Chapter 20: Recharge
A/N:
Big 20 Chapters, that in and of itself is surprising to me. Hope everyone who comes around sticks around, will be redoing Chapter 1 to try and be a bit more attention grabbing. So, hopefully everyone who makes it to this chapter can enjoy it!
"So, he is doing okay? That is good to hear!" Momos voice can be heard over the phone as she called Jirou. A few days have passed since Jirou had come over to my place to check on me.
"Mhm, the big dork is just getting back into working out at this point. With us getting back to class tomorrow, and all that." Jirou says absentmindedly tossing darts with her jacks. "That is good, to here. I wish I could have joined you in seeing him a few days ago."
Jirou blushes as she remembers that night, me and her had spent the time cuddling on the couch watching bad movies with the occasional kisses. "Y-yea, wish you were there" Jirou's hesitation to say that is caught by Momo.
"Are you okay? You sounded as if you got caught on something?" Momo asks a tad worried as Jirou is normally very a straightforward person. "Yea just choked on some snacks sorry about that." Jirou says maybe a bit too quickly.
'Hmm that is odd, but it isn't anything to worry about, right?' Momo thinks to herself, but she knows, both her and Jirou share a crush in me. They have actually talked about it, saying no matter what happens they won't stop being friends just because of a boy.
"Oh Momo, be ready for Sens interview tonight, Nezu and Aizawa has given him permission to accept two interviews one for tonight's news and tomorrows morning show." Jirou reminds her best friend as Momo giggles.
"It is very exciting to the fact that he is going to do an interview so soon after his debut, and to help catch that hero killer at that!" Momos voice sounds so proud of my early accomplishments.
"Seriously, when I heard about it, I was so scared that his injuries would be bad, but minus a few extra scars and wounds he wasn't in danger of bleeding out!" Jirou goes on to explain to Momo the state I was in when Jirou came to check on me.
"That is great to hear! He has always been a tough cookie, ever since the USJ incident huh?" Momo says remembering the day she started to fall for me. In her eyes me taking complete command of the situation was very reassuring.
She also was able to bounce of so many ideas and suggestions that made her feel reaffirmed that, she did infact belong in the Hero course even if it was through recommendations. "He is extremely smart in most battle situations, and when he decided to go in to save Aizawa..."
Both her and Jirou remember seeing me dash off without a second thought for myself, to help save our teachers life. "Yea, you're telling me seeing him fight that day really solidified to me he was my hero." Jirou agrees.
Momo turns on her TV and flips over to the news as it starts, "Ah Jirou the report is about to come on!" She says as the announcer begins, "Tonight's report is going to be a bit of a special one, we have been able to get an interview with the rising new hero Impulse!"
The TV screen pans over to me in my hero costume with a reporter sitting across from one another at a table. I am currently waving at the camera a big smile on my face, my costume already repaired thanks to Tony and Mei teaming up.
"So Impulse, seems you're off to a quick and hot start! Barely debuting about a week ago and already apprehending the Hero Killer Stain!" the reporter starts off the interview. "How does it feel just starting out and already being the talk of the entire country!"
I chuckle gently and scratch my head. "It feels a bit weird; I am not going to lie about that. Do you mind if I take off my head gear?" I ask as Momo and Jirou, as well as the entire class is watching.
Jirou had sent out in the group chat for 1-A to keep an eye out for this interview. "Go for it, be as comfortable as you need!" The reporter is more than excited to get a clearer look at my face as the Headgear I wear had a screen up covering my face.
Once I take off my headgear the reporter gasps as more small gasps of shock and surprise can be heard throughout the station and tv stream. "You are so young!" the reporter says just confirming it.
"Yes ma'am, 16 years old" I say with a small smile, knowing how this is going to go. The reporter is obviously fed some information from her earpiece. "Wait are you this year's UA sports festival first year winner Sen Denryu?!"
Her eyes go cross at me, I just chuckle and nod. "That would be me, I am also a full-fledged hero." I say showing my license as the inspect it. "Yep, that's the real deal!" The reporter says very surprised as the entire country of Japan is going nuts.
