"You can't just go with your own name," Uraraka said, though to Shoto's confusion her tone was light and there was a smile on her face that made him think of the sun on a warm day. "These are our hero names!"

Shoto frowned at that. "I have never considered what to call myself other than my name."

"Never?" Ida asked. While most of the large group were seated on the ground he had chosen a chair, sitting prim and proper.

Uraraka seemed just as startled. "Haven't you ever thought about what you would call yourself when you became a hero?"

"I assumed my father-" Shoto stopped himself after that. He didn't want to admit that for much of his life he had known that anything involving him being a hero would require approval by his father… assuming he was even allowed to take part in making a choice. The same with his costume, his agency, all of that.

'But that all changed after Toya and mother,' Shoto thought to himself. 'I could no longer follow his path after that.'

Yoarashi, strangely enough, was the one that first spoke up. "Well, it won't be his name. It will be yours." He flashed a large smile and while Shoto didn't return it the larger teen's grin never dropped. He had been… odd… like that, ever since the Sports Festival. Yoarashi had been rather cold to him for most of his time at UA. Not challenging him like so many other people tried to do (Bakugo being the number one culprit but others in the class had taken to testing themselves against him, seeing him as some sort of gauge to determine their growth and power) but rather acting like he didn't even exist. That he was no different than a piece of furniture.

At first Shoto hadn't minded that. Found it actually rather refreshing. But after Uraraka had decided they should be friends Shoto had quickly become concerned that Yoarashi would treat her like that as well. And his… friend… didn't deserve to be treated like that.

But not only had the taller teen remained friendly with Uraraka… he had suddenly become a lot friendlier to Shoto.

He wasn't sure how to feel about that.

That was how Shoto had found himself part of a large group of students, going over hero names. Him, and Uraraka, of course (He'd walked right up to her the moment Midnight said they could work together to brainstorm names, not even bothering to say a word as he knew he wanted to spend the rest of the class with her). Of course Uraraka had called out for Jiro and Tokoyami to join them, seeing as the four had been a team during the Sports Festival. Shoto hadn't minded that at all, nor Uraraka calling for her two best friends to join them. Tano had brought Yaoyorozu and Shinso, while Midoriya had brought Ida and Yoarashi. Thus somehow Shoto, who had never been one to be part of the crowd, found himself part of the largest group in 1-A, with half the class taking over the back of the room.

"Don't worry about it, Todoroki," Tano said with a sharp smirk, shaking her head slightly, "I never thought of hero names either."

"You didn't?" Midoriya asked, surprised. "Why not?"

"Is this something to do with the island you grew up on?" Uraraka asked.

At once Ida spoke up. "It is very rude to press her on this! Tano's culture and beliefs shouldn't be dissected." He began to chop his hand up and down in time with each of his points, making Shoto tilt his head in confusion. He'd seen the larger teen do that before but didn't quite know why. Perhaps it was part of his quirk? He found himself subtly mimicking him as he did so, staring at his own hand as it went up and down.

Tano merely smiled. "Its fine, Ida," she assured him. "And yes, it is Uraraka. Back home we didn't have heroes like the rest of the world does. Instead people with my work all worked to achieve a rank."

"A rank?" Yaoyorozu asked. "What do you mean?"

"Well, students are known as Padawans. Or Padawan Learners. We are mentored by Knights, the next level."

"OH!" Midoriya exclaimed. "That's why Anakin took the name Sir Steel, right?"

"More like Midnight forced him to take it," Ahsoka said with a smirk. "After Knights there are Masters. Those are Knights who have either fully trained a Padawan or demonstrated use of their quirk in such a way that they can be considered… well… masters of that. And finally there is the Grand Master." She gave a soft shrug. "So yeah, never considered hero names myself."

"No big deal," Shinso muttered. "I was too focused on proving to everyone I wouldn't become a villain to ever bother thinking of hero names."

MIdoriya grimaced at that. "I used to think of hero names but… well…"

"Too much like All Might?" Uraraka teased and the green haired boy blushed at that.

"That's why we're all going to work together," Yaoyorozu said with a happy smile. "We'll help each other come up with hero names. Even those of us who have thought of them before… sometimes something sounds good when you are just thinking about it but when others hear it and you realize that it isn't as impressive."

