly what you represent."

He punctuated this as whiteboards were passed around. I took mine and thought for a while.

I know exactly what we should put down!

'Midnight would reject Alien Queen.'

Awww.

'Maybe we should think in terms of quirk. What could we use there?'

Acid Girl?

'Too generic.'

Ooh! How about Dancer?

'Again, Generic…hmmm. Acid, plus dancing.'

Do you have something coool?

'Maybe…'

I took to writing down my idea before explaining it.

I looked it over and smiled. It was perfect. Mina seemed to agree.

OHHHH. That's a good one.

'Knew you'd like it.'

I leaned over a little to see Kaminari thinking hard. I leaned over a little to whisper.

"Maybe something like Chargebolt?"

He thought it over and smiled.

"I like that. Thanks Mina!"

I nodded, then Jirou sighed before saying something.

"Dang. I was gonna suggest Jamming-Way."

We both looked over as Kaminari seemed to think before realizing it.

"Oh, like Hemmingway the author, the one who wrote A Farewell to Arms, right?"

Jirou seemed to be cracking up before shaking her head.

"Nah, I meant cause your brain jams and then you go 'way'"

I chuckled a little as Kaminari had a look of sheer betrayal on his face.

"Sorry Kami, you kinda walked into that one"

He gasped.

"Betrayed by cute girls! My worst nightmare."

We all couldn't hold it and started giggling, before a glare from Aizawa silenced us. Right. Back to work.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Anne/Shinso

I leaned back in my chair as I looked at the blank whiteboard. I hadn't really given hero names much thought.

'I got nothing. Shinso, any ideas?'

No.

'Wait. Seriously?'

Yes.

'Why? You've wanted to be a hero forever.'

Shut up.

'Maybe you have names but they're just embarrassing'

I said shut up.

'What? Is one of the names Eraserhead II or something?'

I hate you.

'Oh my god it is. You're a fanboy just like Midoriya'

He didn't reply, but I could still feel the poor guy's embarrassment. Still, we did need a name. Probably shouldn't be that obvious considering our quirk only works well if it's unknown.

'Ooh, that's a good idea, play up the mystery part!'

Are you sure that's a good idea? That might just make people more curious, and dealing with the press would just be a headache.

'Maybe, but if we do that we get to act all brooding and dramatic in a cool way, ya know?'

Not convinced.

'We could also tell any press we do get sniffing around to fuck off.'

I'm in.

With that settled, I began to wrack my brain. What could I use that would sound cool as hell? Mystery would just be too obvious, plus I'm fairly sure there has to be some hero named that. Conundrum? Eh, doesn't roll off the tongue. Persona? Reminds me too much of JRPG's. Mockingbird? Makes me think of the hunger games (wait weren't those mockingjays? It doesn't matter), but I like it. Audible? Gives too much away. Mindjack? Even less subtle.

Still, I kept thinking, still keeping an eye on the rest of the class. Aoyama was up first as people finally began actually coming up. I still couldn't help but gawk as he introduced his hero name as a full sentence. Even the shortened version Midnight came up with was still kind of a mouthful.

At least Tsu's was normal. Though I had to wonder where she got the name Froppy from. Still, good name.

Mina was next to walk up, though I suspected the name she chose wouldn't be rejected this time around. She grinned a little and showed her board to the class.

"I went with Acid Hero: Breakdown!"

Midnight considered for a moment, before nodding.

"Recognizable and memorable. Good job Ashido!"

I smirked to myself before looking back down at my board. I still needed my name, but it continued to elude me. It seemed my search for a good mysterious name was an enigma. Isn't that ironic.

Wait.

I like that. Rolls off the tongue, more specific than just mystery, I think I've got it.

I wrote down my idea quickly, ignoring as Kirishima and Jirou both gave their names, before getting up and walking to the front before anyone else, a smirk on my face.

Facing the class just made me more sure of this, though some of Shinso's own nerves bled in. Or maybe they were my nerves? It was a bitch to tell.

I turned my board around and announced my name with all my certainty.

"Mysterious Hero: Enigma"

It seemed to confuse several of my classmates, though Midnight seemed to like it.