"So, you are only 16, a first year in UAs class 1-A, and a full pro hero that took down Stain?!" Her eyes seemingly popping out of her head as I gently correct her, "Assisted in taking down Stain." "Right right, number 2 Endeavor helped out!" As all around the country people start just talking to themselves.
"Number 2 probably did all the work; Impulse probably just came in to help clean up." "Y-yea there is no way a 16-year-old hero could do the heaviest lifting." Similar thoughts can be heard around many of TV screens, as a little girl pouts.
"Impulse is amazing!" the little girl in question is wearing my jacket standing around the Giant TV in downtown Hosu that is broadcasting the interview. "Based on reports from police, you were the main contributor to taking down Stain, they say you were at the scene first and fought him alone for the first 20 minutes, Endeavor himself only coming in at the end to help you, correct?"
I am actually surprised to hear that this is how the report went, as Endeavor back in his home smirks in his training Dojo, 'Kid you deserve this one for saving my son.' He thinks to himself as I nod. "Yea, that would be correct, Stain was mid hunting one of my fellow pro hero's and I happened to come upon him as he was about to take him and another down."
I take a breath before continuing on, "I can't get into too many details, but I was the first one there to help take him down." "That is amazing! How can you be 16 years old and already such an accomplished hero!" the reporter asks.
"Well, I have been a hero since I was around 13, While I was born here in Japan, I moved to America when I was young, after a tragic incident in which I lost my parents, I turn to a life of a Hero to live on their Legacy!"
This takes the reporter by surprise as the Station scrambles to find out more info on this, since I was the one to publicly say this, all my hero records have been unsealed from America making them free range.
"Your parents were hero's?" "Yes ma'am, actually a very prevalent hero team in America, they were up and coming into the top 50 charts for America when the passed, they were named 'Lightning and Thunder' due to their quirks sharing those aspects of Lightning and Thunder"
I explain that much, as the reporter is finally fed more information about my prior life in America. "Based on what I am hearing, you were then taken in by Iron Man?" 'Woah that was quick' I say chuckling laughing to myself.
"You were ranked 8th out of all young heroes in America, that is heroes under the age of 18, for audience clarification." The reporter says then continues on, "Then out of the top 1000 heroes in the entire country you were ranked 227, that is no age requirement correct?"
"Y-yes ma'am that would be correct." 'Woah okay, that is even quicker than I thought, but guess I just gotta roll with it.' I tell myself and then continue on. "Before anything is even stated, no I wasn't holding back during the sports festival, I was giving it my all the entire time."
I make this very clear for those who started to think maybe it was cheap of me to join in on that. "The entirety of my class made me work for my victory, if me being a hero prior to coming here gave me any kind of advantage in anyone's eyes, no I did not. If anything, it only leveled the playing field."
The reporter is taken a bit back by this as that was basically her next question, as is my class. My praise of how strong my classmates are seeming getting all of them to be embarrassed. "Thank you for clarifying, back to the topic at hand. Stain"
She says trying to get a handle on this, "16 years old and doing some heavy lifting already, at the end we do have footage of something Stain has said." The teleprompter then starts to play Stains message of what he said.
""No one here is a true hero! This boy is just a hero fledgling! No one will here will kill me, the only one who has that right is the True Hero ALLMIGHT!"" The video plays as it also plays over some other... choice words he had to say about society.
"You also had something to say about this at the time, being the only hero to seemingly move in this moment." The reporter says once more as the camera that was being held recording Stains words pans over to me as I yell back at him.
""True heroes are not for you to decide! A hero has different meaning for everyone!"" My voice rings out clear and true through everyone's TVS screens, "What do you mean by these words?" The reporter asks as I smile and look directly from her to the camera recording me.
"What these words mean, is to each individual person, a hero can mean something different. A hero can be someone who saves your life." Jirou and Momo both smile at that as does the little girl who squeezes my jacket tightly on her body.
"It can be someone who stop and helps you when you are lost." Todoroki and Iida both smirk at those words coming from my mouth, remembering each their own instance of me helping them find their way again after seemingly losing their paths.