"Right!" Uraraka declared.

"I still don't see why I can't use my name," Shoto stated.

Midoriya quickly spoke up. "Privacy."

"Hmmm?"

"Well… you don't want to always have people following you around asking for autographs, right?" He looked at the others. "I mean, it sounds great being a hero and having fans but I don't know if I'd want it ALL THE TIME. What if I want to go shopping for new shirts? Or if I want to go see a movie? I try to go only for my fans to want to talk with me or take pictures."

Ida shifted a bit. "My brother and I sometimes run into that. While he doesn't hide who he is, does plenty of interviews out of his armor, usually he is able to walk around without getting pestered. But the few times he does…" Ida glanced down. "When I was very little it used to upset me when strangers would come and get very close to him."

"My parents aren't heroes but they are rather wealthy," Yaoyorozu commented, "so we get a lot of attention. I often couldn't be left alone because I could have been a target." She nibbled on her lip. "Many times I wished I could have just been able to swing on a swingset without all the paparazzi taking photos."

Shinso suddenly said, "And then there is All Might." The others all turned to stare at him. "He had a daughter and he had to lie about her existence."

"I never even thought about that," Yaoyorozu murmured. "Heroes are targets for villains… but so are their families." Her eyes suddenly went wide. "I need a mask."

"What?"

"A mask!" Yaoyorozu declared. "If people can see my face they'll instantly realize who I am!"

Tano frowned at that. "Yeah… I know that Obi Wan and Anakin and Rex all use masks for their hero costumes…"

At once Midoriya pulled out some paper. "It wouldn't have to be a full mask either," he said, sketching away. "Thinking about your fighting style and your costume what if you went with a ninja motif? Then you could get away with a mask that covered the lower half of your face." Shoto leaned over and found himself utterly surprised by the green haired boy's skill. Within a minute he had a rather accurate sketch of Yaoyorozu, a mask coving her mouth and nose. "We could do a hood too, if you wanted, but it would fit well with your costume and you liking to use handheld weapons."

"Oh… oh I love it!" the tall teen declared happily, taking the drawing and holding it up for everyone to see. Shoto had to admit that it was a great design: striking, memorable, but also clearly functional. "And you're right, that would work perfectly with what I like to wear! And certainly covers up more skin than my first outfit! Will you come with me after school to talk with my family's costume designer?"

"Of… of course!" Midoriya stammered. "I'd love to."

"You shouldn't forget to let Hatsume know too," Tano teased. "She will want to add all sorts of gadgets to that thing. Or get a matching outfit." That caused Yaoyorozu to blush though Shoto wasn't sure why that was.

'My father doesn't bother to hide who he is,' Shoto thought to himself. 'He gets angry if people don't realize that he's Endeavor. Takes it as an insult.' He glanced at his reflection, the dark red scar on his face and his two-toned hair making it clear to all who he was. Even if he wore a mask everyone would know he was the son of Endeavor-

"Hey," Jiro whispered softly, causing him to whip his head in her direction. "Listen… not my place to ask but… have you ever considered makeup?"

"Makeup?" Shoto asked.

"Yeah. They make some really good stuff that can hide burns and such."

Shoto blinked at that. He had never considered actually hiding his scar. He had done little to keep people from seeing it, wearing it as penance for being Endeavor's son. A reminder to himself every time he looked in a mirror who he was.

And yet…

"And they make some great hair dyes too!" Uraraka said. "I mean, if that's what you are worried about. I was going to suggest it to Midoriya before I found out that he wears a full helmet."

"Yeah," Midoriya said with an awkward laugh, tugging on his wild green locks. "They are kinda memorable…"

Shoto looked at his reflection again. 'I bear this scar to remind me of the pain my father caused… but if I could remove all that made me look like Endeavor…'

"Todoroki?" Jiro said. "I didn't mean to offend. I just-"

"Jiro?" he asked politely. "What do you know about contact lenses?"

~MC~MC~MC~

"What the fuck is wrong with my hero name?!" Katsuki roared, glaring at Tsu who didn't even bother to look up from her white board.