"Vague, but it's snappy and doesn't give much away. I'll approve it."

I nodded before going back, though I did spare a glance at Aizawa. He gave me a nod. I took that as a win.

As for internships? I had no clue where to go. I hadn't gotten a single offer. Seemed like the real deciding factor for that was the finals. Doesn't matter how impressive you are with the previous events. Not bitter. Nope. Not at all.

I kind of zoned out as the rest of the names went, though, it did catch me by surprise to hear Iida announce his name as Velocitas. Right, no Stain attack. Does that mean Stain won't be caught? Is that something me and Mina can change?

That little panic lasted to the end of class, only really waking me up when Aizawa handed out the sheets for internships. I kind of stared at it for a bit.

I ended up a bit too silent at lunch, I guess. Kaminari seemed weirded out.

"You okay Shin-bro? You're not always this quiet."

I shrugged before giving him a smirk.

"How can you tell anyone else is talking with you around Kami?"

He gasped in betrayal as Mina and Kirishima chuckled. It was just us today. Bakugou seemed too pissed after five of his names got rejected. Then again, they all involved 'murder' or 'death' in the name, and not in a tasteful way. Makes me wonder if the final name was just UA throwing up their hands and giving up on rejecting his names.

Kaminari recovered quickly and grinned.

"Great. You're still you. I was wondering if you'd been body-jacked or something."

I dropped my fork as those words left his mouth.

He's not wrong

'Shut up Shinso'

I was glad it had only been a momentary lapse.

"I'm fine. Just a lot to process, you know?"

Kirishima nodded.

"I get it. I gotta decide from all these offers. It's kinda overwhelming."

He seemed to look apologetically at Mina, frowning slightly. It really didn't feel like it fit with who he was, but then who was I to judge that?

"Sorry you didn't get any, Mina. I mean, you're obviously manly. You beat me!"

Mina simply shrugged and gave a lazy smile.

"Nothing you gotta apologize for. My fault for pushing so hard."

Kirishima's frown grew a little deeper at that.

"I'm glad you're okay. Please don't scare us like that. We all need to work together to be strong, and if you get hurt, I don't think any of us could stand it."

He grinned again.

"So be manly, but in moderation, I guess."

I chuckled.

"Kiri and moderation. Two words I never thought I'd see together."

Kirishima seemed almost offended by that.

"Just because I want to be manly doesn't mean I don't know how to pace myself. You can't grow if you get hurt!"

I shrugged.

"Makes sense."

We all shared a moment of chill silence before we resumed discussion.

"So yeah, I have to pick from this list of approved agencies, and I'm not even sure where to start."

Mina nodded sagely.

"Same. Not sure where to go really. I was thinking of working with some rescue heroes. Acid could be really helpful there."

Kirishima seemed mystified at that.

"You're an awesome fighter though!"

She nodded.

"Yeah, but just because I want to fight villains doesn't mean I can't also help rescue people. You can do both. A bit of training on one side could be good, since the only bit we've had hasn't been all that much since…ya know. Though, maybe I could use an official combat lesson or two."

We all just nodded in understanding. We'd only had one or two rescue lessons since the USJ, and we'd barely scratched the surface. Still, it wasn't the path I thought would be best for me at least. I wasn't sure how much good I could do aside from calming people down.

So rescue was out. Where else could I go? Maybe do some combat focus? While I could fight it was slapdash at best. Don't get me wrong, slapdash was fun, but fun wasn't going to keep me alive. Probably for the best. I looked over the list. It did list a few of the specialties of each, and I did recognize a few names. Manual, Backdraft, Kamui Woods, etc. Although most others? Not a clue. Eel Boy, His Purple Highness, Drop Zone, Whiplash, Majestic, and… Robin? That's just a character from DC. Then again, do those comics exist here?

Still, I looked them over. I had options, and some of these looked viable. Eventually my eyes fell on one that looked safe enough. Memento Agency. Well rounded specialties, it wasn't too far away, and as a bonus, it seemed to be one of the few underground agencies. Think I found the right one for now. Then again, I still had time to decide. I tucked that one away and returned to reality, where lunch was almost over. I still had a week to go through with it.