"It can be someone who just shows you the simplest thing as kindness, when no one else seemingly will." Izuku nearly cries at these words, remembering how I went out of my way to help him progress in his quirk usage, as well as Allmight telling him he can become a hero.
"A hero can just be someone who makes you feel safe and at home when they are around." Jirou and the little girl both blush at that one. "To everyone, a hero can be something different, no one person can signify the perfect hero. As everyone has their own thoughts on the matter."
I smile at the camera and wave, "So there is no such thing as fake hero's, to everyone a hero can mean something different, so everyone can be a hero to someone one way or another." I say very motivationally as the reporter blushes and fans her face.
"Such strong words from someone so young, but I do believe not even Allmight himself could have said that any better!" the reporter says outload and seeming proud the camera pans away from us, and my interview ends there.
-The Next Morning-
Jirou is walking into class with Momo, "Sen said he would be in late due to the interview this morning." She ends up telling Momo, as everyone is waiting by the door for me to come in.
"Aww!" Kaminari says as it was just them, "I was hoping Sen was with you two!" he says as Mina runs over, "So Sen really did most of the work?! That's amazing, you guys really have your eye on a stud!"
She says teasing the two girls as Momo blushes and shakes her head in denial, "It's not like that Mina!" as Jirou does blush as well but not as much. "Yea, I know." Jirou says in a matter-of-fact tone that catches everyone off guard.
Soon the entire class is in except me as Iida is trying to coral everyone to sit, as everyone is asking Izuku, Iida, and Todoroki questions about that night. Each giving their own accounts that has been approved to be given.
"So, Sen really saved you guys? Man, that is amazing, that's my best friend!" Kaminari says proudly as Bakugo growls. "Tch..." "Jirou did Sen tell you anything? I was told you went to check on him after he got discharged." Tsuyu asks as everyone turns to her.
"Uhh, just what he could tell me, I also got to help change his bandages a few times, he did have a good number of injuries." Everyone winces at that as Tokoyami walks up to her and Izuku, "I am glad he is okay though; his words last night truly are inspiring."
That's when everyone remembers my words to the country the night prior. "He is such a simple guy after all that huh?" Shoji asks more himself as Sero and Sato both nod. "He probably has a fan club, I heard about a little girl who has a replica jacket already!"
"It's not a replica" Jirou giggles a bit as everyone asks how she knows, as Jirou tells everyone about how the mother I saved sent the video about the daughter and her thanks. "He also went out of his way to make sure they had money enough to find a place to live!"
Jirou tells them how I generously sent a good amount of funds to make sure they were taken care of. "Woah..." "Bro is connected to Iron Man..." "Still, that's extremely generous" Everyone is a bit blown away with that as Aizawa walks in.
"Alright everyone, I know we are all excited about the internships as well as one of our owns debuts, but we still have a class to run, and Sen will be with us shortly so if you have any questions save it until he comes in."
Aizawa says reining in the class quickly. "When Sen comes in, we are going to question him about the differences between being a Hero and a Hero student. He is going to be our personal Hero to ask questions, as his point of view will be different than my own."
Aizawa explains and then gets into the lesson plan of the day, as about an hour later I walk in. "Sheesh they kept me a bit longer than I wanted, sorry about that everyone." I say as everyone turns and cheers for my arrival.
"Congrats dude!" "Glad to see you okay!" "How are your scars?" everyone is so loud to greet me that Aizawa is completely forgotten for the moment. "Everyone quiet!" his red eyes glaring at everyone and his hair floating into the air.
This causes everyone to sit down quickly including me as he then addresses the class. "Sen, welcome back and congratulations on your debut, please come to the front and give the first-hand experience of what to expect if we were to all have such an extreme debut."
Aizawa puts me on the spot as I gulp. 'Oh great, this again.' I think to myself as Jirou gives me a thumbs up and Momo smiles brightly at me. "Okay, well first make sure you all have some way to read through all the emails... Because there is plenty to go around when it comes to that..."
I chuckle weakly at that, then go on to explain the interview process and being on TV. "Does anyone have any questions for him that were not covered by the news?" Aizawa asks as Mina's hand shoots up first.