That was something that… well, he didn't know if it annoyed him or pleased him. He was used to people cringing and starting whenever he yelled and frankly it was super annoying, so it was nice that Tsu could handle a little noise. Unlike the rest of the so called 'hero students' in their class she wasn't going to shrink and snivel if someone wasn't sweet and cuddly around her. He sometimes wondered if the extras that were his classmates even realized that villains weren't going to talk nicely to them.

On the other hand… he did like seeing people stand down when he just said a word.

But Tsu didn't.

"Its horrible," she said, tilting her head as she considered her white board for a moment.

"It is not!"

"King Murder Explosion sounds like something a 4 year old created to try and sound tough," Tsu said, causing Katsuki's eye to twitch.

"IT DOES NOT!" he roared.

"It… kinda does," Kirashima replied.

"You're outfit has nothing 'kingly' about it," Ashido said before holding out her board. "Tsu?"

"…no," she said with a shake of her head, Ashido pouting as she wiped away 'Pinkie'. After Midnight had said that Alien Queen wasn't a good name for her (getting the oddest look on her face and for some reason looking at Shit Horns) she'd been trying to figure out a new hero name for herself… and failing.

Tsu had been one of the first to get approval for her's and she'd helped Kaminari get his, which had led other extras to walk over and ask for her help. Apparently she had a good eye for what was appealing as every name she said worked was instantly approved by Midnight.

Katsuki had been spending the last ten minutes arguing that his hero name was the greatest ever.

"What's wrong with King Murder Explosion?"

"Lots of things," Tsu said casually. "Would you like overall or break it down by word?" When Katsuki didn't say a word, so angry at her not praising his brilliantly chosen name, she shrugged. "Okay, by word first. King is a bad word to start with. Instantly makes people think you are trying to be a snob. That's part of the reason why Midnight rejected Alien Queen."

"I thought it was because Midnight said it was scary," Ashido said, still bummed that her name had been rejected.

"Oh, it was. And that's why King Murder Explosion was rejected too."

"I'm gonna be a fucking hero!" Katsuki snarled. "I'm not here to cuddle babies!"

"Who do you think heroes are saving all the time?" Kirashima said with a laugh, instantly having Katsuki's hackles raised.

"You fucking laughing at ME, Red Riot?!" he snarled, trying to make Kirashima's nickname sound utterly insulting. But the red-haired teen merely shrugged, not affected in the slightest.

Tsu pressed her index finger to the side of her face. "I mean, you want to be popular, don't you? That means having people actually WANT you to rescue them… people are easily scared though so they won't understand that you are a true hero and their best bet at saving them, ribbit. They can be dumb like that."

Katsuki glowered at that but conceded her point. 'Fucking civilians get scared off by the dumbest things… heroes too.' His mind went back to the Slime Villain. Everyone standing around, watching as he slowly suffocated… until Star Might had saved him.

"Alright then," he finally ground out, "So King Murder Explosion is out."

"Mmmhmm," Tsu said with a nod. "Murder really sealed the deal. Maybe try and find a new catchphrase? You can't trademark 'Die!', now can you? Don't want knock off shirts and hats out there."

"Fuck no I don't want that!" he exclaimed, a touch embarrassed he hadn't thought of that. All Might got all his attacks trademarks and people loved to have them on their clothing… his parents had dealt with that enough in their jobs. He should have thought about that. "Alright then, fine. Forget the fucking name. Its stupid anyway."

"Sounds like something my cousin would have come up with during her goth phase," Kaminari stated.

"Fuck you!" Katsuki roared.

Tsu looked over at Ashido, considering her for a long moment before scribbling something on her white board. "There."

"Nebulady?" Ashido said.

"Space themed so it still fits your "Alien Queen from another world" theme but not as scary. Also works as a play on your quirk since when you thicken your acid its nebulous. Which also works for you since you can do Limelight, Support, or Rescue Heroics. Not defined by one."

"…Nebulady… I like it!" Ashido grinned, springing up and running over to Midnight.

Tsu turned her attention to Katsuki. "Want me to pick one for you?"

"I can do it myself," he growled, looking at his white board.

"I know… but if you get it done NOW we can discuss training."