"How did you stay so calm, during the fight and then interviews? From what Midoriya and the others said, during the whole incident you were for the most part calm and collected?" She asks as everyone looks to me, their nerves seemingly shaken.
"Honestly, I wasn't calm in the slightest, I was scared out of my mind." I say looking at everyone as that catches everyone off guard except Jirou, as she had asked me this herself later the same night we kissed.
"Then..." Mina says her head down, "how are we..." "Mina, let me finish" I say gently scolding her before I continue. "I was scared, more so than before. I was afraid of failing everyone there and having more blood on my hands than I already do."
This catches some of my classmate's attention, those who didn't know of my past all blink but before they can ask about that I say, "However, I don't let that fear cloud my judgement, or let me opponent see they have me scared. If I do, then it really is game over."
"If I let my fear cloud my judgement, it will make me hesitate in a moment swift action is needed. In those times, I let my fear help drive my passion, I tell myself 'I am so scared, but I can't let my fears become true' so I push back against that fear to make sure it doesn't happen."
I say explaining myself on how I handled that situation, "then I didn't let Stain see my fear, because if he saw I was afraid he could play into it, make me freeze, hesitate, or worse make a mistake." I say looking at Iida.
"Then lastly, why I didn't show it in front of any of my allies at the time, was because they were relying on me, if the person you are relying on is visibly scared, then it makes your own fears 10x worse right?" everyone nods in agreement as it all makes sense to them now.
"Fear in and of itself is not a bad thing, it's just an emotion, a signal if you will." I go further into this topic as Aizawa raises his eyebrow, he originally was gonna stop me, but lets me go farther as this is an important topic to go over at some point.
"I use my fear to drive me forward in some way, like I said I let it fuel my passion to save others. In other cases, it can be used as a signal or a warning on when you do need to take a second to think." I point to my head to give this emphasis.
"Stain was hunting me, from the moment I stepped into Hosu." Everyone's eyes widen at this as Aizawa glares daggers at me but lets me go, Jirou and Momo looked the most fearful for me hearing this. "The only reason I knew as such, was because my sense of fear was triggered by him."
"His gaze caused my fear to awaken and warn me I was being watched. Your emotions can be such amazing things in a battle, while also being your greatest weakness." I sigh softly, "If you can control your emotions or train them, you can turn your greatest weakness into your strongest weapon."
"So, if anyone ever tells you that they were never scared, its bullshit." I say outright, "everyone has a fear, me, you, even Allmight does I bet." This causes Izuku to wince but no one but me notices.
"Fear is an emotion, and emotions are okay to be felt, just make sure to know when it is appropriate to feel them" I say as Aizawa claps his hands. "Great lesson Sen, now please back to your seat."
I blush softly and nod as I head to my chair, my inner group of friends all giving me a smile as well as a thumbs up to comfort me as I go to sit. "What Sen said is correct, fear is very real, but how you use and interpret your fear or any other emotion for that matter can make or break you."
"Now moving on, after all the excitement of the internships, we are going back to normal. We are just going to be doing core classes for the first half of this week, then on Thursday and Friday, we will be doing actual rescue work at USJ."
Aizawa looks around and pauses to make sure everyone gets it, "After the rescue training, we will be then doing more hero assessments and battle trainings. You may have gotten a taste at hero work this past internship, however that only scratches the surface."
Aizawa says with a smirk, as this causes all of us to shiver, as we are all told outright. We have more work to do. "So as our school motto says, Let's go Plus Ultra..." Aizawa says in a weak voice and a weak fist to the air as everyone gets excited to really put our noses to the grindstone.
Me and Jirou look to each other for a moment and can't help but smile brightly at each other with a small blush, 'We got this' we both think as our smile and blush is noticed by a certain Raven-haired ponytail.
A/N:
That is this week's chapter everyone! More of a look inside Sens head, also a small hint into Jirou's and Sens relationship. Next week will be a completely non-canon experience as it will be a small jump in time almost a month into the future. It will be a class exercise, similar to the battle trail of heroes versus villains. Look forward to it!