Katsuki shot her a side-eye at that. He knew she was playing him…

"Grand Nitro," she finally said. "Works with your quirk, has prestige, but not as snobby as King."

He considered her for a very long moment.

"…whatever," he said, even as he wrote it down.

~MC~MC~MC~

"Wait, what's wrong with Ear Jack?" Jiro asked.

Izuku waved his hands about. "Nothing! Nothing at all! It's a great name!" He paused. "Its just… that's the name of your quirk."

"Yeah," Jiro said, staring at him like he'd just declared the sky was blue.

"Well, you know about the Hero Information Act of 20XX, right?"

Jiro just stared at him.

"Oh!" Tenya said, adjusting his classes. "I remember that. It allows for journalists to access records on Pro Heroes."

"Passed after Shoowaysha Publishing sued to obtain information concerning All Might after his return to Japan," Izuku stated. "The Act states that papers are able to put in a request for the records of any hero outside of the Top 50 without any roadblocks or waiting periods, so long as the one making the request is able to provide enough information on the hero in question to prove that it is for proper research. Unless they get a marker on their file that prevents that but to do that on your own…"

"Records?" Inasa asked startled. "So you mean-"

"Well, level 1 is just name and basic facts. But level 2 would be home address, school records, whatever the Hero Commission has records of."

"Home address!?" Uraraka said, horrified.

"Yeah," Izuku said with a grimace.

Tensei pressed his lips together in a fine line. "My brother mentioned that. He wanted it expanded to the Top 100 but he hasn't been able to have much luck getting them to listen to his appeals. They say it doesn't matter due to him having a Marker."

Ahsoka raised her hand. "What's a Marker?"

Before Izuku could say a word Tensei stated, "A Marker is a lock on your file. As Izuku said it can take a lot to get one for yourself without aid from a government agency or organization. My brother got one since he acts as my legal guardian, what with our parents out of the country. Any hero with a child can get a Marker now… it came about due to an attack on the heroine… Nana I believe?... that saw her husband killed."

"Oh!" Ahsoka exclaimed. "That must be the paperwork Obi Wan was filling out! Anakin had to help him… only time I've ever seen him be the one help Obi Wan with documents."

Izuku nodded. "Yeah, though he should have been covered by UA." The others looked at him, confused, and he added, "If you teach at a Hero School you get a Marker as well. Honestly I think that's part of the reason Mr. Aizawa teaches here."

"Okay, so that's… really bad," Jiro said, glancing down at the drawing Izuku had done for Momo, clearly rethinking her own choice for costume. "But what does that have to do with my hero name being my quirk's name?"

"One of the ways to get Level 2 clearance is to know what a hero's quirk is," Izuku said with a shake of his head. "So by providing your Hero Name and Quirk name they can instantly gain Level 2 Clearance. That would get them personal information as well as all records about your quirk. How it works, known weaknesses, so on."

Momo swallowed at that information. "That… that can't be right."

"They would reveal that stuff?" Inasa asked, just as shocked.

"Government…" Shinso muttered, shaking his head.

"But… this would be only for reporters," Ahsoka pointed out. "I mean, I'm not a fan of them finding out that information but there are ways to deal with that. Threats to blacklist them from interviews or delaying them through legal means…"

"Right," Izuku conceded. He hated how relieved his friends all looked… hated he had to ruin their relief. "The cost of getting legally listed as a newspaper is 140,000 yen."

"…what?" Uraraka squeaked out.

"I looked into it." Izuku didn't want to admit he'd actually saved up for over a year, thinking about getting listed as a newspaper just so he could request all the hero records he wanted. "There is little oversight… you can pretty much just pay the money and fill out the forms and get accredited."

Tenya looked utterly pale. "That… that can't be right, Izuku. Clearly you are mistaken-"

"You think Izuku is mistaken about something involving heroes?" Ahsoka shot back.

"Why did no one ever do something to stop this?" Inasa asked.

"Why would they?" Shoto said. "After all, how many people would think about it?"

"Izuku did!" Momo said, sounding utterly frantic. "That means anyone with a bit of money could learn who we are, where we live, get our medical records…"

"What mad darkness this is," Tokoyami said, Dark Shadow wrapping around him and nodding in agreement. "They set us up for death and despair while selling us our own coffins."

"It's not that bad! I mean, they can find all that out but only if they know what your full name and your quirk is," Izuku pointed out in a hurry. "Which is why you shouldn't make your hero name your quirk's name." He let out a sigh, seeing his friends were still worried. "Its not the best solution but… as far as I know no one has put two and two together. Only I have and now only you guys know. We just need to keep it to ourselves until we can do something about it."

"Oh, we'll be doing something about it!" Momo said with a dark look, glancing over at Tenya who nodded. "I'll be talking with my parents about my… concerns… about such things."

"As will I," Tenya assured her. "And thus I think we should focus our hero names."

"And not using our quirks for inspirations," Jiro said with a shudder… only to turn and glance at Shinso who was writing on his white board. "Seriously? Mindjack?"

"You aren't using Earjack and its not my quick," he reasoned.

"Maybe," Izuku said, "but you might want to be careful about broadcasting what your quirk does…" He sighed when he saw everyone looking at him again. "I promise I'm not trying to be difficult. I just want everyone to be safe. Best Jeanist has been dealing with some issues recently because everyone knows his quirk uses fibers."

"Okay, Izuku, what are you thinking for your hero name then?" Ahsoka asked.

That caused him to smile. "Longshot. In honor of Rex and because, well…" he blushed, "I'm quirkless. Me becoming a hero… it's a longshot."

Jiro made a face. "I hate you so much right now because that is so good."

"Come on, we can come up with names for all of you! We just need to focus!" He looked at all his friends, the teens finally nodding in agreement. "Alright, so…"

As the time to the end of the class ticked by (and the presentation of their new Hero Names) everyone soon figured out just what they wanted to go with. Some had been easily enough, some had been rather difficult and required multiple attempts to get them JUST right, but Izuku slowly began to decrease the number of his groupmates who were namely.

Tenya eventually went with Ingineer, which was similar to his brother's name but also different enough that he could build up his own career. Tenya wanted to honor is brother, especially after the close call he'd had with Stain (not that Tenya wished to discuss that with everyone).

Jiro took a lot of time, as she had always assumed she'd just be Earjack, but eventually they'd hit on Vibeout. Just musical/sound enough for her but didn't truly hint at what her quirk was.

Tokoyami had already decided that Tsukuyomi would be his name and Izuku had LOVED his thoughts on that. Yes, the moon was associated with the night but Tokoyami's powers had nothing to do with the moon; in fact the moon would HURT as much as aid it when it came to its light, meaning that criminals would be focused on the wrong thing! It was brilliant!

And it had been Tokoyami who had led Momo to her name. While discussing his ideas he mentioned that he had found one name he'd considered only to realize it was a goddess name, not a god. It came from an old pre-quirk novel about a world of fantasy and magic and while dealing with shadows also worked for her newly made theme as she was the goddess of ninjas: Chirasu.

Inasa had apologized for already having the perfect name but Izuku had waved him off; Gale Force DID just fit him perfectly.

As for Shoto…

"You like it?" Uraraka said as she held up her white board for the two-toned teen to see.

"Yes," he said and the slight smile he gave her was, in Izuku's opinion, just as bright as one of Uraraka's blinding smiling. He stood up and bowed to them before going over to Midnight, the heroine looking over the board before nodding, making it clear that Solarfreeze was a future hero.

(Shoto had asked to have something not related to fire and suggested instead the sun. Fires burned… but the sun reminded him of his mother laughing in the summer as she made it snow around him)

"I'm glad everyone was able to come up with a name," Ahsoka said, still tapping her white board.

"We'll figure yours out," Izuku assured her.

"Even if we have to skip lunch," Momo assured her.

"Or meet up after school," Tenya suggested.

Jiro shrugged. "Well, we're still going to do that anyway, right? Tokoyami and I want to check out Chill Beats for some new workout grooves…"

Izuku smiled as he watched everyone rapidly fall into discussing their plans for the next few days. "You did this, you know?" he told Ahsoka, leaning in and whispering to her softly. "This is all you. We came together because you brought us together. Got us all balancing. The-"

His eyes went wide.

Ahsoka's did too.

Both scrambled to grab their whiteboards, writing the same word.

FULCRUM